FRISCO, Texas – It's that time of year where mental math comes into play.
Last week's win in Washington pushed the Cowboys to the brink of an assured playoff spot, but they're not quite there yet.
Heading into the final four games of the season, though, those scenarios are starting to come into focus. With a winning record already secured, the Cowboys only need a win against the New York Giants and a little bit of outside help to clinch a playoff spot.
It's also theoretically possible that they could lock up the NFC East championship this weekend – although they would need a significant amount of help to do so.
Here are the scenarios, announced by the NFL:
The Cowboys can clinch the division with:
- Cowboys win + Washington-Eagles tie OR Cowboys win + Washington loss + Cowboys clinches strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Eagles
The Cowboys can clinch a playoff berth with:
- Cowboys win + Saints loss or tie OR
- Cowboys win + 49ers loss OR
- Cowboys tie + Vikings loss or tie + Saints loss or tie + Falcons loss or tie OR
- Vikings loss + Falcons loss + Saints loss + Eagles-Washington tie OR
- Vikings loss + Falcons loss + Saints loss + Cowboys clinch strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Eagles
