The Cowboys handled their holiday with excellent results, and now sit back and watch the rest of Week 13 unfold.

The Dallas Cowboys have handled the first stage of “the rest of their season” with exciting fervor. The once-near-dead franchise has risen back to life and placed themselves back in the playoff picture with five games remaining on their schedule. Despite winning three games in a row, the Cowboys still have just a 1-in-5 shot at making the postseason, hovering around 19% as the weekend begins.

Who’d have thought losses to the Cardinals, Panthers and Bears would come back to bite them. Everyone? Oh. Still, it’s a beautiful time to be a Cowboys’ fan, because they’ve won three in a row for the first time since 2023 and of course winning over the two reigning conference champions in a span of four days is incredible. But now they must sit and root for some help, which isn’t easy because with so many teams above them in the standings, it’s tough to decide which Week 13 outcome is best in the long run vs the immediate gains.

Assume the Cowboys win out

Listen, this is so far from a guarantee it’s ridiculous, but to break down the best chances to make the playoffs, the Cowboys more than likely need 11 wins. There are six NFC teams with four or less losses entering Week 13, plus a few others in between Dallas and the seven slots.

The Cowboys can’t afford another loss and realistically have a shot. But if they win out, there’s a reasonable expectation that the other competing teams beat up on each other enough to open a window.

Tiebreaker rules out said window

Thanks to their Week 4 tie versus the Packers, the Cowboys really don’t have to worry about tiebreaker rules with any org other than Green Bay. If Dallas is tied in the win column with someone after 18 weeks, they have the better winning percentage.

Only in the case of them catching the Packers do the procedures take hold.

Head-to-head, if applicable.Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.Strength of victory in all games.Strength of schedule in all games.

The Packers are 6-2-1 against NFC teams while the Cowboys are 3-4-1, which means the Cowboys need the Packers to lose two more times to conference foes. Outside of that, it seems the best guide to rooting is to go against teams with the most difficult remaining schedules.

Contenders Remaining Tough OpponentsPhiladelphia Eagles (8-3): Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo BillsChicago Bears (8-3): Eagles, Packers x2, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit LionsGreen Bay Packers (8-3-1): Bears x2, Denver Broncos, Baltimore RavensSeattle Seahawks (8-3): Indianapolis Colts, LA Rams, Carolina Panthers, 49ersSan Francisco 49ers (8-4): Colts, Bears, SeahawksDetroit Lions (7-5): Cowboys, Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Bears

The Bears have the most tough opponents remaining, with five. The Packers Seahawks and Lions are next with four tough remaining opponents.

Week 13 Rooting InterestsChicago Bears (8-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) (FRIDAY)The Cowboys’ most direct chance at making the playoffs is to win out (11-5-1) and have the Eagles lose their three tough games (Bears, @Chargers, @Bills) or lose two of these and get upset by the Commanders to finish 11-6.However, the more likely scenario is that the Bears go 2-3 in their five tough games, and losing this road game goes a long way towards that.ROOT FOR THE BEARS – because the direct path is the easiest path, but just know if the Eagles win then there’s a huge silver lining to a Chicago loss.Los Angeles Rams (9-2) @ Carolina Panthers (6-6) (Sunday)ROOT FOR THE RAMS – The Cowboys H2H loss to the Panthers is irrelevant unless Carolina gets a tie on their record, but rooting for wild-card teams to have worse records is in Dallas’ best interest.Minnesota VIkings (4-7) @ Seattle Seahawks (8-3) (Sunday)ROOT FOR VIKINGS – A Seattle home loss against an under .500 team would be a godsend for the Cowboys.