Cowboys & Eagles Remaining Schedule

[jterrell]

Not sure why the fan base is so brow beaten but the Cowboys have the edge.

Detroit is the best team in the NFC North.
And Dallas merely has to stay within one game with 3 games to play.
Dallas goes 2-1 and it doesn't matter what Philly does.

Considering Dallas plays a Washington team that is probably done now and was an easy 2 TD win back in week 6 I have little fear.

Week 17 at home in Dallas and Dallas has beaten up Foles better than anyone else in football.
Probably due in no small part to how much of this off-season Kiffen dedicated to handling a Chip Kelly offense.

As to the Dallas schedule:
We play the worst Chicago defense of the last decade and possibly with a back up QB and we have 10 days to prepare.
We play the Pack (another bad defense) who are serious considering shutting Rodgers down for the season and waving the white flag.
We play a Washington team with a limited and miserable RG3 that is already eliminated for the year.
Then we get the Eagles at home.

Not like we are facing the Saints, Chiefs or Broncos.

I think it is most likely we go into the game 1 game down on the Eagles and needing a win to win the division and get in.
But is MORE likely imho that we clinch before the game week 17 than it is for the Eagles to do so.
If the Eagles lose a game to us they are done for the divisional crown.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

What is scary is that there is a very realist scenario where the Cowboys go undefeated in the division and still do not win the division.

If the Eagles win their next 3 games and then lose to the Cowboys, and the Cowboys lose to the Bears and Packers and beat the Commanders and Eagles, the Eagles win the division.

Only our beloved Boys could pull that off!

 

[jterrell]

BTW, the Eagles have only two wins over teams we have not beaten:
Tampa Bay (impressed?)
Green Bay with Tolzien at QB.

Dallas is the better team having won the road game by 2 TDs.

The reason the records are tied is they got Tampa Bay and we got New Orleans....

 

[cowboys2233]

Not sure why the fan base is so brow beaten but the Cowboys have the edge.

Detroit is the best team in the NFC North.
And Dallas merely has to stay within one game with 3 games to play.
Dallas goes 2-1 and it doesn't matter what Philly does.

Yes, even worst-case scenario, I think we'll have a shot at the division title in week 17. But I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I REALLY want to clinch this division prior to that game but that might be asking too much.

 

[Eddie]

We've seen this story before. Don't be surprised it we're left in the cold again. This team has a way of living down when we need them the most.

The most highly probable situation is that both teams come in with the same record (whatever it is) and play for the division title on the last game of the year.

 

[Rockport]

I just hope the importance of this game is being preached to our team and they aren't getting the same robotic speech about "oh we're treating every game with the same importance blah blah garbage".

The Cowboys need urgency and it needs to show up on gameday.

Hmm, I've never been privy to what Garrett tells the team in the locker room before a game.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

The eagles are not going to win but 1 more game, 2 if we sit our starters the last game. Their 4 game winning streak, much like the Gnats winning streak is all smoke and mirrors, OAK, WAS, GB (first game without Rodgers) and AZ. The only half way decent team is AZ and that was a fluke imo. No reason to worry about Philly, they will lose to DET, CHI and DAL (if we play our starters).

 

[DallasJ7]

If there's a silver lining to the Eagles beating the Cardinals, it guaranteed that the Cowboys have the tiebreaker over the Eagles if they finish with the same record. They just about had it wrapped up already, but it was still possible for the Eagles to have the tiebreaker if the Cowboys lose to Washington, and the strength of schedule calculations went unusually in Philly's favor in the last few weeks.

Record in common games is the tiebreaker after division record. Beating the Cardinals means that the Eagles will have a worse common games record than the Cowboys if they finish with the same record, as the Cardinals are one of the two teams that the Eagles play, but that the Cowboys do not.

Just looking at the teams they play, the Cowboys and the Eagles have pretty similar December schedules, with Aaron Rodgers being the tiebreaker of sorts. But I really don't like that we face a desperate Bears team on the road after they just experienced a heartbreaking loss to the Vikings. Whereas the Eagles get the Bears at home on a short week. So if we lose against the Bears, whether or not Aaron Rodgers can play Week 15 looms large. Because I really think that swings us from a ~75-80% chance of winning to a ~30-35% chance. I just do not trust this team against elite QBs, even if he's not 100%.

With all that said, I think there is a very high chance we will either be tied with the Eagles or one game back going into Week 17, and it will be a third straight Sunday Night elimination game for the division crown.

 

[Direwolf63]

Not sure why the fan base is so brow beaten.

It's very simple why: Cowboy fans have been in this position before only to falter. Just look at last year.

Fans are understandably wary. We can lay out all the reasons why we should take the divisions, from facing bad defenses, to QB's we may or may not face, to teams out of the playoffs with nothing to play for. But all this stuff is nothing new. But only once did we end up on top: we beat Philly at home to win the division and best them again in the wild card game the following week.

Every other year these division races have ended up in failure. So it is actually very understandable why fans are "brow beaten". They are wary of the same broken record being played yet again, despite all the evidence that may or may not be in the Cowboys favor over these next 4 games.

 

[jterrell]

What is scary is that there is a very realist scenario where the Cowboys go undefeated in the division and still do not win the division.

If the Eagles win their next 3 games and then lose to the Cowboys, and the Cowboys lose to the Bears and Packers and beat the Commanders and Eagles, the Eagles win the division.

Only our beloved Boys could pull that off!

Dallas has lost 1 game all year to teams at or below .500 currently. A road game in San Diego.
Not sure your scenario is realistic at all.
Anything can happen but Dallas is likely favored in all 4 games to close the season.

 

[cowboys2233]

We've seen this story before. Don't be surprised it we're left in the cold again. This team has a way of living down when we need them the most.

The most highly probable situation is that both teams come in with the same record (whatever it is) and play for the division title on the last game of the year.

Wish # 1 -- we clinch the division prior to week 17.

Wish # 2 -- we are tied or 1 game behind heading into week 17.

Obviously, wish #1 is the ideal, but I'm not going to complain if we get wish #2. It is essentially a playoff game, winner moves on, loser goes home. Would I still be a nervous wreck? You bet. Am I completely confident we would win that game? Not even close. But as things currently stand, I would have a much better feeling about that game than I did about either of our previous week 17 games. And again, it would have the exact feel of a home playoff game, might as well treat it as wildcard week #1.

 

[jterrell]

It's very simple why: Cowboy fans have been in this position before only to falter. Just look at last year.

Fans are understandably wary. We can lay out all the reasons why we should take the divisions, from facing bad defenses, to QB's we may or may not face, to teams out of the playoffs with nothing to play for. But all this stuff is nothing new. But only once did we end up on top: we beat Philly at home to win the division and best them again in the wild card game the following week.

Every other year these division races have ended up in failure. So it is actually very understandable why fans are "brow beaten". They are wary of the same broken record being played yet again, despite all the evidence that may or may not be in the Cowboys favor over these next 4 games.

Every team has been in this position only to falter.
You think Dallas is the only team to lose a game that knocks them out of the playoffs or division race?
Dallas eliminated NY and then NY eliminated the Commanders.
That happens in every division at some point.

Dallas last made the playoffs by soundly thumping Philly in a play in game then beat them badly again the next week in the wild card round.

Right now Dallas has a better football team then the Eagles.

Want to tell me we should fear the Seahawks or New Orleans in a Divisional round and I'll bite but the rest is just fretting.

 

[Joe Realist]

Cowboys Schedule

@ Bears

Packers

@ Commanders

Eagles



Eagles schedule

Lions

@ vikings

Bears

@ Cowboys



How do you guys see this playing out? It seems like every game for us is vital. The Eagles are hot right now and I could see them possibly clinching the division before they even play us.

With the way our defense plays I think we could easily have 2 more losses left in us before we even see the Eagles.

Thoughts?

Eagles have this. They are playing better overall and I think they could make noise in playoffs. What Chip Kelly has done will most likely earn him coach of year - at least in NFC.

 

[Direwolf63]

Every team has been in this position only to falter.
You think Dallas is the only team to lose a game that knocks them out of the playoffs or division race?
Dallas eliminated NY and then NY eliminated the Commanders.
That happens in every division at some point.

This is a Cowboys forum and so the focus is on the Cowboys. And past history shows much more disappontment than elation.

Doesn't mean we will fail this time. Not at all. Just trying to explain the angst people are feeling. Some may not understand it the wariness, but I certainly do.

 

[Idgit]

Not sure why the fan base is so brow beaten but the Cowboys have the edge.

Well, we know *why* they're brow-beaten, but, I agree, it sucks. This is the fun part of the post-season race, and both DAL and PHI are playing pretty well. It'd be great if that were exciting and didn't elicit dread. But I remember the same feelings back in 2009 that we're seeing here, now. I also remember how the last two seasons ended, so I'm tempering my own excitement. Still, both teams have similar schedules and one of them has to execute better than the other down the stretch. It's game-on, and no matter what we think we've seen before, nobody knows what's going to happen. That's what makes it awesome.

I think it is most likely we go into the game 1 game down on the Eagles and needing a win to win the division and get in.
But is MORE likely imho that we clinch before the game week 17 than it is for the Eagles to do so.
If the Eagles lose a game to us they are done for the divisional crown.

Wait, wut? I think I know what you're saying, and I agree with the MORE likely part.

 

[Plankton]

What it boils down to is this: the Cowboys control their own destiny.

There's no need to worry about the Eagles. If the Cowboys handle their business, then they will be in the playoffs. If they don't, then they won't.

I still think that Week 17 will matter.

One big difference this time is that the Cowboys have this game at home.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Eagles have this. They are playing better overall and I think they could make noise in playoffs. What Chip Kelly has done will most likely earn him coach of year - at least in NFC.

While I am not going to conceded the division right away, the Iggles look solid in all phases. Dallas needs to get better production from their marquis players, especially on defense, if they are going to make some noise these next four weeks.

 

[mldardy]

it could happen by us winning 1 out of 3 and the eagles winning 3 out of 3.

I doubt this happens.

 

[Verdict]

Its a crap shoot.

Both Dallas and Philly and the NFC North teams are so wildly inconsistent that its impossible to tell. Either team could go 0-4 as easily as 4-0

Dallas has the advantage. I think if Dallas wins one more game and beats Philly that will be enough.

 

[Verdict]

Both teams have games they can lose. Eagles probably have a little more confidence but the Cowboys can be a game behind going into week 17 and still win the division.

Cowboys schedule scares me because winning in Chicago is not easy, If Rodgers plays, that easily could be a loss and the Skins would want to play spoiler. That's dangerous.

I think the Eagles will lose to the lions and we'll lose to the Packers. Both will squeeze out wins against the Bears. Cowboys beat Commanders and Eagles beat vikings... it wouldn't matter if there was an extra loss in there for the Cowboys.. They could still take the division.

The Vikings are playing better football than they were earlier in the year.