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10 NFC teams are either in or within one game of a playoff spot heading into Week 13. Here's an overview of the current playoff standings :
| Team | W | L | T | Position | Rationale |
| Seahawks (1) | 10 | 1 | 0 | West Champion | |
| Saints (2) | 9 | 2 | 0 | South Champion | |
| Lions (3) | 6 | 5 | 0 | North Champion | head-to-head record vs. Bears and vs. Cowboys |
| Cowboys (4) | 6 | 5 | 0 | East Champion | head-to-head record vs Eagles |
| Panthers (5) | 8 | 3 | 0 | Wild Card #1 | |
| 49ers (6) | 7 | 4 | 0 | Wild Card #2 | head-to-head record vs Cardinals |
| Playoff contenders | |||||
| Cardinals | 7 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Eagles | 6 | 5 | 0 | conference win percentage | |
| Bears | 6 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Packers | 5 | 5 | 1 | ||
It's not a foregone conclusion that the Cowboys will The Thankgiving game against the Raiders. But if the Cowboys were to win and you could have one additional guaranteed win from the remaining Week 13 games, which one would you take?
In the first game of the Thanksgiving triple-header, the Packers travel to Detroit in a game that could impact the Cowboys: The Lions currently have a head-to-head advantage over the Cowboys so a loss by the Lions would be a good thing for the Cowboys. Packers guard Josh Sitton thinks a loss by the Lions would be a good thing on principle.
"They go after quarterbacks, their entire defense takes cheap shots all the time,” Sitton said. “That’s what they do, that’s who they are. They’re a bunch of dirtbags or scumbags. I mean, that’s just how they play. That’s how they’re coached. That starts with their frickin’ coach. That starts with their head coach, Schwartz. He’s a dick, too. I wouldn’t want to play for him. It starts with him and their D-coordinator and their D-line coach. They’re all just scumbags and so are the D-line.”
In early-Sunday action, the Cardinals travel to Philly. A loss by the Eagles would allow the Cowboys to potentially create some separation in the division. In other early action, the Bucs travel to Carolina for a game that could have wildcard ramifications down the line, and the Vikings host the Bears in a game could put the Bears atop the NFC North if the Lions were to lose.
In one of the late afternoon games, the 49ers host the Rams. A 49ers loss is always a good thing, regardless of circumstances. But the real fun starts on Sunday night as the Giants travel to Washington in a battle for last place in the NFC East. There can't be two losses in this game, so I'm going to make like Jerry Jones and hope for a moral defeat for both teams.
And finally, there's the Monday night game between the Saints and the Seahawks. At this point it doesn't look like the outcome of that game will have any bearing on the Cowboys' playoff chances, but seeing someone silence the crowd in Seattle would definitely be something to look forward to.