Blogging The Boys
After last week’s demoralizing and damaging loss to the Panthers, the Cowboys are on the brink of collapse in 2025. While many things are still mathematically possible, and will be even if they lose again this week, Dallas is near the point where talking about playoff chances becomes futile. In this week’s rooting guide, we’ll lean more heavily towards better positioning in the 2026 NFL Draft, but still keep a hopeful eye on what could improve the Cowboys’ postseason hopes.
Thursday night’s upset win by the Bengals over the Steelers was a good start. With no playoff implications in an all-AFC matchup, we got what we wanted by Cincy improving to 3-4 and becoming less threatening in eventual draft ordering.
For games with broader potential impact, how you personally root going forward depends on your focus. That’s certainly the case for every remaining Dallas game, but also most of the schedule involving NFC teams.
If you still hope for a playoff spot, the best way to get it is by winning the NFC East. The tragedy of last week’s loss by Dallas is that it squandered a chance to gain ground on both Philadelphia and Washington. But even with that blown opportunity, they’d still move ahead of Washington with a win this week. If that happens while the Eagles somehow lose a third-straight game, Dallas would be right on their heels in the division.
Draftwise, it still makes more sense for the Vikings to win to help Dallas. Minnesota is only 3-2 while Philly is 4-2, so that would pull the Vikings further up in the standings and still leave Philly as a four-win team. If Dallas falls against Washington, they’re that much more ahead of the pack in draft order.
New York somehow getting back in the playoff hunt seems even more unlikely than Dallas. They’re far more relevant in the draft discussion, so a win is a good thing. And thankfully, with Denver at 4-2, it doesn’t hurt much for the Giants to pull off another upset.
Another win-win from either perspective. Just 1-5 currently, New Orleans could become catchable in the draft order if they can eke out a few more wins this year. Upsetting the Bears would also help Dallas’ playoff chances, especially given Chicago’s head-to-head tiebreaker. That tiebreaker is also why you’re not as worried about the Bears’ record worsening for draft purposes, because it has the opposite effect in that situation.
Arizona picking up its third win could pull them above Dallas in the standings, so that’s good for the draft. It also doesn’t hurt that much playoffs-wise, because Green Bay is only leading the NFC North by a hair right now. They could easily end up in the wild card race, and their tie with the Cowboys at least makes them more desirable there than teams who could end up...
