NFL Playoff Scenarios: Why Cowboys Will Still Win NFC East

As fun as it is for those of us who aren't Dallas Cowboys fans to watch them lose games, it's time to bear down and face reality. They are going to win the NFC East. 

It's all going to come down to the final game of the season when the Giants and Cowboys play each other in East Rutherford. 

The next two games set up marginally better for the Cowboys. 

A trip to the struggling Buccaneers and a home game against the erratic Eagles is a little better than hosting the Redskins and then playing an official road game vs. the Jets.

Remember that while the Giants hold the tiebreaker at the moment, the two teams are only tied at this point. Both sit at 7-6, and play one more time.

And really, it will come down to the last game of the season.

Now, on paper, that would seem to favor the Giants. After all, they did just win in Dallas. Certainly a win at home would come easily, right?

No, not at all. See, I didn't see Sunday's game as the Giants going into Dallas and beating the Cowboys. Technically, that's what they did, but there's more to it. I saw a game where the Cowboys did just about everything wrong, and it still took a 12-point fourth-quarter comeback to lose.

The fact is that the Giants have no secondary. They are a depleted unit and have been since the beginning of the year. If Tony Romo didn't slightly overthrow his receiver at the end of the game, the Cowboys are now up two games.

While the Cowboys have a strong group of receivers, I like Rob Ryan's chances of devising a plan to contain the receivers that the Giants have to offer. 

Also, keep in mind that the Cowboys are in a far more desperate situation. If they miss the playoffs again, that team is going to get blown up. Given the injuries to the Giants, they have done enough to earn another season, even if this one is ultimately unsuccessful.

The urgency will be there for the Cowboys. The next two games are at worst a push for them, and they get their chance at revenge in the season's final game. 

Look for them to take it and make the playoffs. The Giants are a team best equipped to come back next season with a healthy defense and star-studded offense. They will fall just short of a division crown in 2011.

The Cowboys will do just enough to get in. Their season will not end in a good way, but it will end in a playoff defeat.

Follow @mdixon1985