The Dallas Cowboys will finish their season in Week 18 by hosting their NFC East rivals, the Washington Commanders. There will be no post-season for Dallas this year, but the Commanders will cap their remarkable one-year turnaround by advancing to the NFC playoffs regardless of what happens on Sunday.

The Cowboys started their recent run of good play with a surprise Week 11 win over the Commanders that helped them go 4-1 before getting annihilated by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Cowboys were still hoping for a miracle playoff chase at that time, but now have nothing to play for but pride.

The Commanders punched their NFC playoff ticket Sunday night with a win over the Atlanta Falcons in overtime. They are still playing to secure the sixth-seed in the NFC and will have all guns blazing for a win in the 1 PM ET game.

As such, the oddsmakers have installed the Commanders as three-point favorites on the road at Dallas.

Given the way Dallas played when they won four out of five games, that line makes sense. But seeing how the Eagles dismantled them on Sunday, it’s hard to believe the Cowboys will keep it close.

Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn each had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night.

Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which had lost three of four. Jake Oettinger made 24 saves.

Chicago dropped its fourth consecutive game. It lost three of four in its season series against Dallas.

Connor Bedard scored his 10th goal for the Blackhawks, and Arvid Soderblom made 30 stops. Next up for Bedard and company is the Winter Classic on Tuesday against St. Louis.

Dallas grabbed control after Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi was ejected 8:11 into the second period. Bertuzzi was sent off for elbowing Stars forward Colin Blackwell in the face.

Robertson made it 2-1 when he converted a wrist shot from the right circle at 8:23. It was Robertson’s first goal since Dec. 14 and No. 8 on the season.

Dadonov got a slick pass from Duchene and scored his 10th goal with 5:14 left in the second.

Takeaways

Stars: Miro Heiskanen added two assists as the Stars used their superior depth to control much of the game.

Blackhawks: Once again, not enough offensive opportunities. It has been a recurring problem for the Blackhawks for much of the season so far.

Key moment

Johnston’s stick broke right before he scored his eighth goal 10 seconds into the third period. Duchene’s pass went off Johnston and past Soderblom, giving the Stars a 4-1 lead.

Key stat

The Stars are 12-3-0 against the Blackhawks since the 2021-22 season.

Up next

Dallas opens a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against Buffalo. Chicago plays St. Louis on Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

PHILADELPHIA — The Cowboys lost the game the way they did so many earlier this season.

Big.

Sunday’s 41-7 loss to Philadelphia in and of itself won’t determine Mike McCarthy’s fate. Five years of results as the Cowboys head coach tilts the scales more than anything that happens in the final eight days of the regular season.

But what the Eagles did to a Dallas team that had won four of its last five games on this unseasonably warm afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field didn’t help.

McCarthy is about to finish his 18th season as an NFL head coach. The loss means the Cowboys (7-9) can’t finish above .500. That’s happened only four other times in McCarthy’s coaching career.

What does he make of the record with one game left in the regular season?

“I mean, ask me that in eight days,’’ McCarthy said. “I’m here to finish the race.

“That’s my mind-set and that’s the team’s mind-set.’’

What is the mind-set of Jerry Jones? That’s the more pertinent question at the moment.

The owner of the Cowboys approaches the decision on McCarthy in much the same way he did the lucrative extensions for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. Even though he has all the information he needs, Jones is going to take this down to the wire.

There was never any doubt that Prescott and Lamb would be part of the franchise going forward. Doubt exists with McCarthy. It does with any coach who’s allowed to enter the final year of his contract.

But to hold McCarthy responsible for a game that backup quarterback Cooper Rush threw two interceptions — one a pick-six — and two other players lost fumbles while the defense forced no turnovers isn’t going to happen.

In the days heading into this rematch with the Eagles, McCarthy was asked if he was eager to learn his fate. His response?

“I do believe in time and place,’’ McCarthy said. “This is not the time or the place for me to speak on it …

“I think it benefits everybody for me just to stay on course.”

The course of the Cowboys season was undoubtedly altered on Nov. 3 when Prescott was lost for the season with a partial proximal hamstring avulsion. The quarterback is off crutches now but still not moving that fast, which is why reporters were able to surround him before he left the locker room Sunday afternoon.

Prescott said he hasn’t had a chance to sit down and talk to Jones about bringing McCarthy back. Not yet. But he intends to have that conversation.

“Obviously, I’m going to promote bringing him back,’’ Prescott said.

Prescott isn’t the only key player the Cowboys have done without. When the season ends next weekend at AT&T Stadium against Washington, Dallas will have missed 49-player games from its Pro Bowl nucleus.

“Definitely not what I envisioned,’’ said defensive end Micah Parsons, who missed four games with a high ankle sprain. “Definitely not what I hoped for coming off a devastating playoff loss saying, ‘Hey, I want to get the same team back and kinda know what it’s going to look like, what the team will be like.’

“Then go into this season with the devastating injuries across the board. Between CeeDee [Lamb], Dak [Prescott], Tre [Trevon Diggs], I mean, you just can’t catch a break.’’

This is the first losing season Parsons has endured with the Cowboys. But here’s the thing: Dallas was off to an uneven start before injuries began to mount.

The Cowboys appeared to right themselves in recent weeks. Then the Eagles hit.

“I mean, it’s extremely hard for everybody,’’ left guard Tyler Smith said. “But one thing I can definitely say is nobody on our sideline quit. Not one person threw in the towel, folded, started pointing fingers or any of that.

“I can definitely say our guys are one of a kind guys. We’re going to come in and we’re going to work. The result wasn’t nearly what we wanted today but we have one more opportunity next week.

“That’s all we can focus on. That’s all we can do.’’

All McCarthy and this team can do now is finish out the season against the Commanders.

And wait to see what Jones decides when it comes to the fate of his head coach.

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.

X/Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN

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