As of now, the Dallas Cowboys are on the outside looking in of the NFC playoff picture. Dallas is 5-5-1, which is good for second place in the NFC East and 10th place in the conference as a whole. They dug themselves quite a hole this season, but they are inching themselves out, and they certainly have the talent on the roster to make the playoffs. So, is a postseason berth realistic for the Cowboys?
The Cowboys are currently the 10th seed
The Cowboys have won each of their last two games in impressive fashion. They proved that they have the ability to dominate inferior competition when they beat the Las Vegas Raiders 33-16. They followed that win up with a victory over the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Even before that, they surpassed the 37-point mark in wins against the Washington Commanders, New York Giants, and New York Jets, and in a game that ended in a tie against the Green Bay Packers. Clearly, the team's offense is elite. They even weren't far off from victory in losses to the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, and in their first matchup against the Eagles.
Dak Prescott is back to his gunslinging ways, and he has one of the best receiver tandems in the NFL to throw to. CeeDee Lamb is unquestionably one of the best receivers in the NFL, but it is offseason trade acquisition George Pickens who is second in the league in receiving yards. Javonte Williams has had a resurgence with the team, too, so the Cowboys can put up big scoring outputs against anybody.
Unfortunately, they've also been vulnerable to opponents scoring a lot on them as well. For most of the season, the Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the NFL. It has seemingly been improving ever since the team traded for Quinne Williams, though. The addition of the defensive tackle, who is one of the best players in the NFL, helped make up for the decision to trade away Micah Parsons.
A playoff berth is a long shot for the Cowboys
The problem for the Cowboys is that there are nine NFC teams ahead of them in the standings. The top eight, in particular, are loaded with talented rosters. The Los Angeles Rams lead the NFC West and the conference as a whole, but the Seattle Seahawks are right on their tails. Despite their recent loss, the Eagles are still in a great place to repeat as champions. The Chicago Bears are starting to reach their potential. They are atop an NFC North that also features the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. The Lions are currently on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, but they have arguably the best offense in the NFL.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers have matching records and will likely vie for just one playoff spot. Even the San Francisco 49ers are currently holding down a Wild Card spot, although the results of their Monday Night Football game will have huge postseason implications.
The Cowboys not only need to win a lot of games to end the year, but they need some luck in the form of losses from the teams ahead of them in order for them to leapfrog up the standings. It is possible that the Cowboys could make the postseason, but it simply seems unlikely.
The team's next two games come against the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions. Both teams are considered to be among the best teams in the NFL, but they are fighting with their backs against the wall, as they are pushing for playoff spots in their own right. This late-season push might just be too little, too late for the Cowboys. Even if they don't make the postseason, though, they are far from a rebuilding team. Expect Dallas to make noise in the playoffs come next year.
