The Dallas Cowboys need to worry about winning out before even fantasizing about a playoff berth come January. But there’s no denying—even after a painful loss to the Detroit Lions—that the Philadelphia Eagles are failing to slam the door shut on the NFC East.

With three losses in a row, they’re keeping the Cowboys’ hopes alive, even though they’re as slim as it gets at 10%, per NextGen Stats. Here’s what we know: If the Cowboys win out and the Eagles go 2-2, they’d both be matched at 10 wins, but Dallas would hold the advantage because of a tie to the Green Bay Packers. The tie counts as half a win for winning percentage purposes.

Now, the Cowboys winning out is questionable by itself. But at least that’s something they control. What about what they don’t? Can the Eagles realistically lose two of their next four, which would mean ending the season on a 2-5 note after an 8-2 start?

With the way the offense is playing, it can’t be ruled out. Statistically, the Eagles are one of the worst offenses in the playoff picture and we just saw Jalen Hurts throw four interceptions on primetime. The problem for the Cowboys is their division rival has a relatively easy schedule to close out the year.

They get the Las Vegas Raiders at home, then travel to face the Washington Commanders, travel to the Buffalo Bills, and finish with the Commanders at home. Which leads us to this: The Cowboys need a favor from former defensive coordinator and now Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.

They need him to play quarterback Jayden Daniels for Washington to have a chance at upsetting Philly in either of those two matchups. And right now, that doesn’t sound like a guarantee.

Will the Commanders play Jayden Daniels versus the Eagles? It’s a ‘giant mystery’

Right after returning from injury, Daniels was banged up during the Commanders’ Week 14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and held out for the rest of the game. At 3-10, should the Commanders risk Daniels in a meaningless stretch of games? I reached out to A to Z Sports Washington’s Josh Taylor for his insight on Quinn’s handling of the quarterback.

Taylor: “The handling of Jayden Daniels’ injury has been one of the most confusing and inconsistent stories of the team over the last few weeks. Head coach Dan Quinn has said from the jump that Daniels needs to play if he’s healthy and cleared to play, and Daniels agreed. In his first game back, it only took two and a half quarters for him to fall on his arm and not return back to the game. Quinn said after the game that Daniels was cleared to return, but it was his decision to hold him out because the team was ‘off.’

“This goes against what Quinn said about him playing to get in-game reps if he’s healthy and cleared, because he could’ve gone back in to get more experience, but Quinn said no. Quinn added in his Monday press conference that Daniels’ arm is sore, and there’s no update on his game status or what the rest of the season looks like. It’s honestly a giant mystery at this point with the Commanders officially eliminated from the playoff after getting blown out by the Vikings. I don’t see Quinn shutting Daniels down for the last stretch of NFC East games, but it could be a week-to-week situation if Daniels gets banged up one more time.”

Time to hope Quinn bets on Daniels’ development

There you have it, Taylor doesn’t think the Commanders will shut Daniels down, but it’s a big unknown for everyone involved. Time will tell. For now, the Cowboys have to focus about the Vikings defense themselves.

Dallas is a 5.5-point favorite ahead of Week 15 as the Cowboys return to AT&T Stadium ahead of the final stretch of the season.

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