With playoff berth secured, Dallas Cowboys now focus on NFC East title and top seed

Clarence E. Hill Jr.
·2 min read
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What was seemingly inevitable is now official.

The Dallas Cowboys are in the playoffs.

Now, they have to wait until Sunday, the day they’ll have their first opportunity to clinch the NFC East title by beating the Washington Football Team (6-8) at AT&T Stadium.

Thanks to the Tennessee Titans beating the San Francisco 49ers, 20-17, Thursday night, the Cowboys punched their ticket to postseason for the first time since 2018.

It is their first playoff berth since Mike McCarthy took over as head coach in 2020, but the third time since Dak Prescott became the starting quarterback in 2016.

The Cowboys (10-4), who went 6-10 in 2020, joined the Green Bay Packers (11-3) as the only teams in the NFC to clinch a playoff berth thus far.

The Cowboys, who are riding a three-game winning streak, can also claim the division before they step on the field for their 7:20 p.m. game if the Philadelphia Eagles (7-7) lose to the New York Giants (4-10) or if one of several other games break the right way and give the Cowboys the advantage under the strength of victory tiebreaker with the Eagles.

As McCarthy told his team after last Sunday’s victory against the Giants, the Cowboys have bigger goals in mind. They are seeking their first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1995 season and they would prefer to launch that journey at home.

“We got the momentum, so let’s keep it going. Let’s stay on point,” McCarthy said in the locker room. “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 three games against one of two 7-7 teams scrapping to make the playoffs (Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings) or the conference’s worst team, the 2-11-1 Detroit Lions.

After Washington, the Cowboys host the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals on Jan. 2 before ending the season at Philadelphia on Jan. 9.