The Cowboys don't have anything to play for, other than the aesthetics of what the final record looks like.
The Dallas Cowboys' 2025 season - as it regards the playoff goal - officially ended before the Minnesota Vikings game in Week 16.
After losing that contest on Sunday Night Football, the Cowboys had two games left, both against division opponents.
Dallas managed to escape with a 30-23 win over the Washington Commanders on Christmas Day to "improve" to 7-8-1, with t visit to the New York Giants to come in Week 18.
The back-and-forth of shutting down starters in favor of giving young players snaps has been a hot topic, but it is clear that head coach Brian Schottenheimer wants to win.
The "compete every day" mantra has taken hold, but is there really a difference between finishing 7-9-1 and 8-8-1?
“We want to win," Schottenheimer said. "We play to win. ... 8-8-1 sounds way better than the alternative. But again, the other thing is right now we sit at 4-1 in he division. It's a pretty good division. Historically, it's been one of the best in football, and you can see how physical the games are.”
Yeah, but ...
The NFC East this season, hasn't been a good division.
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are good.
Dallas is 7-8-1, and the Commanders and the Giants are two of the poorest teams in the NFL.
And you can make the case over the past five or so seasons, it has been a two-horse race in the division between the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles (aside from last year, with the Commanders jumping to 12-5 with rookie QB Jayden Daniels). The Commanders and Giants have, for the most part, been irrelevant in recent years.
Yes, the division games are tough, but is there really that much to gain by beating two teams who entered Week 17 with a combined record of 6-25 this season? Not likely.
Aside from aesthetics, the Cowboys, from the outside at least, won't be getting much praise for beating their division rivals and finishing 5-1 in NFC East contests in 2025.
But for Schottenheimer, it's important.
On to Week 18 we go.