Ongoing Playoff Watch: Dallas Clinches
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Dallas Cowboys News in Brief |
UPDATE: See below for my earlier comments. The Saints lost to the Redskins, 16-10. The Panthers lost to the Steelers, 37-3. And the Vikings lost to the Jets, 26-13.
That means that the Cowboys have clinched a playoff berth and are again tied with the second-best record in the NFC (but, of course, lose the tiebreaker with the Saints).
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Earlier:
Here’s the official summary of what needs to happen for Dallas to secure a playoff spot:
Dallas can clinch playoff berth with:
1) MIN loss or tie + NO win or tie, OR
2) MIN loss or tie + CAR loss or tie.
That said, a Washington win over New Orleans means that the Cowboys and Saints will have identical records once again, giving the Cowboys a chance at a second seed in the playoffs. So as much as I would love for the Cowboys to clinch a spot right now in any manner, it would be even better for Dallas to do so with the Saints, Vikings, and Panthers losing. Here is what is happening:
Washington 13, New Orleans 7 (3rd Quarter): Washington jumped out to a 10-0 first quarter lead, but the Redskins have had trouble holding on to leads all year.
Pittsburgh 17, Carolina 3 (3rd Quarter): Chris Weinke has some pretty good stats (16/20 for 155 yards in just over a half of play), but only three points.
N.Y. Jets 23, Minnesota 7 (3rd Quarter): The Vikings led early after the Jets fumbled on their opening drive, leading to a Minnesota touchdown. But the Jets have scored 23 unanswered points. Chad Pennington has 247 yards and has completed almost 79 percent of his passes.
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The Giants-Eagles game later today is a tough call. Dallas needs to beat Philadelphia next week no matter who wins, but a loss by either team could push them closer to the brink of playoff elimination. My gut says I’d rather see the Giants out of it, but the Eagles could be more dangerous than we thought a couple of weeks ago.
