December, 18, 2012
By Todd Archer
IRVING, Texas -- The scenarios seem endless with two games to play.
No doubt you have sat at your desk and said, "OK, how can the Cowboys make the playoffs?"
The easiest answer is to win the final two games against the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins to claim the NFC East title and bring the second playoff game to Cowboys Stadium since its opening.
A 9-7 record could still qualify for the Cowboys for the playoffs for the first time since 2009, but there are so many different machinations that not even a Princeton grad would want to take the time to examine all of them.
Just know that the Cowboys would need help (i.e., losses) from the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and perhaps New York Giants to make it as a wild-card team. And it would mean only a No. 6 seed because of their September loss at Seattle.
It is possible the tiebreakers could come down to common foes, strength of victory and/or strength of schedule based on beating the Saints or Redskins.
And that's before the ridiculousness of adding up points scored and allowed, net touchdowns or even a coin flip.
There is not enough time in the day to figure out all of the machinations -- the last tiebreaker among playoff scenarios is a coin flip -- which is why it is best to go with Al Davis' credo: Just win, baby.
By Todd Archer
IRVING, Texas -- The scenarios seem endless with two games to play.
No doubt you have sat at your desk and said, "OK, how can the Cowboys make the playoffs?"
The easiest answer is to win the final two games against the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins to claim the NFC East title and bring the second playoff game to Cowboys Stadium since its opening.
A 9-7 record could still qualify for the Cowboys for the playoffs for the first time since 2009, but there are so many different machinations that not even a Princeton grad would want to take the time to examine all of them.
Just know that the Cowboys would need help (i.e., losses) from the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and perhaps New York Giants to make it as a wild-card team. And it would mean only a No. 6 seed because of their September loss at Seattle.
It is possible the tiebreakers could come down to common foes, strength of victory and/or strength of schedule based on beating the Saints or Redskins.
And that's before the ridiculousness of adding up points scored and allowed, net touchdowns or even a coin flip.
There is not enough time in the day to figure out all of the machinations -- the last tiebreaker among playoff scenarios is a coin flip -- which is why it is best to go with Al Davis' credo: Just win, baby.
