Cowboys playoff picture: Here is what the 49ers win means for the Cowboys

The NFL playoffs kicked off on Saturday afternoon and the action began with the team that ended last season’s Dallas Cowboys playoff run in the San Francisco 49ers. This time around the Niners began the postseason at home and against a division rival in the Seattle Seahawks. Nothing about their familiarity with one another or the weather situation phased Kyle Shanahan’s bunch as they won rather convincingly 41-23.

San Francisco began the playoffs as the #2 seed in the NFC which means a few things and one of them is that we still have not had a #7 seed win a playoff game since the NFL expanded the playoff format two years ago. More importantly, Frisco’s win means we have a bit of a more clear picture on where the Dallas Cowboys could wind up in the Divisional Round if they win on Monday night, although that is obviously a big if.

Because the 49ers won on Saturday

• A Minnesota Vikings win on Sunday sends the Dallas Cowboys to visit the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round (assuming the Cowboys win on Monday night)
• A New York Giants win on Sunday sends the Dallas Cowboys to visit the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round (assuming the Cowboys win on Monday night)

Since the Cowboys play on Monday night, they will know the state of the entire playoff picture and will know where they would head to next if they do emerge victorious against Tom Brady’s Buccaneers. It goes without saying that nobody truly cares who you are playing next, it is simply that you are playing next that is the focus right now.

As true as that it is, it is also true that people are human and therefore have preference. The Eagles have looked like the best team in the NFL for most of this season, but the 49ers have now won 11 games in a row and were the team who bounced Dallas last year. Either way the Cowboys will be coming off of a short week game that they played on the road, and they will likely be underdogs in either contest, assuming they do find a way to win Monday. This is the playoffs. Nothing is easy.