NFL Playoffs: Cowboys clinch NFC East, No. 1 seed after Giants lose
The Cowboys have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs because of the Eagles win
The Eagles weren't going down without a fight and just made Christmas a little more enjoyable for the Cowboys by beating the Giants 24-19 Thursday night.
With the win, Philadelphia moves to 6-9, the Giants fall to 10-5 and the Cowboys, at 12-2, clinch the NFC East and homefield advantage throughout the NFL playoffs.
New York, with a head-to-head tiebreaker, was the only team capable of catching the Cowboys in the conference. Even if Dallas loses out, the worst they can end up is 12-4, while the Giants can't be better than 11-5 this season.
Jerry Jones can thank the only team to beat his Cowboys too, because the Giants laid an absolute egg against the Eagles. Eli Manning, who set a Giants record with 62 pass attempts, was the biggest culprit, throwing three interceptions.
That included a pick-6 on the second possession of the game, as well as a game-sealing duck of an interception as the Giants tried to get downfield and pull off a desperation win.
Merry Christmas, Dallas.
Wow.
— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2016
📱💻: https://t.co/WnjN3VuYXk
📺: NBC + NFLN #TNF#NYGvsPHIpic.twitter.com/CCAbru8u8d
Pop the bottles, already.
Is this appropriate now ?🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) December 23, 2016
The Giants loss doesn't just help the Cowboys. The Giants had an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot in Philly, but defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, who pulled off the pick to the house on Eli, said afterward the Eagles were extremely motivated to keep the Giants from clinching.
It's interesting to note that the Cowboys, who don't theoretically have anything to play for on Monday night, can clinch a playoff berth for the Giants by beating the Lions.
That would be a funny little NFC East Christmas exchange.
The Giants can also clinch a playoff berth with a Packers loss/tie OR a Buccaneers loss/tie OR a Falcons loss. So there's a lot of wiggle room despite the ugly showing on Thursday.
















