Dallas Cowboys Lose Ground In NFC Playoff Race As Philadelphia Eagles Stay Undefeated

The Dallas Cowboys Just Lost Ground In the NFC Playoff Race As the Philadelphia Eagles Stay Undefeated

FRISCO - And suddenly, there is separation in the NFC East - and not in a good way for the undefeated-for-a-moment Dallas Cowboys.

No, one loss isn't the end of the world. The Cowboys weren't going to go 17-0 in 2023. But in a division that could be decided by one game, Dallas laying an egg in a 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 burns a little bit extra, for two reasons.

One, this should have been one of the easier wins on the Cowboys' schedule in 2023.

And two, the Philadelphia Eagles -- who have had some growing pains with new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson - pounded the Tampa Bay Bucs on "Monday Night Football'' to create some separation in the NFC East standings.

The Eagles vault to 3-0. The Cowboys dip to 2-1. what appears likely to be one of the most competitive divisions in the sport - or, at least, Dallas is left hoping that's still the case.

Hurts, Dak and Purdy

It should be noted that despite being projected by just about everyone to be the worst team in the NFL, the Cardinals have been very frisky though the first three weeks of the season. The Jonathan Gannon-coached Cardinals hung tough in a Week 1 road loss to the Washington Commanders, falling 20-16. They ended up blowing the game in a disastrous second half, but the Cardinals were beating the New York Giants 21-0 at halftime in Week 2. 

Perhaps Arizona isn't as bad as expected. But somebody's got to be among the four or five poorest teams in the league. The Cards still fit that bill.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the NFC East ... t's unclear what the aforementioned Commanders will be in 2023 after a brutal 37-3 Week 3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. But Washington was 2-0 entering the week, and the Cowboys missed a chance to gain ground on them by also losing Sunday.

The same point can be made for the NFC as a whole. The best way for the Cowboys to get back to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the mid-1990s would be to ease their path of resistance by earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC and getting a first-round bye. Dallas lost ground to the 3-0 San Francisco 49ers in Week 3, and just did so to the Eagles as well.

None of this is to say either the 49ers or Eagles will go undefeated this season -- they won't. But the Cowboys still have two matchups with the Eagles, one with the 49ers and tilts against the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions on their slate. In a division -- and conference -- where you may only be able to lose three or four games if you want to win, entering the loss column against the Cardinals might come back to haunt the Cowboys.