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Cowboys must set sights on Eagles, NFC East for legitimate shot to see postseason play

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Cowboys must set sights on Eagles, NFC East for legitimate shot to see postseason play


On Thanksgiving Day, the Dallas Cowboys underscored their seriousness about the 2025 season with a 31-28 victory over the Chiefs, giving them wins over the last two Super Bowl champs four days apart. As the rest of the final weekend of November played out, however, the club’s status changed.

The Cowboys are not really a genuine wild-card contender. They are very much alive, however, in the NFC East. That crazy statistic about no team having won the East in consecutive seasons since 2004 is suddenly back in play.

At 6-5-1, the Cowboys have a better chance of catching the Philadelphia Eagles than they do of running down any of the wild-card contenders. The Cowboys were part of an upset special Thursday when Green Bay, Cincinnati and Dallas all beat favored teams. When the Chicago Bears surprisingly continued that trend in a Black Friday game at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles’ lead over Dallas fell to 1 1/2 games. It had been 3 1/2 games just five days earlier.

Eagles fans fear they have seen this story before. And it’s one of an epic collapse. In 2023, coming off of a Super Bowl loss to Kansas City — a game the Eagles had tied with five minutes to play — Philadelphia began the next season on a 10-1 tear. It was a house of cards. The Eagles were winning close games by the thinnest of margins, the luckiest turn of events. When the skid came, they finished 11-6 and were blown out at Tampa Bay in a first-round playoff loss.

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That season the Cowboys trailed Philly by two games with six to play and didn’t exactly go strutting down the stretch, losing consecutive games in Buffalo and Miami. But that 4-2 finish was enough to get to 12-5 and take the East back from the fading Eagles.

Can something similar happen over the next five weeks? The answer is yes, but first let’s examine why that is the Cowboys’ only practical hope for postseason play.

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San Francisco has looked like a vulnerable wild-card team all season with its abundance of injuries that include lots of comings and goings among receivers and the loss of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, their two best defenders, for the season. And leading Cleveland just 10-8 at halftime, maybe the Browns and their powerful defense would knock off the 49ers and help the wild-card cause. A fumble and a muffed punt changed all that, setting up two touchdowns and allowing San Francisco to roll on to a 9-4 record.

It’s unrealistic to think Dallas can catch any of the three West contenders — Rams and Seahawks at 9-3 and 49ers at 9-4. Add to that the Bears and Packers’ victories that leave those NFC North rivals at 9-3 and 8-3-1. All of these teams battling for the three wild-card spots in the conference have better records than the Eagles, not to mention nothing resembling Philly’s sluggish offense.

Hard to believe that the team that led the Chiefs 40-6 in last year’s Super Bowl looks so inept for such long stretches on offense. The Cowboys are the only team the Eagles scored 21 points against in their last four games. And they finished here with 41 scoreless minutes. They didn’t get their next touchdown until nearly 37 minutes deep into the Chicago game (a five-quarter stretch against the Cowboys and Bears in which they scored three points) when suddenly Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown remembered how to connect play after play.

So what lies ahead?

The Cowboys obviously have to continue their three-game win streak Thursday night in Detroit, and even with the Lions falling to the Packers, this is the toughest game remaining on Dallas’ schedule. Might even be the last time they are an underdog, pending how the Chargers are playing when they come to Dallas Dec. 21. The Cowboys will be solid favorites in all the rest against New York, Washington and the awful Minnesota Vikings, although Sunday night’s overtime game with Denver reminded us that it’s not smart to simply assume a Cowboys’ win on Christmas Day in Landover. And the Eagles have two games remaining against Washington.

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Philadelphia’s schedule is slightly tougher, facing their two best opponents — the Chargers Monday night and Buffalo Dec. 28 — on the road. Even if you give the Eagles layups against the Commanders twice and the Raiders, they would have to play a lot better than they did at home against Chicago to win in LA.

So it’s not impossible by any means for the Cowboys to take a 3 1/2 game deficit and trim it to a single 1/2 game in barely two weeks. But they have work to do in Detroit, and as good as the Cowboys are properly feeling after knocking off the Eagles and Chiefs, beating a good team on the road is something Dallas has not accomplished in more than a year.

The Cowboys are back in the East race, to be sure. Now they have to do the rest.

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.



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Dallas weighs $500 million‑plus repair plans as City Hall’s future comes up for debate

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Dallas weighs 0 million‑plus repair plans as City Hall’s future comes up for debate


Dallas officials are weighing two costly options for City Hall’s future: either relocate entirely or spend more than half a billion dollars on repairs. One proposal would cost about $532 million over six years, while a second plan would spread repairs over a decade at an estimated cost of $557 million. The City Council is expected to outline the next steps on the project tomorrow.



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Dallas weather: Flash flooding strands vehicles near DFW Airport after heavy rain

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Dallas weather: Flash flooding strands vehicles near DFW Airport after heavy rain


Slow-moving thunderstorms brought localized flash flooding to parts of North Texas on Tuesday evening, blocking highways near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and dropping several inches of rain in portions of Tarrant and Parker counties.

Flash Flood Warnings

Local perspective:

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Flash flood warnings are in effect for Hopkins, Hunt, Rains and Van Zandt counties until 7:45 p.m.

Flooding was reported along Texas 183 near Valley View Lane south of DFW Airport, where stranded vehicles and water-covered roadways created hazardous travel conditions.

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A flash flood warning remained in effect near the airport, although rainfall rates had begun to diminish as the storm weakened.

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings

The National Weather Service also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Hood County, citing the potential for gusty winds and small hail. Forecasters reported hail ranging from pea-sized to marble-sized in parts of Hood, Parker and Denton counties. 

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Forecasters attributed the weakening storms in Denton County to an outflow boundary, a meteorological feature that can disrupt thunderstorm development.

The warning area was reduced as the storm weakened near sunset.

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What they’re saying:

FOX 4’s Kylie Capps said the storms moved unusually slowly from east to west, allowing heavy rain to accumulate over the same areas for several hours. 

Rainfall estimates showed some locations in eastern Parker County and western Tarrant County received nearly 5 inches of rain during a six-hour period, while areas near DFW Airport recorded more than 2 inches.

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Elsewhere in North Texas, northern Rains County received nearly 5 inches of rain.

7-Day Forecast

What’s next:

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Forecasters expect a quieter overnight period, with only isolated showers lingering into the evening. Additional thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon, though coverage and the threat of severe weather are expected to remain limited.

Temperatures are forecast to reach about 90 degrees Wednesday. 

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Rain chances are expected to continue through the remainder of the workweek and into the weekend as an upper-level low-pressure system sends multiple disturbances across North Texas.

The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Weather Team

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Dallas Cowboys’ Path To NFC East Crown Gets Easier After June 1 NFL Trade Frenzy

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Dallas Cowboys’ Path To NFC East Crown Gets Easier After June 1 NFL Trade Frenzy


Monday was a wild day for the NFL with two blockbuster trades. First was Myles Garrett, who both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were rumored to have interest in.

Cowboys fans never bought into these rumors, knowing that Jerry Jones was unlikely to make such an investment. The Eagles, however, have been known to get aggressive. Thankfully for Dallas fans, they didn’t make the move as the Cleveland Browns sent Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse and a package of picks.

Not long after that trade was finalized, the Eagles did wind up making a trade. After months of speculation surrounding A.J. Brown and the New England Patriots, the two sides made it official as Brown was reunited with Mike Vrabel in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.

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Dallas Cowboys could take the NFC East crown in 2026

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown catches a pass against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Caelen Carson. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
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The writing has been on the wall all offseason regarding Brown, who has been unhappy with the Eagles for a while. His departure seemed confirmed when they traded up with Dallas in the 2026 NFL draft for USC receiver Makai Lemon.

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While Lemon has the tools to be a difference-maker, he won’t be able to perform at the same level as Brown during his rookie season. The Eagles do still have DeVonta Smith at receiver as well as running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Jalen Hurts.

That said, there’s no denying that they’re weaker this season than they were with Brown. Just as important, however, is the fact that general manager Howie Roseman didn’t pull off a shocking move for Garrett, which would have made them the overwhelming favorites in the division.

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Cowboys chances hinge on defensive changes

Dallas Cowboys DB Caleb Downs is coached through a drill with defensive coordinator Christian Parker at the Ford Center. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Another reason the Cowboys are confident they can hang with Philadelphia this season is the presence of Christian Parker, who they hired as their defensive coordinator after he spent the past two seasons as the passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Eagles.

Parker brings in a new scheme and plenty of confidence, but more importantly, he has several new weapons at his disposal. Dallas traded for veterans Rashan Gary and Dee Winters, signed Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant, and selected Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence in the draft.

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Those are just some of the moves they made on defense, and they’re banking on that to be enough to help propel them past the team that has won the division the past two seasons.

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