The Dallas Cowboys need a miracle to make the playoffs.
After their defeat to the Minnesota Vikings last weekend, Dallas’ odds of making the postseason are less than 1 percent.
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The Cowboys’ defeat to the Vikings wrecked their hopes of making the postseasonCredit: Getty
Should they beat the Los Angeles Chargers, it will rise to 2 percent, meaning it is almost a certainty that we won’t be seeing the Cowboys in the playoffs once the regular season ends.
When teams find themselves in situation like this, they often shut down key players and bench them to avoid losing them in meaningless games.
For the Cowboys, one of those players would be their $240 million quarterback, Dak Prescott.
However, Prescott plans to see out the remainder of the season in the starting unit, even if the Cowboys are ruled out of postseason contention.
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Dak recently spoke to reporters about his mindset when coming to this decision ahead of games against the Chargers, Commanders, and Giants.
“Being a professional, this is my job,” Prescott said via Jon Machota of The Athletic.
“This is what I love to do. Sitting out last year and the times before, you don’t take this game for granted. You play every game to win.
“You play every game with a chance to go to the playoffs and play in the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. If that’s not the case when we take the field or whatever it may be.
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If Prescott was benched, it would likely be QB2 Joe Milton III who would take his placeCredit: Getty
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Dak Prescott wants to play even if the chances of making the playoffs are next to zeroCredit: Getty
How the Dallas Cowboys can make the playoffs
This is the miracle the Cowboys need.
The Cowboys “Win Out” by winning their remaining three games to finish 9-7-1
Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Dec 21)Week 17: @ Washington Commanders (Dec 25)Week 18: @ New York Giants (TBD)
The Philadelphia Eagles “Lose Out” by losing their remaining three games
Week 16 @ Washington Commanders Week 17 @ Buffalo BillsWeek 18 vs Washington Commanders
Essentially, the Cowboys need the Eagles to lose every game, and they need to win every game.
If Dallas loses a single game or the Eagles win a single game, the Cowboys are out of playoff contention.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to play this game and I’m not going to ever pass it up.”
Prescott has enjoyed a fine individual season so far.
Through 15 games, he has 3,931 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, and his chemistry with wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens has been one of the few positives this season.
While the 32-year-old’s desire to play the rest of the season is admirable, alarm bells might be ringing for the Cowboys coaching staff given his struggles with injuries in the past.
Prescott has had two major injuries in the past, the first being in 2020 when he broke and dislocated his right ankle in Week 5 against the New York Giants, which ended his season.
And it was just last year when his hamstring injury in Week 9 ended his 2024 campaign.
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The Cowboys’ back-to-back defeats were a huge blow to their postseason hopesCredit: Getty
The last thing the Cowboys need is Prescott putting his 2026 campaign in jeopardy by injuring himself in an empty game.
Last week, we saw Patrick Mahomes suffer an ACL injury against Prescott’s next opponents, the Chargers, which the Chiefs’ season on the line.
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Ultimately, the writing is on the wall for the Cowboys in 2025, perhaps the smart decisive would be giving backup QB Joe Milton III a run out in these next three games.
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