We’re more than halfway through the Super Wild Card Weekend portion of the NFL playoffs and expect the Dallas Cowboys to be part of the round-robin finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. The hope is for the Cowboys to win that game and advance to the divisional stage, the playoff spot that has served as their kryptonite for the better part of a quarter century. While no one is looking ahead, the facts are that the other NFC playoff games are over, giving us answers as to what fate awaits the Cowboys.
We got a glimpse of what the San Francisco 49ers’ win meant in terms of impact on the Cowboys on Saturday, but it was still a stretch. The loop was officially closed with the New York Giants beating the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Here’s how it all affects the Dallas Cowboys.
Here’s what Sunday’s New York Giants win means for the Dallas Cowboys
Even though the San Francisco 49ers won on Saturday afternoon, that alone didn’t give us a full picture of what will happen beyond Monday night if the Dallas Cowboys are able to win. The Niners are the No. 2 seed in the NFC and will host the rest of the higher-ranked team in the NFC in the divisional round, and we now know they’ll be the one to beat on Monday night.
Thanks to the New York Giants beating the Minnesota Vikings, the G-Men are assured of being the lowest seed left and therefore complete their trip to play the Philadelphia Eagles next week. Interestingly, it was a win against the Giants’ reserves that put the Eagles in this position in the first place. More importantly, we now know what the path forward is for the Cowboys.
If the Dallas Cowboys win on Monday night, they will visit the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Whoever wins Monday night will officially be the higher-seeded team left in the NFC, even if it’s Tampa Bay or Dallas, which means they’re the team the San Francisco 49ers will take on. Of course, it was the Niners who knocked Dallas out of the playoffs a year ago and forced the Cowboys to reassert their collective identity. Obviously, we hope things go differently this time.
For the Cowboys to even earn a trip to San Francisco, they must win on Monday night, and by doing so, they will actually win their first road playoff game since the famous 1992 NFC Championship Game, which actually took place at Candlestick Park against the 49ers. . If Dallas wins on Monday night, 75% of the NFC divisional round will go to teams in the NFC East.
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