NFC Playoff Picture: How the Cowboys’ win over the Saints impacts the Eagles

Well, that sucked.

The Dallas Cowboys surprisingly pulled off a major upset by defeating the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football, 13 to 10.

This Cowboys win is obviously bad news for the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff hopes. A Cowboys loss and an Eagles win over Washington would’ve meant both teams entering their Week 14 matchup at 6-6. The winner of that game would’ve been 7-6 with three weeks to go.

Instead, the Cowboys will be entering Week 14 with a 7-5 record. If the Eagles beat Washington on Monday Night Football, which certainly isn’t a lock given the way Philadelphia has previously disappointed this year, they’ll be 6-6. Beating the Cowboys would then actually put the Eagles first in the NFC East standings because both Philadelphia and Dallas would be 7-6 and the Eagles would have the division record tie-breaker (4-1 over 3-2).

But even if the Eagles win their next two games, they’ll need to continue to play well down the stretch. Here’s a look at the remaining schedule for both Philadelphia and Dallas following Week 14:

Dallas Cowboys: at Colts (6-5), versus Buccaneers (4-7), at Giants (3-8)

Philadelphia Eagles: at Rams (10-1), versus Texans (8-3), at Washington (6-5)

The Cowboys’ schedule is clearly easier than the Eagles’ slate. And Philadelphia will need to at least match the Cowboys’ win total in order for the division tie-breaker to matter. So that means the Eagles might need to go at least 4-1 in their final five games (with no division losses). It might even take going 5-0 ... for an Eagles team that hasn’t won back-to-back games all season to this point.

The Eagles’ season isn’t officially over. Crazier things have happened. But make no mistake, the Cowboys are in the driver’s seat for the 2018 NFC East title.

It’s official, I’m never watching sports again.

NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

PLAYOFF TEAMS

1 - Los Angeles Rams: 10-1 overall, 6-1 conference

2 - New Orleans Saints: 10-2 overall, 7-2 conference

3 - Chicago Bears: 8-3 overall, 6-1 conference

4 - Dallas Cowboys: 7-5 overall, 6-3 conference

5 - Minnesota Vikings: 6-4-1 overall, 5-3-1 conference

6- Washington Redskins: 6-5 overall, 6-3 conference

IN THE HUNT

7 - Seattle Seahawks: 6-5 overall, 5-3 conference

8 - Carolina Panthers: 6-5 overall, 4-4 conference

9 - Philadelphia Eagles: 5-6 overall, 3-5 conference

10 - Green Bay Packers: 4-5-1 overall, 2-4-1 conference

DEAD

11 - Atlanta Falcons: 4-7 overall, 4-4 conference

12 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-7 overall, 3-5 conference

13 - Detroit Lions: 4-7 overall, 2-6 conference

13 - New York Giants: 3-7 overall, 2-7 conference

16 - Arizona Cardinals: 2-8 overall, 2-5 conference

15 - San Francisco 49ers: 2-9 overall, 1-7 conference