The Dallas Cowboys set out to slay the beast in Week 14 when the Philadelphia Eagles came to Jerry's World, and the ‘Boys accomplished just what they wanted. The Cowboys overpowered their long-time rivals and rolled to a 33-13 victory that allowed the Cowboys to climb into a virtual tie for the lead in the NFC East, as both teams have a 10-3 record.

A look at the current playoff structure heading into Week 15 indicates the Cowboys have the tiebreaker edge over the Eagles and they hold the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff structure, while the Eagles are in second place in the division and the Eagles are in the No. 5 spot.

The Cowboys have the edge over the Eagles because they have a 3-1 record within the NFC East, while the Eagles are just 2-1 in that category.

However, the Eagles have 2 divisional games remaining — both against the New York Giants — while the Cowboys have just 1 remaining. Dallas will close the season with a road game against the Washington Commanders.

If the Eagles beat the Giants twice and the Cowboys defeat the Commanders, both teams would be 4-1 within the division. However, the advantage would shift to the Eagles because they would likely have the better conference record.

The Eagles are 6-2 against NFC teams with games remaining against Seattle and Arizona in addition to the 2 against the Giants. The Cowboys are 7-3 against NFC opponents, and their only other NFC opponent is the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions.

As a result, the Eagles could finish the season with a 10-2 mark against NFC opponents, while the best the Cowboys can do is 9-3 in the same category.

Overall schedule easily favors Eagles over Cowboys

It would be a shocker if the Eagles would lose either game to the Giants or the Cardinals. The Giants have played better in recent weeks with Tommy DeVito at quarterback than they did earlier in the year with Daniel Jones under center, but the Giants lack offensive efficiency and they also make too many mistakes on defense.

The Cardinals are also playing better since Kyler Murray returned to the lineup following a brutal knee injury suffered in 2022, but Arizona simply does not play 60 consistent minutes. That's why the Cardinals have only won 3 games this season. Interestingly, one of their victories came against the Cowboys in an early-season game.

Even if those teams play decent games, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are not going to let them slip through their grasp.

Dallas played dominant football in the first 2 weeks of the season in one-sided victories over the Giants and Jets, but they clearly took the Cardinals for granted in Week 3 and inexplicably dropped a 28-16 decision.

Going on the road to Seattle in Week 15 appears to be a challenging assignment for the Eagles, but the Seahawks are reeling. They have lost 4 games in a row and quarterback Geno Smith has a groin injury. While he returned to practice Friday, he was limited and if he can't play or is ineffective, the Seahawks will be forced to go with mistake-prone Drew Lock under center.

Cowboys face challenges

On the other hand, the Cowboys face 3 major challenges in the next 3 weeks. They are on the road against the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins each of the next 2 weeks, and it will take a monumental effort to beat both of those teams.

Even if they split those 2 games, it would work in favor of the Eagles.

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys come home for a Week 17 game against the Lions, and while the Cowboys will clearly be favored, the Lions are capable of coming up with an upset if they play the way they did in the first half of the year.

Cowboys often struggle on the road

The Cowboys are on a major roll, having won 5 games in a row since losing to the Eagles 28-23 in Week 9. Four of those victories have been at home, where the Cowboys have been sensational.

However, they are just 3-3 on the road, and those wins came over the Giants, Chargers and Panthers. They are clearly 3 of the worst teams in the league.

The Cowboys make mistakes on the road, and both the Bills and Dolphins could take advantage of those issues.

Additionally, the Cowboys simply aren't as comfortable playing away from home. While Prescott can find CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson and Brandin Cooks without any problem at AT&T Stadium, they are not as effective on the road.

McCarthy does not have his team prepared to play away from home the way they are in Dallas.

The belief here is that the Eagles will be victorious in their last 4 games, and that will be enough to give them a tiebreaker edge over the Cowboys. However, Dallas will lose at least 1 road game, and the Eagles will win the division by a full game.