Cowboys’ path to nabbing NFC’s No. 1 seed is depressingly difficult

The Dallas Cowboys (sort of) controlled their own destiny heading into Week 15. All they had to do was dispose of the interior Jaguars. Not any easy task by any stretch of the imagination, but one fans assumed they’d grab by the horns given a win would put immense pressure on the Eagles to win in Dallas on Christmas Eve.

Picture this: the Cowboys beat Philly at home to pull within one game of their division rivals in both the NFC East and race for the No. 1 seed in the conference.

Following the loss to Jacksonville, and the Eagles’ road win in Chicago, the Cowboys are a distant three games back in the loss column with three to play. Barring a historic choke job by Nick Sirianni’s side, Philly will notch the top seed, while Dallas will settle for the No. 5 seed and hit the road in the first round.

Incredibly, Dak Prescott and company aren’t mathematically eliminated from the division race, or the chase for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

That said, the odds are nearly impossible to overcome given what the Cowboys have to accomplish themselves, and how dependent they are on things out of their control, like the Eagles losing their final three games after dropping one game all year … and the Vikings and 49ers to each lose a game.

Here’s how the Cowboys can supplant the Eagles as the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

This just makes the Jaguars collapse all the more infuriating. With Jalen Hurts (likey) out for Christmas Eve and potentially the rest of the regular season, the Cowboys squandered a golden opportunity to turn up the pressure on the Eagles, who, if we’re being honest, have coasted all season.

While Philadelphia has dealt with some adversity — they squeaked out wins against Detroit, Indianapolis, Arizona, and Chicago — it speaks volumes they haven’t played a high-stakes game yet. After getting the Cowboys on Saturday, the Eagles close out the campaign home vs the Saints and home vs the Giants.

They’ll undoubtedly be favored in both games, but the complexion of those games changes if Gardner Minshew starts for Hurts, who’s neck-and-neck with Patrick Mahomes for the MVP award. Not to mention, the Giants could have everything to play in terms of their standing in the playoff picture.

If the Eagles are locked into the one of the top two seeds, might they rest their starters in the finale to be at full-strength for the playoffs?

Of course, this is all speculation … and wishful thinking. Is it mathematically impossible for the Cowboys? No. But it’s pretty darn close.

And there’s no reason to think the Eagles won’t still be a problem with Minshew taking the reins from Hurts. Much like Dallas with Cooper Rush, the pieces are in place for Minshew to step in and enjoy immediate success. There’s probably a better chance Philly goes undefeated the rest of the way than loses out.

But hey, we’d be doing a disservice to Cowboys fans everywhere if we didn’t map out their only path to notching the No. 1 seed and the NFC East crown.

Time to manifest a Christmas miracle.

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