CFZ The NFC is there for the taking

[Praxit]

...I feel THIS TEAM, has what needs to represent the NFC.

Gotta put it together. Coaches and players.

 

[RomoIsGod]

Winning out would be great but teams they must beat is Philly and Detroit. They need to beat everyone but at bare minimum go 6-2 or 7-1 and hope Eaglers falter. Even going undefeated the rest of the year, they will need help.

 

[jazzcat22]

I probably should’ve have included the Seahawks as a tier 2 contender. They are on the edge of being good.

Vikings won 5 straight now, and are at 6-4. But I won't add them into the mix. But the can make some noise to a few teams. As I posted above, the play the Lions twice.
The only other top team they play is the Bengals.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

I'd add Stay healthy...

This team is about the healthiest it's going to be and the healthier teams make the deeper runs

This ...........the teams that can avoid/withstand major injuries to key players will likely be the ones standing at the end.

 

[Blackspider214]

I agree with this but once again, we are not in the top tier. Not even sure the last time we were. Maybe 2016, when we got the 1 seed? Every season after, we weren't a top team. Top tier teams usually win in the playoffs, especially when at home.

As of now, our ceiling is a division round loss. And we will have another hard road of needing to win 3 straight on the road.

I am more worried about the Niners than the Eagles. We just turn into a soft team when we play them. Allow them to hit us in the mouth and we don't respond. Defense can't make the plays needed. Offense stalls. We match up better with the Eagles, win or lose. We are able to move the ball on them much easier. Their defense isn't as good as the Niners defense.

 

[Bobhaze]

This ...........the teams that can avoid/withstand major injuries to key players will likely be the ones standing at the end.

Healthy and playing their best football. The Cowboys were very healthy going into the 2021 playoffs and played their worst football of the year against the niners when we received 14 penalties, 5 of them for just lining up offsides. Stupid stuff like that will get you beat 100% of the time in the playoffs.

 

[RomoIsGod]

I agree with this but once again, we are not in the top tier. Not even sure the last time we were. Maybe 2016, when we got the 1 seed? Every season after, we weren't a top team. Top tier teams usually win in the playoffs, especially when at home.

As of now, our ceiling is a division round loss. And we will have another hard road of needing to win 3 straight on the road.

I am more worried about the Niners than the Eagles. We just turn into a soft team when we play them. Allow them to hit us in the mouth and we don't respond. Defense can't make the plays needed. Offense stalls. We match up better with the Eagles, win or lose. We are able to move the ball on them much easier. Their defense isn't as good as the Niners defense.

Yes, I'd rather Dallas play Philly than San Francisco

 

[WoodysGirl]

 

[Blackspider214]

Yes, I'd rather Dallas play Philly than San Francisco

But being the seed we will be, we'd have to most likely beat them both.

 

[Robster8989]

Philly can drop 2 or 3 games over the next 5 weeks. They're next 5 games. at KC, Buffalo, SF, at Dallas, at Seattle. Heck they could lose 4 games, as Buffalo does not seem as tough as they did to start the season. Philly's last 3 games are layups.
Dallas needs to win and take advantage if Philly does drop a few, as we must beat them at home.

SF has 3 games that could go either way, the rest they should be favored to win. Seattle, Philly and Baltimore. They need to lose 2 of those games.

Detroit has pretty much an easy path. So we must win that game against them, at least it is at home. They also have Minnesota twice.

Seattle, I won't rule them out, they are hanging in there. So we must win that game as well. They have Sf twice and Philly as the tough games left.

Dallas, pretty much can't afford to lose another game, or if they do, only one. And if that happens, it needs to be against Buffalo or Miami. No more NFC losses.

I agree.
The Eagles have a really tough schedule starting this week.
I give them props, they are 8-1 and have found ways to win most weeks, but they have not been dominant and these are some tough games coming up. 3 road games against playoff teams, and then the Niners (who will be looking to make a statement) and a desperate Bills team at home.
They could easily lose 2-3 of those.
We are even with the Niners now and they are healthy again, though they have the Seahawks twice, plus the Eagles and Ravens coming up. We have some tough games too.
I believe it's imperative for us to get home field.
We are 6-0 on turf, and 0-3 on grass (BTW, the Super Bowl is in Arizona on a grass field we already lost once on).
The Eagles and Niners fields are both grass, so I like our odds much better if we are on turf, and at home (where surprisingly, we have been dominant).

 

[Sydla]

Right. We need to win all our NFC games. However we need to beat Miami, as Philly best them already, So that Buffalo game is a common game as well.
Tie breakers are in favor of Philly way too much right now. They are 6-0 in the NFC so far, we are 3-3.
So yeah we will most likely need to finish 1 game better. Or as you mentioned, drop a game to NYG.

Philly pretty much need to lose to SF, Seattle, and us. And drop another in an upset loss.

For common games it would be beneficial for them to lose to both Buffalo and San Fran. If they beat the Cards, which seems likely, that offsets their loss to the Jets. Losing to San Fran would then cancel out that loss as well. Of course we'd need to beat the Dolphins.

 

[Bobhaze]

For common games it would be beneficial for them to lose to both Buffalo and San Fran. If they beat the Cards, which seems likely, that offsets their loss to the Jets. Losing to San Fran would then cancel out that loss as well. Of course we'd need to beat the Dolphins.

And things can change so fast in this league. With 8 games to go there are so many wild twists and turns ahead we cannot imagine. When fans look at the schedule and predict W’s and Ls we forget how crazy and unpredictable the NFL is.

 

[visionary]

1. NFC has been there for the taking last 2 years and weve done nothing

2. We cant run the ball and that wont get it done against these teams. We had a golden opportunity to get a real RB at the trade deadline but we crapped the bed. We might win 2 in post season if Dak plays lights out but no SB IMO. Dak cannot carry the team for 4 straight weeks against the best teams. It will be rinse snd repeat barring a miracle. Jerry and Dak can sell it as progress but it is a real opportunity wasted.

 

[Toro9]

As it was last year and the year before.

The NFC East is one of the more exciting divisions. There's usually 3 out of 4 teams vying for a playoff spot. Just so happens nothing has changed this year. Even the Commanders are in the hunt.

The NFC overall is pretty weak so even if we don't win our division, we'll probably make it into the playoffs.

 

[Nova]

SF is the class of the NFC when they're healthy. But for whatever reason, it doesn't seem like they'll survive an injury to Trent, CMAC, or Deebo.

Philly can be beaten and their season passer rating differential suggests they will be beaten.

The NFC is definitely open, but I have my reservations about our group too

 

[Motorola]

This will be the third postseason the NFC has "been there for the taking".
Cowboys, Eagles, Forty-niners headed for their third straight appearances. Perhaps the Seahawks and Vikings qualify for two consecutive berths. So there could be some rematches involved- thus familiarity among the participants.
Acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses (thus leading to the "tier" rankings) - there is still the element of "win one - advance, lose one - it's done" that always is present once the playoffs start.
Going into the postseason relatively healthy and playing well are the key factors.

 

[CowboyFanInLexKy]

When scanning the NFC to assess which teams are most likely to duke it out for the NFC championship, there are essentially 4 teams in two tiers that should be considered “realistic“ contenders. I’m basing it on current standing and what the team has done over the last year and a half. Things can and will change though because we have 8 games left in this season.

TIER ONE (2 teams). These are clearly the best teams based on last year and this year so far.

• eagles- 8-1 record; have gone 22-4 in last 26 regular season games (Last yr and this yr combined)
• 49ers- 6-3 record; have beaten us 3 straight times since ‘21 and have gone 19-7 in last 26 regular season games.

TIER TWO (2 teams) These teams are clearly good but need to be more consistent.

• Cowboys- 6-3 record; are 18-8 in last 26 reg season games; have shown moments of dominance and also moments where they shrink against niners and eagles.
• lions- 7-2 record currently; are 16-10 in last 26 regular season games; lack consistency and haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014.

BOTTOM LINE:
The NFC is there for the taking most likely with one of these 4 teams. Which is one reason I was disappointed that our FO did not shore up this roster with a trade like most contenders did by the deadline. Didn’t have to be a “splash” trade. Even a depth enhancer would have been nice. Oh well.

WHAT THE COWBOYS MUST SHOW TO BE A REAL CONTENDER:

• Show some consistency. Teams that win in the playoffs are the ones who are consistent and reliable. “Consistency is the habit of winners” as the old saying goes.
• Must win against the tougher teams on our schedule. This team needs some confidence that it can win against the better teams. We have killed lesser opponents (except cards) but stumbled against the niners and eagles.
• Show some improvement in the OL’s performance. Teams that win multiple playoff games have strong play in the trenches. Our OL has been very inconsistent. Run game needs to return.
• Must show they are mentally/physically tough. Many fans here hate to admit it but the Cowboys have been soft, especially mentally for far too long. The Cowboys must show they are tough enough to win when the stakes are high. Teams that win playoff games are very tough.
• Must stop the stupid penalties. The Cowboys lead the league in penalties and worse, lead the league in pre-snap penalties. A lack of attention to detail and focus will get you beat against the better teams in the playoffs. The lining up off sides, the delay of game, false starts and getting into fights with opponents are the habits of teams that lose playoff games.
• Get hot at the right time. Teams that go on deep playoff runs usually go into the playoffs playing their best football. When was the last time we could say that about the Cowboys?

Again, the NFC is there for the taking. Can this team do what it takes?

Bob, Great post. I agree 100% on everything you just posted.

 

[Kevinicus]

We need to understand that Dallas is going to lose 2-3 more games, even if they are playing well. The #1 seed is almost entirely out of play, and even winning the division is near impossible.

5 straight games against playoff teams after Washington. Dallas should be playing for the 5 seed.

Four. Detroit did not make the playoffs this year.

If you're talking just this year, then only two as Buffalo is not currently a playoff team.

 

[Kevinicus]

Unless the Eagles lose to the Giants, the Cowboys will likely have to finish one game clear of them in the standings. Because as you work through the tiebreakers, even if Dallas splits with Philly, many of the tiebreakers will fall Philly's way (that AZ debacle is going to be costly if this thing is tight in December)

Common opponents is currently is Dallas favor (Jets), however Dallas does have the AZ loss looming out there.

SF, Buffalo, Seattle could sway that tie breaker either way. If Phi loses to a couple of them, and Dallas can beat Buffalo, Sea, and Miami, then we could win that.

Of course, the Cowboys would only be allowed a loss to Carolina or Detroit (not good for outside the division tiebreakers either), if any.

 

[CowboysLakerBamaFan]

I would almost have the Lions up there in Tier 1. Not because of talent....but because they will probably be favored in every game here on out...except against us since it's in Dallas.

It's possible they could roll into playoffs with a 14-3 record after rolling over a string of cupcakes.