Eagles fail to clinch a playoff spot with loss to Cowboys; another team eliminated

The Eagles failed to clinch a playoff spot Sunday, losing their big NFC East matchup against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football 33-13.

The Birds are now 10-3, and remain are all but guaranteed to land in the playoffs. Since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, only 12 teams have reached the 10-win mark and missed playing in the postseason, most recently the 10-6 Miami Dolphins in 2020. It’s actually happened twice to the Eagles, who didn’t reach the postseason after going 10-6 in 2014 and 1991.

The Cowboys entered Sunday with a long-shot chance to secure a playoff spot, but thanks to wins by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints, Dallas will have to wait until next week to officially punch its ticket to the postseason.

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After two straight losses, the Eagles not only got bounced out of the top spot in the NFC playoff race, they are no longer in first place in the NFC East.

The Cowboys move into place the division, but Birds are still in a better position to end the season with the NFC East crown, given the teams’ upcoming schedules. If both teams win out and end the season tied, the NFC East would go to the Eagles because the Birds would have a better conference record.

Eliminated from playoffs: Carolina Panthers (1-11)

The race for the NFC’s top playoff spot is suddenly a lot more crowded.

The San Francisco 49ers moved up to the No. 1 seed, thanks to their win Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Now three teams — the Eagles, Cowboys, 49ers — all tied at the top of the NFC with a 10-3 record.

The Lions (9-4) remain in control of the NFC North, but their chances of winning the No. 1 seed took a big hit Sunday, thanks to their loss to the Chicago Bears.

The NFC South has a three-way tie for first place after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) defeated the Atlanta Falcons (6-7) and the New Orleans Saints (6-7) defeated the miserable Carolina Panthers (1-12).

Despite it being their bye week, the Arizona Cardinals (3-10) faced playoff elimination. But Jonathan Gannon and company will remain mathematically alive thanks to the Rams’ loss to the Ravens.

Eliminated from playoffs: New England Patriots (3-10)

The AFC playoff race is pretty wild. After Sunday’s games, there are 11 teams with a 7-6 or better record vying for playoff spots, and three 5-8 teams that still have a shot at the postseason.

The Buffalo Bills (7-6) kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Cleveland Browns (8-5) improved their playoff chances by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5). Joe Flacco, 38, led the way for the Browns, throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Despite the loss, the Jaguars remain in control of the AFC South after the Indianapolis Colts (7-6) lost on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals (7-6), who are fighting for a wild-card spot despite losing quarterback Joe Burrow to injury for the rest of the season.

Despite defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) on Thursday, the New England Patriots (3-13) were officially eliminated from playoff contention thanks to the Bengals’ win over the Colts. It’s the earliest the Patriots have been removed from the playoff hunt since 2000, according to according to NFL playoffs analyst Joe Ferreira.

The Tennessee Titans (4-8) also faced elimination, but will remain mathematically alive for at least another week thanks to the Steelers’ loss.

The NFL playoffs begin with the wild-card round, with the first game scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Jan. 13 on NBC.

There are six wild-card games that will air on Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC. The new wrinkle this year is one wild-card game will stream exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s subscription service.