Inside The Star
After the dust settled on Sunday’s games, the Dallas Cowboys are left with just one path to the playoffs.
Win the NFC East.
Anything less won’t get it done. Dallas cannot catch any of the teams currently in the three wildcard slots.
At best, they could tie Green Bay, currently in the final wildcard slot, at 9-7-1. But the Packers will have the tie-breaker over the Cowboys by virtue of the better record against NFC opponents.
If either Detroit or Carolina slip by Green Bay, they would have to have 10 wins, and that too eliminates any chance of the Cowboys landing that last spot.
So it’s the NFC East title or bust.
To win the division, assuming Dallas wins out and finishes 9-7-1, the Philadelphia Eagles will need to lose all three of their remaining games.
The Eagles have two games against the struggling Washington Commanders. Getting Washington to beat the Eagles once is a hard ask.
Twice might be more of a miracle than anyone should be asking for, even assuming the Bills win their game against Philadelphia.
The Eagles play this Saturday evening against Washington. Dallas’ season could be officially over before they even take the field on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s how the NFC East looks after Week 15.
Brandon Aubrey started the night off with a bang, running for a first down to set up a Dallas touchdown on a fake field goal on Dallas’ first possession.
He wasn’t his usual self when it came to actually kicking a field goal though.
Aubrey finished four-of-six on field goals with a long of 41. But he missed from 51 and 59 yards.
Those are usually automatic kicks for him.
The Cowboys defense, as feared, turned J.J. McCarthy into Peyton Manning.
He even replicated Manning’s QB keeper for a touchdown against Dallas over a decade ago. Right down to how wide open his path to the endzone was.
It’s been that type of season for Dallas.
Minnesota is now 9-6 against the Cowboys when playing in Dallas, having won the last two at AT&T Stadium. Dallas still leads the series overall, 19-16, including playoff games.
The Cowboys are 1-1 against the Vikings in Week 15 contests.
Dallas dropped to 26-22 all-time in the 15th week and 12-10 when playing those games at home.
For the second time in team history, and for the second straight year, the Cowboys ended a game with a 34-26 final score.
Next Game: vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Noon.
The Giants and quarterback Jaxson Dart are still playing hard. They showed that on Sunday when they stayed in the game against the Commanders until the bitter end.
But New York is stuck at the bottom of the NFC East for the second-straight season.
If they lose out, it seems likely they’d end up with the No. 1 pick, depending on how the tie-breakers shake out.
At worst, they’d end up no worse than a...
