Week 11 rooting guide for Cowboys fans
Now focused on their 2025 draft position, where can the Cowboys get some help from the rest of the Week 11 schedule?
Even after getting romped by the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday, the Cowboys didn’t get much of a bump in their 2025 NFL Draft order. Like Dallas, most of the other bad teams stayed bad as well. But there’s a solid chance for them to move into the top 10 after the Week 11 games; a small consolation in an otherwise dismal season.
We know some of you don’t like thinking this way, but there’s no realistic scenario where the Cowboys claw their way back into contention for anything in 2024. Not without Dak Prescott, and not with Mike McCarthy losing control of the offense and locker room. This one’s for the pragmatists among us, looking for the only good that Dallas can still squeeze out of a lost campaign.
Here’s a loose look at the current 2025 draft order, based on just overall records:
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8)
- New York Giants (2-8)
- Cleveland Browns (2-7)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-7)
- Tennessee Titans (2-7)
- Carolina Panthers (3-7)
- New England Patriots (3-7)
- New Orleans Saints (3-7)
- New York Jets (3-7)
- Miami Dolphins (3-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (3-6)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-6)
- Indianapolis Colts (4-6)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6)
At the very least, Dallas is now tied with Miami for the 10th spot. The first tiebreaker for draft picks is a strength-of-schedule calculation based on the final records of teams played, so it’s far too early to know how that could impact the draft order. We’ll dig deeper into that, if necessary, as we get near the end of the season.
Looking at Week 11, the Giants, Panthers, and Buccaneers are all on their byes. If the Cowboys take a likely loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, they’ll at least pull even with Carolina and get closer to New York in the race to the bottom.
How else can this week’s games help the Cowboys? Let’s get into the schedule.
Jaguars over Lions
Titans over Vikings
Two AFC South losers versus two NFC North winners. Easy picks for the Cowboys; Jacksonville and Tennessee are both below Dallas right now in winning percentage and we need to get closer. Either of these would be a massive upset, so it’s certainly not likely that even one happens. But we can always hope.
Raiders over Dolphins
Browns over Saints
Both games have two-win teams (Cleveland and Vegas) facing teams with three wins. In terms of what benefits the Cowboys, you have to take the broad view with so much season left to play.
Jets over Colts
Patriots over Rams
While Indianapolis and Los Angeles are just above the Cowboys in the standings, New England and New York are where we want to be in the draft order. These would pull Dallas closer to the bottom and widen the gap with the middling teams.
Bears over Packers
Chicago is only 4-5 and has lost three straight, so they’re starting to hone in on prime draft territory. A galvanizing win over rival Green Bay would likely take them out of any conversation involving the Cowboys’ draft pick.
Commanders over Eagles
No, this one won’t matter in terms of Dallas’ draft pick or any other practical measure. But watching Philly lose just feels better, doesn’t it?
The rest of the Week 11 schedule doesn’t really matter, either. We all have our personal leanings in certain matchups like Ravens-Steelers or Bills-Chiefs, but the effects of those outcomes don’t ripple down to where the Cowboys find themselves in 2024.
Onward and downward.
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