NFL playoff picture: where the Dallas Cowboys rank in the NFC after bye week

The Dallas Cowboys are technically still in the playoff race right now with a 3-3 record. But after their bye week this week, they have quite a challenging schedule, starting with their Week 8 matchup against the NFC West‘s San Francisco 49ers. Here’s where the Cowboys stand in the postseason race...

Cowboys still have a slim shot at playoffs

The Cowboys end the bye week just one game out from the Wild Card spot, but have a long way to go, ranking 10th in the NFC standings. Head coach Mike McCarthy has a positive history after the bye week, having come back from a 4-2 record with the Cowboys to win six of their next seven games last season. His overall record after bye weeks is 12-5 with a 7-4 record at home.

In their own division, the Cowboys rank third in the NFC East after the 5-2 Washington Commanders beat the Carolina Panthers and the 4-2 Philadelphia Eagles beat the 2-5 New York Giants in Week 7.

The Commanders have gotten off to a brilliant start to the season, but may see a dip in that production after quarterback Jayden Daniels left last week‘s game with an injury. It‘s currently not known how much time he’ll have to miss or if Washington will be able to keep up this dominance without him. The Eagles also had a dominant win, a lopsided 28-3 victory over the Giants with running back Saquon Barkley on their side now.

NFC Standings after Week 7

The NFC North has been a powerhouse through the first seven weeks. On Sunday, the Detroit Lions knocked off the Minnesota Vikings to take the first-place throne in the north and hand the Vikings their first loss of the season. The Green Bay Packers are at 5-2 after their narrow win over the Houston Texans in which a last-second field goal gave them the victory.

The Cowboys fell behind all NFC North teams after Week 7 with the 4-2 Chicago Bears also on a bye last week. After three consecutive wins, they are just one game behind the 5-2 Green Bay Packers.

The NFC South, on the other hand, isn’t faring so well, with the Atlanta Falcons (5-1) at ninth, the 2-5 New Orleans Saints at 14th, and the 1-6 Carolina Panthers in last place in the NFC standings. The 4-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (currently third in the NFC) still have to play the Baltimore Ravens tonight to see if they can keep their spot atop the division or if the Falcons will snatch it away.

The NFC West changed things up a bit this week as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Falcons to end their three-game losing streak and took over first place in the division with a 4-3 record. After their Super Bowl rematch, the 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 to take 11th place in the conference with a 2-4 record, just below Dallas in the standings. The Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams are both at 2-4 and just behind the Niners in the NFC standings and the Cardinals take on the Chargers tonight as well.

The Cowboys will face the 49ers this Sunday to see who could sink further in the NFC standings. This game is not technically a decider for who will clinch a postseason berth or not, but it feels important in that the loser is likely going to have to win their division in order to have a real shot at playoffs.

The Cowboys still have six more games to play against NFC teams who are currently ahead of them in the standings. They have four games left to play against their NFC East rivals. They will need to win almost all of those games if they don’t want to miss out on the postseason this year, and save themselves from another embarrassment.