NFL Playoff Scenarios: How Can Dallas Cowboys Recapture NFC East?

The Dallas Cowboys seem intent on destroying their playoff chances. If so, they've done a bang-up job in the last two weeks, spectacularly blowing games against the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants.

Sunday night's loss to the Giants was a killer, as it allowed the Giants to retake control of the NFC East. Simultaneously, the Cowboys got knocked down the totem pole a bit in the wild card chase.

But the Cowboys shouldn't worry themselves with the wild card chase. They and the Giants have the same record and they still have one head-to-head meeting left, so Dallas' easiest route to the playoffs is winning the NFC East.

As for how the Cowboys can do that, well, it's actually pretty simple.

The easiest thing to consider is how things shake out if the Cowboys and Giants both win in Week 15 and Week 16. The Cowboys will have to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles and the Giants will have to beat the Washington Redskins and New York Jets. Not exactly Herculean tasks.

If the Cowboys and Giants both win in Weeks 15 and 16, they will head into their Week 17 showdown at MetLife Stadium with the same record at 9-6.

Whoever wins the game wins the NFC East. Simple as that.

Does it get more complicated than this? A little bit, but not much. The key for both teams is winning the final head-to-head matchup. Either that or hope that the other team stumbles in Weeks 15 and 16, thus opening up an opportunity for one team to finish with a better record regardless of what happens in Week 17.

If the Cowboys do miss out on the division, things are going to be dicey. They'll need both the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears to stumble, thus opening up a path to the NFC's second wild card spot.

That's not something the Cowboys should want to risk. If they want to get to the playoffs, their best bet is to do so via the NFC East crown.