The Cowboys' season spiraled out of control in recent weeks, but an upset win over the Commanders on Sunday breathed some life back into a struggling locker room. Are the playoffs still on the table?
Dallas is just days away from a Thanksgiving matchup with the flailing Giants, who fell to 2-9 with a listless loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday. Mike McCarthy's team has a chance to build some momentum, but the question is whether it's too late to mean anything.
The Cowboys have already exceeded their total number of losses from last season, but Jerry Jones has shied away from major changes in hopes the group can coalesce even with QB Dak Prescott out for the season — and it might be starting to pay dividends.
Here's a look at where the Cowboys stand in the NFC playoff picture after their win over the Commanders.
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NFC wild-card standings
Standings through early window of games on Nov. 24.
| Seed | Team | Record |
| WC1 | Vikings | 9-2 |
| WC2 | Packers | 7-3 |
| WC3 | Commanders | 7-5 |
| 8 | Cardinals | 6-5 |
| 9 | Rams | 5-6 |
| 10 | 49ers | 5-5 |
| 11 | Buccaneers | 5-6 |
| 12 | Saints | 4-7 |
| 13 | Bears | 4-7 |
| 14 | Cowboys | 4-7 |
| 15 | Panthers | 3-8 |
| 16 | Giants | 2-9 |
The Cowboys are still alive despite sitting in the NFC's No. 14 seed, as they only trail the Commanders by 2.5 games in the race for the conference's final wild-card spot.
The standings will tell you the path to the playoffs isn't as simple as catching Washington, though. The Cowboys have six more teams between them and the Commanders, and they only play one of them again this season. That means Dallas merely staying in contention is going to require some help.
No team has earned a wild-card spot with a losing record since the format expanded to seven playoff teams in each conference, so the Cowboys are highly unlikely to reach the playoffs if they lose two more games. Even then, they would still have a difficult path if they even lost one game the rest of the way.
MORE COWBOYS-COMMANDERS: Wild ending highlights | Commanders playoff outlook
NFC East standings
Standings through early window of games on Nov. 24.
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Eagles | 9-2 |
| 2 | Commanders | 7-5 |
| 3 | Cowboys | 4-7 |
| 4 | Giants | 2-9 |
The Cowboys aren't eliminated from NFC East contention yet, but their path forward requires a miraculous run and some help.
Even in the case of an Eagles loss on Sunday night, Dallas would still be four games back with six remaining. That doesn't make it impossible to catch up, but it would take quite a collapse from Philadelphia in addition to a win streak of their own with Cooper Rush at quarterback.
Cowboys remaining schedule
| Week | Date | Matchup | Time (ET) |
| 13 | Nov. 28 | vs. Giants | 4:30 p.m. |
| 14 | Dec. 9 | vs. Bengals | 8:15 p.m. |
| 15 | Dec. 15 | at Panthers | 1 p.m. |
| 16 | Dec. 22 | vs. Buccaneers | 8:20 p.m. |
| 17 | Dec. 29 | at Eagles | 4:25 p.m. |
| 18 | Jan. 5 | vs. Commanders | 1 p.m. |
The Cowboys' next four games all come against sub-.500 teams, including three at home, though their offense could be in for a serious test against Joe Burrow in Week 14 and Baker Mayfield in Week 16.
Dallas finishes the season against NFC East rivals Philadelphia and Washington.
