Sunday afternoon the Cowboys take on the Eagles in Arlington for the division championship. The Eagles control their own destiny with respect to the NFC's #2 seed and a 1st-round bye, so the game has a 3 or 4-seed swing on the line for Philadelphia (Dallas is technically still in the running for the #2 seed, but they'd need some help from other teams losing).
If Dallas wins, it's also possible that the Eagles would be their wild-card round opponent in the playoffs, so they could face Philly two weeks in a row at Cowboys stadium... which would be weird.
I'll say this, though. Over the last few weeks, both New Orleans and Minnesota have shown serious flaws in their respective games, and seem to have peaked too early this year. It seems that the Eagles, Packers, and dare I say Cowboys are the teams to be most wary of in the NFC playoffs. I honestly believe that Dallas has a solid chance to get the playoff winless streak monkey off its back in a couple of weeks. As I mentioned, the defense is playing just spectacularly. After a slow start to the season from its pass-rush, Anthony Spencer, DeMarcus Ware, and Jay Ratliff are playing some of the best football of their careers. Linebackers Bradie James and Keith Brooking look great, and cornerback Mike Jenkins has a legitimate shot to be announced for his first Pro Bowl tomorrow night. On the other side of the ball, Miles Austin continues to give the kinds of performances no one expects from undrafted receivers from Monmouth, New Jersey. Jason Witten is taking advantage of defenses that are being more and more geared toward stopping Austin. And in case no one's noticed, Tony Romo has been one of the league's best quarterbacks since Thanksgiving. The whole team looks immensely more mature and focused than December-and-beyond fade-outs of the last decade (and beyond).
The running game also looks very good, though in the past couple of games Marion Barber has been frighteningly bad on 3rd- or 4th-and short runs. His whole career he's been nothing but a battering ram, but he can't seem to get first downs or touchdowns from about 1-2 yards away. I don't know why.
Again, I'm a rose-colored glasses kind of fan, and I'll continue to be.
I'd LOVE to see the kind of whooping of the Eagles this week that we saw the Eagles give the Cowboys in last season's finale. If Dallas turns in a 44-6 loss like they did a year ago, I might cry. It'd be terribly disappointing.
On another note, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Washington, to me, has looked like by FAR the worst team in the NFL all year long. I don't know how they have the wins they do. I've watched them play three or four times this season, and each time I swore I was watching a decent division III college team.
So here are the scenarios for the Cowboys regarding the playoffs:
They've clinched a birth. If they lose on Sunday, they'll be a wildcard team. If they beat the Eagles, they win the division and will most likely be the 3rd or 4th seed (which comes with a home playoff game). If they beat the Eagles, and the Vikings lose, and the Cardinals lose, they can get the 2 seed and a first-round bye.
Honestly, I'm not sure any of that matters, though. Even a loss on Sunday isn't devastating. It'll depend on how they look. If they lose by 20 or 30 points in a gutless performance, I'll be worried. I really don't think Philadelphia's the superior team.
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