Dallas Cowboys clinch NFC East title on strength-of-victory tiebreaker
The Dallas Cowboys officially clinched the NFC East title while warming up for Sunday night’s game against the Washington Football Team at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys (10-4) won their first division title since 2018 thanks to wins by the Atlanta Falcons and the Las Vegas Raiders earlier in the day, giving them the strength-of-victory tiebreaker against the Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) in case both teams end up in a 10-7 tie at the end of the regular season.
This is the Cowboys’ 21st division title in franchise history, their third NFC East title since Dak Prescott became quarterback in 2016 and the first under Mike McCarthy, who became head coach last season.
It extends a streak of 17 consecutive seasons in which the defending NFC East champion did not repeat the following year. Washington won the division last season, and the last franchise to repeat was Philadelphia in 2004.
The Cowboys are happy with the division title, but they have bigger goals in mind. They are seeking their first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1995 season and they would prefer to stay at home for that journey.
“We got the momentum, so let’s keep it going. Let’s stay on point,” McCarthy told his team following last Sunday’s win against the New York Giants. “From here on in, we’re just gonna be climbing that ladder to that No. 1 seed. That’s the way you gotta look at it.”
To get the No. 1 seed, the Cowboys must win their final three games and hope the Packers lose at least one of their final two games against the 7-8 Minnesota Vikings or the conference’s worst team, the 2-12-1 Detroit Lions.
After Washington, the Cowboys host the reeling Arizona Cardinals (10-5), who are riding a three-game losing streak, on Jan. 2 before ending the season at Philadelphia on Jan. 9. The Eagles have won three straight games and five of their last six.
The Dallas Cowboys clinched a playoff berth on Thursday night from the comfort of their own homes when the San Francisco 49ers lost.
Entering Sunday, the Cowboys were the second seed in the NFC, and they would retain that position with an 11-4 record by defeating Washington. A loss would drop them to 10-5, one game behind the Super Bowl defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-4) who clinched the NFC South Sunday, and the 11-4 Los Angeles Rams, who are leading the Cardinals in the NFC West by a game. (The Cowboys hold the conference tiebreaker over the Bucs and the Rams.)
The Green Bay Packers (12-3) currently hold the NFC’s top spot with two games left to play. The top seed will receive the conference’s lone first-round bye and will have home-field advantage on their path to Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles on Feb. 13.
As a division champion, the Cowboys are now guaranteed to host at least one playoff game, and they would do so over the NFL’s expanded six-game, three-day wild-card weekend Jan. 15-17.
Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach feels good about the team’s chances of going far in the playoffs.
“I get kinda scared of trying to predict anything, but I think this is a really good football team,” Staubach said on 105.3 The Fan Sunday night. “It’s just fun watching this team. [Dak] is one heck of a football player. He’s going to take them into playoffs and good things are going to happen.”
Former New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, a two-time Super Bowl champion and former Pro Bowler, echoed Staubach on the NBC pregame show.
“I think this [Cowboys] team is deep at every single position,” Harrison said. “I believe they can go to Tampa, they can go to Green Bay, they can go anywhere in the NFL and win and go to the Super Bowl.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 6:04 PM.
