The same Dallas Cowboys team that, five weeks ago, sat at 3-5 with a head coach on the proverbial hot seat, is atop the division and knocking on the door of the playoffs after 13 games.
That’s what a five-game winning streak (and some lackluster play from division foes) will do for ya.
Dallas could very well return home from Indianapolis Sunday night as the definitive NFC East champs. One way to ensure that is quite simple:
Win.
That’s right, a win and a 9-5 record would put the Cowboys out of the reach of their NFC East counterparts. Even though both the Eagles and Redskins, both 6-7 after Week 14, could theoretically get to nine wins, the Cowboys would have the tie-breaker over both.
A win would put the New York Giants (5-8) mathematically out of the NFC East title hunt. The Giants would need to win out and get a boatload of help to sneak into a Wild Card spot.
Even without a win Sunday in Indy, the Cowboys could lock up the division championship. They could clinch the NFC East in either of these scenarios that would put their division rivals in too big a hole in the loss column to catch up:
• Cowboys tie + Eagles loss or tie + Washington loss or tie
• Eagles loss + Washington loss
On a macro level, Cowboys fans should hope that, if their team is going to lose one of its final three games, it would be Sunday against the Colts. If Dallas wants to catch the Chicago Bears for the No. 3 seed in the postseason, it would likely need the conference record tiebreaker. The Cowboys, who have a 7-3 record in the NFC, play their final two games against conference foes.
Wins in those games might not be enough, though. The Bears (7-2 in conference) have three winnable games against NFC opponents (vs. Green Bay, at San Francisco, at Minnesota) to close out the season.
The Los Angeles Rams have clinched the NFC West and the New Orleans Saints have clinched the NFC South. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, though, are up for grabs with both teams sitting at 11-2.
The Seattle Seahawks can clinch the NFC’s first Wild Card spot with a win, or a tie and a bunch of help from teams beneath them in the standings.
