The Dallas Cowboys are once again king of the NFC East. On Sunday, they officially clinched the division crown for the first time since 2018, and before taking a single snap in their Week 16 primetime rematch against the Washington Football Team. Having already clinched a playoff berth Thursday by virtue of the San Francisco 49ers losing to the Tennessee Titans, they needed a bit more assistance from around the league in order to clinch the NFC East, and they got it, but it wasn’t without plenty of NFL drama.
Here’s how it all unfolded Sunday afternoon through the eyes of the Cowboys (buckle up):
They needed either a loss or tie by the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants, or a combined two wins between the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders or Los Angeles Chargers — the odds being largely in favor of the Cowboys’ wishes.
The problem was the Eagles put the Giants to bed, and other outcomes around the league began threatening things, with the Chargers being thumped by the Houston Texans, the Vikings losing to the Los Angeles Rams, and the New England Patriots suffering a loss at home to the Buffalo Bills. And after seeing the New York Jets lead for most of the contest, rookie first-round pick Trevor Lawrence nearly led a game-winning drive to put the Cowboys over the top — only he didn’t.
The Falcons were the only team in the early slate of games that did the Cowboys any favors, taking care of the Detroit Lions by intercepting Tim Boyle on what might’ve been a game-winning drive of his own to secure their third win of the season. That turned all eyes in Dallas toward the Raiders, who could put the Cowboys in the NFC East throne by downing the Denver Broncos, and did.
It’s the third division crown since 2016 and, including the original NFL Capitol Division that eventually became the NFC East, marks the 24th time the Cowboys have planted their flag atop the division hill. But despite having clinched both a playoff berth and the NFC East title, there is still much work to do in Dallas — as they look to win out with the hopes of stealing away the top seed in the NFC.
That means there can be no complacency whatsoever in their final three games, and their offense must finally wake up to match serve with a defense that looks ready to compete through January and all the way to SoFi Stadium in February.
