ARLINGTON, Texas – The NFL doesn’t need a lot of excuses to put the Cowboys and Redskins on the prime time.
But they’ve got a few good ones this time.
And so in a move that has been expected for weeks, the NFL officially announced the Cowboys-Redskins game Sunday, originally scheduled for Noon (CDT) on Fox, will be moved to NBC for Sunday Night Football.
Even more than the fact the Cowboys and Redskins still have one of the best rivalries in all of sports, this one has come down to a winner-take-all game.
Although Washington sits alone in first place in the NFC East at 9-6, and winners of six straight, the Cowboys can still win the division Sunday, simply by beating the Redskins. The Giants’ loss to the Ravens on Sunday prevents them from getting to 10 wins.
So if the Cowboys can beat Washington, and even if New York beats the Eagles next Sunday, the Cowboys would win any tiebreaker and advance to the playoffs as the division champs, which also means hosting a playoff game.
The Cowboys will win a two-team or three-team tiebreaker because of their winning percentage with common opponents.
The Cowboys have been eliminated from any Wild Card spot, so if they lose to the Redskins, the season will be over. Washington is in a similar spot, but still has a slim chance to lose and get into the Wild Card.
This year, the Cowboys are 2-1 in games on NBC, winning the last game against the Eagles on Dec. 2. They lost 19-13 to the Falcons back on Nov. 4 and won the season opener in New York, 24-17 although the game was actually played on Wednesday.
