Who will the Dallas Cowboys play if they make the playoffs?

The Dallas Cowboys enter the final week of the season fighting for a playoff spot

The answer to the Dallas Cowboys’ equation rests on the final regular-season Sunday. The Cowboys must travel and beat the New York Giants and the Washington Football Team must lose or tie in order for them to advance. There is no other way to get in for Dallas.

A few weeks ago I joined team tank because I didn’t think it was possible. I will admit that  I was wrong and the resilience of this team shows that head coach Mike McCarthy has done a good job of rallying his troops and getting them to turn the tide of their war.

Now former head coach Jason Garrett will have a shot at ending the season for these 2020 Dallas Cowboys. The NFL couldn’t have done a better job at this storyline if they wrote it themselves.

I like to be a few steps ahead of everyone else so instead of focusing on just getting in the playoffs, I wanted to see which matchup best favors the Dallas Cowboys as a whole. Yes, this team has me thinking that these Cowboys could possibly win a playoff game.

Can you blame me if I think this way? Only two teams, that played a full 16 game season, have ever entered the playoffs with a losing record yet both of those teams won on wild card weekend. I am omitting the two other teams in the strike-shortened season that only played nine games.

If you recall one of those games, it was a Marshawn Lynch seismic run that propelled a 7-9 Seattle team to upset the heavily favored New Orleans Saints that year. I’m not saying the east winner will have similar results but it has happened.

So with everyone talking about this weekend’s outcome, I am going to focus on who the Cowboys can play wild card weekend and which matchup provides the Cowboys with the best opportunity to win.

Before we get started, there are a few things to be aware of. If the Dallas Cowboys do win they will host a playoff game. Second, if the Cowboys get in, they have to hope a wild card traveling team wins also to avoid going to frigid Green Bay in the Divisional round. Who knows, maybe McCarthy would like a shot at eliminating his former team.

Lastly, the Chicago Bears or Arizona Cardinals who are fighting for the last spot cannot travel to Dallas. Neither team can catch the other non-division leading team’s records limiting the Dallas Cowboys’ possible opponents.