The Cowboys face a tough task on Sunday night in Green Bay. If they can pull it off, they’ll be 3-3 and right in the thick of both division and conference contention. But in addition to Dallas’ efforts, what else from the Week 6 schedule could improve our standing in the NFC East and the NFC as a whole?
Things are still fairly jumbled this early in the season. The 49ers and Vikings are pulling away from the pack with their 5-0 records, but no other NFC team has even four wins. The NFC East and South
divisions are completely up for grabs, and the wild card race is anyone’s guess at this point.
Things are starting to take shape as we get close to the midpoint of the 2026 season. Along with beating the Packers, here’s what the Cowboys need from Week 6 to help shape things in their favor.
NFC East teams
- Saints d. Giants
- Panthers d. Eagles
- Commanders d. 49ers
Winning the division is always the preferable path to the playoffs, so we’d love assistance from Carolina and New Orleans. The Giants have done well against weak competition so far this year, so the Saints may not be much help. But the Panthers have been solid on their way to 2-2, showing more than enough to threaten the Eagles. Philly still feels like more of the key rival in this year’s NFC East, so if we can only get one of these games to go our way, let it be that one.
With Washington at 1-3-1 and a midseason coaching change possibly coming, it’s getting safer to dismiss them. If anything, more wins for them means a worse draft pick for our longtime rival. And this week, it would also mean putting a loss on the undefeated Niners.
No, we don’t realistically expect Dallas to go on some 12-win run to finish the year. They probably won’t be breathing the same air with the 49ers or Vikings by January. But in a sport where one QB injury can change everything, it’s still early enough that we can’t ignore any scenario.
NFC vs. NFC
- Falcons d. Bears
- Cardinals d. Rams
If the Cowboys can get to 3-3 this week, we’d love to see as many other NFC teams at or below that record. Chicago is 3-2 and Atlanta’s 2-3, so that’s an easy call there. The Bears could easily go on a run with Caleb Williams returning, and are one of the key threats to Dallas if we end up in the wild card race.
The Rams are even more shocked and disappointed to be 2-3 right now than the Cowboys. Like Chicago, they’re a team that could figure things out and get hot at any point. It’s an easy pick to root for Arizona to drag them further into the hole.
NFC vs. AFC
- Broncos d. Seahawks
- Bucs d. Steelers
Generally, we’ll root for AFC teams to hang losses on our NFC competition. That’s the case tonight with Denver hosting Seattle. The Seahawks are 3-2 and one of the top threats in an eventual wild-card scenario.
Despite being in the AFC, Pittsburgh owes Dallas their 2027 fourth-round pick, so we look at their games a bit differently. Tampa Bay may have embarrassed us last week, but it was embarrassing because they were 0-4 and not a threat. The Bucs don’t get to face the Cowboys’ disastrous defense every week, so they still feel like a non-factor in the grand scheme.
AFC vs. AFC
- Jets d. Patriots
- Texans d. Jaguars
We have a couple of all-AFC games worth paying attention to. Dallas owns the Patriots’ 2027 seventh-round pick by means of the Nate Thomas trade with Houston. The pick that the Texans sent us originally belonged to New England, so it’s where the Pats finish this year that dictates the pick’s value.
Speaking of Houston, we can root for them this week for a different reason. Next week, they’re hosting the Giants. They’ll be coming off this Sunday morning’s London game against Jacksonville, so they may be at a slight disadvantage with rest and preparation. At the very least, good vibes and added confidence from a win could help them against New York.
