ARLINGTON, Texas – For the first time since 2020, the Cowboys will not be in the playoffs.

Even before the Cowboys kick off Sunday night against the Buccaneers, they were officially eliminated after Washington upset the Eagles on a last-second touchdown. Former Cowboys, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who is in his first season with the Commanders, has now let his team to a 10–5 record with two games to play.

Even though the Cowboys defeated Washington on the road three weeks ago, their best possible finish would be 9–8 even if they won the last three games of the season against the Bucs, then the Eagles and Commanders.

Not since Mike McCarthy’s first season with the Cowboys in 2020, when they finished 6–10, have they been on the outside of the playoffs looking in. And not since the 2010 season have the Cowboys been eliminated from the playoffs with three games to play.

That season, the Cowboys finished 4–12 and ended up with the number four overall draft pick in 2016. The Cowboys will officially finish in third place of the NFC East and will play the third place finishers from the NFC west and NFC South on the 2025 schedule.

By not winning the NFC East, the Cowboys failed to repeat as division champions. That extends a remarkable streak of 20 straight seasons where the NFC East champion has not repeated. The last time we have seen a repeat division winner in the NFC East was the Eagles, who won in 2003 and 2004.

McCarthy’s Cowboys have gone 12-5 three straight years to advance to the playoffs, including two NFC East titles in 2021 and 2023.