Despite the odds being stacked against them, the Dallas Cowboys are still in the hunt for the playoffs.

With virtually no chance of reaching the NFL playoffs after a five-game losing streak, America’s Team has since rattled off two straight wins, first upsetting the Washington Commanders and then completing the season’s win over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving Day, bringing her back into the game.

While the Cowboys can actually still win the NFC East even at 5-7, the probability of this team catching the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles is about as high as the probability of Troy Aikman stepping out of the locker room and getting one helmet and his old No. 8 jersey when Dallas hosts the Cincinnati Bengals this Monday night.

Still, the Cowboys will undoubtedly be rooting for the Carolina Panthers this Sunday when Bryce Young & Co. travel to the City of Brotherly Love.

Of course, the best chance Dallas has in the postseason is a wild card spot. And it has to be the No. 7 spot, as the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, who hold the fifth and sixth spots, respectively, will be difficult to get into.

As for Sunday’s games, that No. 7 spot is occupied by the Commanders, who are 8-5 but don’t control anything in Week 14 as they have a bye.

But before the Cowboys can worry about Washington, who they’ll see for the second time in Week 18, they’ll first have to get past the other four teams currently ahead of them in the NFC standings, which currently looks like this:

Now let’s take a look at who the Cowboys will root for on Sunday before they try to do what they need to do on Monday.

It goes without saying that the Cowboys need to win their game against the Bengals on Monday. And if they get some help on Sunday from the four teams playing the ones they need to get past before they have to worry about Washington, their postseason chances will increase significantly.

Robbers at Buccaneers

Of the four, the Bucs have by far the easiest game as they face off against the two-win Las Vegas Raiders, who haven’t won a game since September 29th. So Dallas fans shouldn’t expect much here.

However, if the Cowboys can continue to hold out, they can help themselves when they visit Tampa Bay in Week 16.

Seahawks at Cardinals

America’s Team fans should feel a lot better about this game as the Cardinals played the Seattle Seahawks just two weeks ago and played their worst game of the season when they suffered an ugly 16-6 loss.

The bad news here is that the loss was on the road, where the cards are only 2-4. This matchup, of course, takes place in Glendale, where they are 4-2 and have not lost since suffering a 42-14 loss to the Commanders in Week 4.

Bills at Rams

The Rams face by far their toughest test of the week as they welcome the red-hot Buffalo Bills to SoFi Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Bills come into Inglewood on a seven-game winning streak, while the Rams have had an up-and-down streak in recent weeks, splitting their last four games. Buffalo seems unstoppable at the moment, so this attempt should work in the Cowboys’ favor.

Bears at 49ers

While the 49ers have the same 5-7 record as Dallas, they obviously win the tiebreaker based on their 30-24 win over the Cowboys in Week 8.

But this is a struggling San Francisco team that has lost three straight and enters a Week 14 matchup with the Chicago Bears without Christian McCaffrey, backup running back Jordan Mason and All-Pro tackle Trent Williams. It also looks like they will once again be without Nick Bosa, who is listed as questionable.

Yes, the Bears have lost six straight, but in most of those games they have been at the bottom and lost in spectacular fashion several times. And since this game is the first without Matt Eberflus, Chicago will probably be eager to put together a great performance, which would obviously help the Cowboys.

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