FRISCO - For most Dallas Cowboys fans, playoff football in 2025 is a faded dream, something no longer on the wish list of legitimate things this team can accomplish.

The numbers do not lie.

At 3-5-1, with the Las Vegas Raiders and then a hellish three-game stretch that sees the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, and the Kansas City Chiefs on the schedule, the Cowboys likely need to win at least three of those to even be in with a shot at the postseason.

Would 10 wins get you into the playoffs? Maybe. But 10 wins is looking unlikely.

And ESPN's playoff odds for the Cowboys have been revealed, and as things stand, Brian Schottenheimer's team has a 5.3 percent chance of making the postseason.

So, you're telling Cowboys Nation there's still a chance, ESPN?

You'll take it. ... as outside of dumping your Cowboys fandom and taking up needlepoint or something, you are offered little choice.

Seriously, even the most ardent Cowboys fan can't look at what the team has dished up through the first part of the season and can say with any confidence that this is a playoff team.

The defense has at times been historically bad. And the offense - vaunted as it is led by QB Dak Prescott - has too often sputtered.

And frankly, that offensive bunch has been asked to approach perfection to even allow this team to remain in striking distance in select games.

And the record - along with those odds - represents your sad result.

Will the moves for Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson, coupled with the returns of DeMarvion Overshow and Shavon Revel Jr. help? Sure.

But time will tell, and against the Raiders, Dallas' season is on the line. Losing to the Arizona Cardinals was one thing, but losing to the Raiders and goodness, the blowback will be fierce.

Not to mention - way more important that what "the nationals and the casuals'' have to say from Bristol or on social media - what it would do to Dallas' playoff hopes, which are already on life support.

So, in the end, there exists just a 5.3 percent chance of your Dallas Cowboys making the NFL playoffs. That is essentially the Cowboys' margin for error.

As I've said often, if all your favorite team has to offer in a given season is entertainment via a roller-coaster ride, then, what the heck! Hang on!

Seriously, as long as there is hope, as long as there is a mathetically path towards the NFL postseason, even if it would be a huge surprise to see it happen. ... we all keep watching.

Or we switch over to needlepoint. Y'all's choice.