A few weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys had a problem. They are not a great road team and they were looking at their entire playoff path being outside of Texas. They needed the Philadelphia Eagles to collapse to win the NFC East. The wild-card path might work for some teams, but it was probably not going to turn out well for the 2023 Cowboys.
At some point, Jerry Jones should write thank you cards to all of the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals' upset win over the Eagles in Week 17 opened the door for the Cowboys to steal the NFC East title, and Dallas took advantage of that. A 38-10 win over the Washington Commanders in the regular-season finale not only clinched the NFC East but it changed the entire outlook for the Cowboys postseason.
The Cowboys are the No. 2 seed after the win. That means they either are going to their first NFC championship game since the end of the 1995 season, or someone is winning at Dallas where the Cowboys have been phenomenal most of the season.
There's still the issue of the San Francisco 49ers, who are the No. 1 seed and blasted Dallas in a meeting earlier this season. But the Cowboys don't have to deal with that for a while, if at all. It's not like a No. 1 seed has never been upset in the divisional round. Either way, the Cowboys' entire playoff outlook changed over the last two weeks.
Dallas went 8-0 at home and 4-5 on the road with some extreme splits. Before Sunday, they had a +172 point differential at home and were -6 on the road. The Cowboys are an elite team at home and below average on the road. It's hard to explain but impossible to deny.
That's not a worry for a while. The next time the Cowboys play on the road would be the NFC championship game at the earliest.
Sunday's win wasn't that easy. The Commanders led 10-7 in the second quarter. The Cowboys finally got it together and pulled away. A blocked punt in the third quarter, after CeeDee Lamb scored to give the Cowboys a 28-10 lead, practically sealed the division title for Dallas. Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns. Even though it ended up being a lopsided win, playing even for much of the first half against a Commanders team that was 4-12 coming in highlighted that the Cowboys are a different team on the road.
The Cowboys have had big seasons before, only to have crushing playoff losses. Getting the No. 2 seed doesn't ensure Dallas won't have a disappointing playoff loss again. But for this Cowboys team, it's pretty good news to be starting their journey at home.
Here are the winners and losers from the late games of Week 18 (there were plenty of winners and losers from the early games, as well):
WINNERS
Puka Nacua: The Los Angeles Rams rookie did it. Nacua, a fifth-round pick, set rookie season records for receptions and receiving yards in the Rams' season finale against the San Francisco 49ers. Nacua scored a touchdown as well.
When he broke the record for receptions, he went to the sideline to celebrate the big moment with his family.
The Los Angeles Rams are going to the playoffs. Their home-run pick of Nacua is a big reason why.
LOSERS
Philadelphia Eagles: Where to even start?
The Eagles were still technically alive for the NFC East championship on Sunday, and the door was open for a while as the Cowboys struggled with the Commanders. And the Eagles decided to hit rock bottom instead.
Following up a horrible collapse against the Cardinals in Week 17 that caused them to lose control over the NFC East title, the Eagles were embarrassed 27-10 by a New York Giants team whose playoff hopes ended months ago. The Eagles trailed 24-0 at halftime. Even worse, receiver A.J. Brown left with a knee injury and quarterback Jalen Hurts was pulled after injuring his middle finger.
The Eagles started 10-1, then lost five of their last six. The Giants loss was particularly appalling. It's not the way Philly wanted to enter the postseason.
Justin Fields: The big story from the Green Bay Packers' 17-9 win over the Chicago Bears was that the Packers clinched a playoff spot. But it was important for other reasons.
Fields had a chance to leave a big final impression before the Bears make an enormous decision at quarterback. And he didn't do all that much in a key game against Chicago's biggest rival. Fields had 148 passing yards, just 27 rushing yards and the Bears didn't score a touchdown against a Packers defense that has allowed some huge games to other quarterbacks recently.
The Bears have the first overall pick, and most people think they'll draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye and trade Fields. But Fields played well enough in the second half to make it an interesting conversation. One game won't completely change the Bears' mind. But the final impression by Fields wasn't a great one.