Cowboys Week 16 rooting guide: Many games now relevant to Dallas’ NFC East hopes
There are A LOT of things that Cowboys fans need to root for thanks to potential the strength of victory tiebreaker… here is our official Week 16 rooting guide.
The Cowboys lost horribly in last Sunday’s trip to Buffalo, but their shot at winning the NFC East may have actually improved. Thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss in Seattle, Dallas maintained its division lead and watched their rival take a critical loss within the conference.
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Even before kickoff against the Bills, Dallas clinched a playoff spot thanks to earlier action that day. They’re at least guaranteed to be a wild card now and, with certain outcomes this week, can lock up being no lower than the fifth seed. That’s especially important this year with the fourth vs. fifth matchup looking like a relatively easy game against the NFC South winner.
But winning the NFC East and getting into one of those higher seeds, with at least a first-round home game, is still the goal. As we’ve broken down throughout the week, the Eagles’ NFC loss to the Seahawks cost them the advantage in conference play. Now, if both Dallas and Philly win out, the division tiebreaker would be strength of victory (SOV).
Long story short; SOV is determined by adding up the win-loss records of every team you’ve beaten. Whichever batch of opponents has the better composite record gives either Dallas or Philadelphia the win.
Right now, the Eagles would have the advantage if both teams win out. But if teams Dallas has beaten like the Chargers, Jets, and Seahawks can win some more games the rest of the way, while some of Philly’s unique opponents like the Bills, Chiefs, and Vikings lose, the Cowboys could still catch up and get the tiebreaker. It’s not a likely scenario but at least not impossible.
Here are the NFC playoff standings ahead of Week 16:
- San Francisco 49ers (11-3 overall, 9-1 vs NFC)
- Dallas Cowboys (10-4 overall, 7-3 vs NFC)
- Detroit Lions (10-4 overall, 6-3 vs NFC
Dallas is currently the second seed thanks to one extra NFC win over Detroit. Their Week 17 matchup should settle matters more than anything else. Tampa Bay is the current frontrunner in the NFC South thanks to a head-to-head win over New Orleans, but they’ll meet again next Sunday.
