The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy will be hoping to avoid a disastrous end to their 2023 NFL season when they host the Green Bay Packers on Wild Card Weekend. Against his former team, McCarthy will be hoping for a comprehensive victory so the Cowboys can look forward to hosting a second playoff game next weekend.
The big question right now is who the Cowboys could find themselves facing in the Divisional Round. With the assistance of the free PFN NFL Playoff Predictor, let’s examine which opponents the Cowboys could face depending on how the playoff scenarios in the NFC shape out.
Editor’s Note: The Cowboys have lost 48-32 to the Packers and have been eliminated from the playoffs.
What Are the Dallas Cowboys’ Playoff Scenarios and Potential Opponents Next Weekend?
If the Cowboys emerge victorious against the Packers, they will be guaranteed to host their next game in the NFC in the Divisional Round. However, they could end up having to wait until Monday Night Football to find out their opponent.
Dallas’ fate in terms of opponents will hinge on the outcome of the games between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The only team the Cowboys cannot face is the Rams, as they would be guaranteed to be the lowest remaining seed if Dallas and LA both win on Sunday.
The way the NFL playoff bracket works is that the lowest-remaining seed after Wild Card Weekend faces the No. 1 seed in the Divisional Round. With the No. 1-seeded San Francisco 49ers assured of hosting the lowest-remaining seed next week, Dallas will then get the third-ranked team in the NFC coming into AT&T Stadium.
Therefore, the Cowboys could host either the Lions, Buccaneers, or Eagles next week. If the Lions win on Sunday night, they will be locked in for a rematch from Week 17, and the 49ers will be left waiting for the outcome of the Buccaneers vs. Eagles game for their opponent.
No team is ever likely to publicly declare a preference for opponents, and the Cowboys wouldn’t want to show any sign of weakness. They would feel reasonably confident that they can beat any of their three potential opponents at home. Dallas already has home wins against Philadelphia and Detroit that they can point to from this season.
History would suggest that the Cowboys’ most preferable matchup with be the Buccaneers. Dallas has a 16-6 record against Tampa Bay, including a 3-0 record in playoff games. The Cowboys did lose two of their last three games against the Buccaneers, with both losses coming in the first week of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, respectively.
However, the Cowboys exacted revenge on the Bucs with a 31-14 win in the playoffs last year, taking the honor of being the team to end Tom Brady’s career once and for all. Dating back to 2006, Dallas is 5-1 against Tampa Bay at home, but that one loss being their most recent meeting in 2022 will give the Buccaneers encouragement.
The Cowboys also have winning records historically over both the Lions (19-12) and Eagles (74-56). Dallas has not lost to Detroit since 2013, with six straight wins since then. One of those victories was their playoff meeting on Jan. 4, 2015. The Cowboys came back from a 20-7 deficit to win 24-20 in AT&T Stadium.
Detroit will look to enact revenge after some highly questionable officiating seemingly cost them a Week 17 win that would have seen the Lions finish the season as the No. 2 seed in the NFC. That would have seen the location of this game flipped on its head, which could have been a major factor.
The Cowboys and Eagles’ history dates back to 1960 when Philadelphia won 27-25 in the first meeting between the two. They’ve been reasonably even over the past decade with the Cowboys winning 12 compared to eight wins for the Eagles. In their last four meetings, they’ve gone 2-2 with the home team prevailing each time.
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Dallas won the last playoff meeting between the two, a 34-14 victory back in the 2009 playoffs. Additionally, Dallas has not lost to Philadelphia at home since the 2017 season, winning their six contests in AT&T Stadium.
Of the three potential opponents, the Cowboys will likely fear the Lions the most. That revenge factor will push Detroit, while both the Buccaneers and Eagles have their flaws.
Ultimately, Dallas will believe that they can go toe-to-toe with any of the three and will hope that results can fall their way to allow them to host the NFC Championship Game.
If the Cowboys win and the 49ers lose in the Divisional Round, Dallas will be assured of hosting the NFC Championship Game. That’s a huge potential carrot for the Cowboys who may not have to leave home until the Super Bowl in Las Vegas if things fall their way.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!