Way back in July, the Dallas Cowboys had high expectations for the 2016 season. Did they think a rookie quarterback would be their starting quarterback for the entire year? No. Did they have hopes of clinching a playoff spot by Week 13? Probably not.
Assuming good health, the former is practically a guarantee. And the latter is not unlikely.
Heading into Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, the Cowboys have two fairly simple scenarios in which they can already reserve a spot in the postseason.
Week 13 @NFL clinching scenario.@dallascowboys clinch a playoff berth with:
1. DAL win + TB loss/tie
2. DAL win + WAS loss— Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) November 29, 2016
Imagine that?
It’s hard to say enough about what the Cowboys have accomplished this season. With rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott leading the way on offense, Dallas has not lost since Week 1. Jerry Jones’ 10-1 team is by far the best in the NFC and is on pace to go down as the best regular-season team in franchise history.
There’s a reason fans are watching Cowboys games in some of the most unusual of places this season. It’s because the team lost its starting quarterback in the preseason — the same quarterback whose injuries a year ago resulted in a 4-12 record — and could somehow become the first team in the NFL to clinch a playoff berth in 2016. Nothing sums up the current state of America’s Team better than that.
