Cowboys' Rooting Guide for NFL Playoff Bracket Implications of Week 13

Don't turn out the light on the Dallas Cowboys playoff hopes just yet. It's been a trying season, but the Cowboys Thanksgiving win over the New York Giants kept the Cowboys slim playoff odds alive.

According to NFL.com, the 5-7 Cowboys have a four percent chance to get into the postseason.

A 3-7 start to the season had the Cowboys looking ahead to the 2025 offseason, but back-to-back wins over the Washington Commanders and New York Giants have the Cooper Rush-led Cowboys with a faint hope of making the field.

Pulling it off will require a hot streak to end the year. The Cowboys have the Bengals next Monday night so they get plenty of rest before getting the Bengals. Then they go to Carolina who will be in competition for the No. 1 overall pick.

Continuing to win will boost that four percent, but they also need some help along the way to have a prayer. Here are the results that would help them make up even more ground this weekend.

Titans over Commanders

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Calvin Ridley

Kicking off Sunday's action with a Titans win over the Commanders would be a nice pickup for the Cowboys playoff odds. According to NFL.com, the Commanders, who currently have the No. 7 seed, have a 60 percent chance of making the playoffs.

A loss would shrink that down to 42 percent and bring the NFC wildcard chase one game closer to pandemonium.

Right now, the Commanders have done enough to mostly separate themselves from the pack. At 7-5, they are half a game better than the Cardinals and a few games ahead of a four-team group with five wins apiece.

The Cowboys are last in that group right now, but continuing to win would sort that out quickly. A Commanders loss to the Titans would bring them one game closer to that grouping and break the wildcard race wide open.

The Titans beat the Texans last week while the Commanders are on a three-game losing streak so don't rule out this upset. If Will Levis played like he did last week while the Titans defense slows down Jayden Daniels, then this game could go well for Dallas.

Saints over Rams

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Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi

This one's a little bitter sweet for the Cowboys. A Saints win would give them five on the year and tie them with Dallas at 5-7, but allowing New Orleans to hang in the race is a small price to pay for the Cowboys to stay in it as well.

A win for the Rams would put them at 6-6 on the year and a full game ahead of the Cowboys. The Rams started the season 1-4, but have improved throughout the year, going 4-2 over their last six contests.

A Sean McVay-coached team figuring things out at the end of the season is not really a team that the Cowboys want to contend with. If they can get back on track after a 37-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles they would be showing the kind of resolve that will make them hard to eliminate as the season goes.

On the other hand, the Saints are generating some momentum of their own. They had a seven-game losing streak after opening the year with two wins. That prompted the Saints to get rid of Dennis Allen as head coach and promote Darren Rizzi to head coach.

Since then, the Saints have won their last two games and are proving to be just dangerous enough to stick around in the periphery of the playoff race. They still aren't as scary as the Rams, though.

Bills over 49ers

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Josh Allen

Finally, a result you really don't have to talk yourself into. The Bills have been one of the best teams in the league all season and they'll be able to help the Bears make up some ground against a 49ers team who is 5-6 on Sunday Night Football.

The Bills are 9-2 and have been nearly unstoppable in the friendly confines of Orchard Park. Josh Allen has led the offense to at least 30 points in every home game.

Really, they've scored at least 30 points in each of the last five games regardless of where they were playing. By contrast, the Niners have scored 30 or more points just four times the entire season.

A lot of this game may depend on Brock Purdy's availability. He was out of the lineup in their last game with a shoulder injury and the Niners went on to lose 38-10. This time, Purdy is questionable.

However, he did reportedly get a full practice in on Friday so that's a good sign he'll be ready to play on Sunday.

Even with Purdy, the 49ers face an uphill battle trying to best the Bills who are just playing at a really high level now.