The Dallas Cowboys had two clear rooting interests heading into Wild Card Weekend: hope the Chicago Bears knock off the Green Bay Packers, and pray the San Francisco 49ers send the Philadelphia Eagles home early.
Well, if Saturday's introduction was any indicator, NFL fans might be treated to an epic playoffs.
The Bears trailed by as much as 21-3 at halftime and by 21-6 early in the fourth quarter. They climbed all the way back to beat the Packers by a final score of 31-27. It was a choke job of historic proportions, and it leaves the Cowboys sitting on a lottery ticket in the 2026 NFL Draft.
With the Packers' loss, Dallas now owns the No. 12 and No. 20 overall picks in the first round. Had Green Bay advanced, the Cowboys wouldn't have picked any higher than No. 25 overall.
Updated 2026 NFL Draft order is everything Cowboys fans dreamed of
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Arizona Cardinals
- Tennessee Titans
- NY Giants
- Cleveland Browns
- Washington Commanders
- New Orleans Saints
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Miami Dolphins
- Dallas Cowboys
- LA Rams (via the Atlanta Falcons)
- Baltimore Ravens
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- NY Jets (via the Indianapolis Colts)
- Detroit Lions
- Minnesota Vikings
- Carolina Panthers
- Dallas Cowboys (via the Green Bay Packers)
This is a dream outcome for the Cowboys, who now own two top-20 picks for the first time since 2005, when they selected defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware and Marcus Spears with the 11th and 20th overall picks, respectively. Fans can only hope this year's picks turn out half as good.
The Cowboys were already locked into the No. 12 overall pick. Regardless of how many offensive players go inside the top 10, Dallas is in a great position to draft a stud defender with its first pick.
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The front office will be praying that David Bailey, Rueben Bain Jr., or Caleb Downs falls. If not, they could take Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles or potentially the top cornerback in the class, and then take a pass rusher with their second pick. Someone like Cashius Howell or Romello Height could be in play at No. 20 overall.
And if Dallas likes how the board is falling at that point, it can entertain a trade-back scenario to attain a Day 2 pick. Remember, the Cowboys do not have a second or third-round pick this year due to the Quinnen Williams and George Pickens trades.
Either way, the Cowboys now wield massive leverage in the 2026 NFL Draft thanks to arguably the worst playoff loss in Packers history. Jerry Jones couldn't have scripted a better outcome when he decided to send Micah Parsons to Wisconsin in August.