After their latest disaster against the Cardinals, the Dallas Cowboys feel more like a charity case than a contender. But as fitting as a classic Jim Mora “Playoffs?!” meme feels at this point, Dallas is still mathematically alive in both the NFC East and the Wild Card picture. If they do somehow turn things around this season, what else needs to go right to make a postseason appearance possible?
Our Week 9 rooting guide is for those still hopped up on hopium. Because Dallas probably won’t have its
own first-round pick in 2027, so rooting for draft position just isn’t as fun or interesting. We’ll flip over to that once it’s clearly the only path worth considering.
Current 2026 NFC Playoff Standings
1. San Francisco 49ers 6-1 (4-1 vs NFC)
2. Minnesota Vikings 6-1 (4-1)
3. New York Giants 4-2-1 (2-2-1)
4. Carolina Panthers 3-4 (3-3)
5. Chicago Bears 6-2 (4-2)
6. Detroit Lions 5-2 (4-1)
7. Green Bay Packers 5-3 (4-3)
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8. Seattle Seahawks 4-4 (1-3)
9. Los Angeles Rams 4-4 (2-2)
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-5 (3-2)
11. Atlanta Falcons 3-5 (3-3)
12. Arizona Cardinals 3-5 (2-4)
11. Dallas Cowboys 3-5 (2-4)
Thanks mostly to head-to-head losses, the Cowboys are at the back of the pack of 3-5 teams. That’s quickly rectified if they can start piling up some wins, but it does make the current wild card picture look quite daunting.
Thankfully, the climb in the NFC East isn’t so steep. The Giants’ lead isn’t that great, especially as their schedule is about to stiffen up. It only takes a couple of weeks for division contention to feel very possible, and the mood around here to change.
Much of that hinges on this Sunday, of course. If the Cowboys can’t even put down the Colts, who’ve already started selling off assets in a clear surrender of this season, then it will be time for them to consider a similar course. With the trade deadline on Tuesday, it will be a major decision point for the front office as to how it wants to treat this current season and the future of the franchise.
So, if Dallas can do its part in Indianapolis, what else can we root for from the Week 9 schedule?
NFC East teams
- Eagles d. Giants
- Commanders d. Rams
While we don’t want Philly or Washington suddenly becoming problems for us in the division, New York and Los Angeles are bigger fish to fry. Obviously, we want the G-Men to start taking losses and becoming easier to catch. We also don’t need the Rams suddenly finding themselves and remaining a barrier to a potential wild card spot.
Plus, while Dallas probably won’t be drafting ahead of the Eagles or Commanders in the 2027 first round, we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing as far down the draft order as possible.
NFC vs. NFC
- Cardinals d. Seahawks
- Bears d. Bucs
Both of these matchups feature a team that Dallas has lost to this season, but we’re treating them differently. Arizona doesn’t seem like a threat to contend later this year, while Seattle could easily remain a problem in the wild card race. So the long game favors a Cardinals upset here.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, does have some staying power once Baker Mayfield returns. And with the Bears at 6-2, they’re probably not going to fall into Dallas’ range in the wild card. If anything, they’re still the arguable favorite to win the NFC North.
NFC vs. AFC
- Bengals d. Falcons
- Dolphins d. Lions
- Broncos d. Panthers
- Patriots d. Packers
- Raiders d. 49ers
- Bills d. Vikings
What a week for the AFC to do us some favors. These are all NFC teams currently ahead of Dallas in the standings, so a wave of AFC wins would be most welcome.
Granted, even if Dallas gets its stuff together, we’re probably not touching the Niners, Vikings, or a few other frontrunners come January. But when there are zero pains from the AFC teams’ success, we’ll take any gains we can get.
The Green Bay-New England game is of added interest because of 2027 draft implications. If Dallas ends up using the Packers’ first-round pick next April, which is highly likely, we certainly want it as high in the order as possible. We’ll gladly sacrifice the value of the seventh-round pick that the Patriots owe us, too.
This heavy interconference slate rounds out the week in terms of Dallas’ rooting interests. The Steelers are on their bye, so we’ll check back in with them and the fourth-rounder they owe us next week.
We’ll also see what happens with our own goofy team this Sunday, and how that shapes our rooting guides going forward.
