Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys meet at critical juncture
Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys both are in seemingly a must-win situation as the two National Football Conference (NFC) East divisional meet for Week 10 game.
At 3-5 each, both teams can face disastrous consequences on getting defeat.
This is because the current division leaders New York Giants are far ahead of both these teams and a defeat will further push the losing team down in the division.
Eagles, despite being on a four-game losing streak, have somewhat an upper hand in this situation as they have played only one divisional game this season.
In Week 4 game, they defeated Giants and have not won any game since then. However, they have five more divisional games to play.
On the other hand, Cowboys have already played two games against Giants. They have four more games left to play in the second half against NFC East opponents.
Unfortunately, Cowboys have lost one of the two divisional games they have played. They defeated the Giants in the season opener, but were defeated by the defending champions in their second meeting of the season in Week 8.
So it is essential for Cowboys to win against Philadelphia Eagles. If it happens, Cowboys will go 2-1 in the division, while Eagles will come at 1-1 in NFC East.
That being noted, it must also not be ignored that there is no guarantee that the team that wins Week 10 game will have smooth sailing towards the playoffs.
There is a possibility that both these teams finish this regular season without qualifying for the playoffs. By the looks of the things, Washington Redskins, another NFC East team, are not going to make the playoffs, barring any miraculous effort in the
second half of the season.
So it will eventually be the Giants, who will qualify for the playoffs from the division.
If Cowboys and Eagles want to qualify for the postseason, they not only have to beat each other, but also have to ensure consistent winning run that will bring them closer to the Giants.
If any of the teams manage to register a long winning stretch and Giants somehow undergo a slump, just like they did last year, Cowboys or Eagles can then have a chance of gaining lead in the division.
However, at present, Giants are still the leaders of NFC East and might retain that spot.
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