Win and the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) will reap the rewards of beating the Washington Commanders (4-12).
“We’ve got one game to go win this division, have a two seed, and that makes it a playoff game,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott told the media.
The Cowboys have already clinched a playoff berth, but they want more.
If they can beat the Commanders, the Cowboys will claim the NFC East, the number two seed in the NFC playoffs, behind San Francisco, and home-field advantage, unless of course, they meet up with the Niners, the No.1 seed in the NFC.
“We control our own destiny,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said. “You know we can write our own book, we know that, and we got the guys to do it, we just got to go out there and do it.”
That’s easier said than done. Last season the Cowboys were in the same position entering the final week of the regular season and they laid an egg losing 26-6 at the Commanders. Running back Tony Pollard remembers that loss.
“I know it’s going to be a physical game. This is a physical team we are playing,” Pollard said. “We’ve got to come in what that mindset of swinging first, getting the first punch in, and keeping that same mindset throughout the game.”
If the Cowboys lose to the Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) beat the New York Giants (5-11), then the Eagles will win the NFC East and Dallas would drop to the five seed and start the playoffs on the road where they are 3-5 this season.
“We got an opportunity to win the division. Go out there and make a statement win and get ready for the playoffs,” linebacker Mich Parsons said.
The Cowboys would also win the NFC East if they and the Eagles end up with ties.