Cowboys rooting guide for Week 14: How Dallas can improve NFC East, wild-card outlooks

Story byMike MoraitisSun, December 7, 2025 at 2:43 PM UTC·2 min readCowboys rooting guide for Week 14: How Dallas can improve NFC East, wild-card outlooks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Dallas Cowboys don't play on Sunday after losing on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, but that doesn't mean fans should take the day off. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat's because Cowboys fans should be scoreboard watching to see if the teams in front of Dallas in the NFC East and wild-card standings lose to help the Cowboys' postseason chances. The Cowboys enter Sunday sitting in the No. 10 spot in the NFC and in second place in the NFC East, and it will stay that way through Monday. According to The Athletic's Playoff Simulator, Dallas has a 9% chance to make the playoffs, and a 4% chance to win the division, so the margin for error is extremely thin. Here's a look at who Dallas needs to lose on Sunday and Monday in order to keep pace in the NFC East and wild-card races. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRooting guide for NFC EastDesired result: Eagles lose to Chargers. It's simple here: the Cowboys need the Philadelphia Eagles to lose to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night. The Eagles' magic number to clinch the division is at three currently, but they can knock that down to two with a win over the Chargers. Also, a win would put the Eagles in position to clinch the division next week with a win and Cowboys loss in Week 15. If the Eagles lose to Los Angeles, their magic number will remain at three. Rooting guide for wild cardDesired results: Bears or Packers lose, Rams, Buccaneers, Seahawks all lose. Again, nothing difficult to navigate here. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Carolina Panthers (No.