The Washington Football Team’s bid to win the NFC East will be in primetime. The NFL announced Washington’s regular season finale next week against the Philadelphia Eagles has been flexed to Sunday Night Football.
Washington (6-9) will win the NFC East with a win against the Eagles. However, a loss, and the winner of the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants will win the division. Washington could also earn the division with a tie and a Cowboys’ loss.
The Cowboys and Giants will kick off at 1:00 PM.
Washington squandered the opportunity to clinch the division this week. The Giants (5-10) loss to the Baltimore Ravens 27-13, leaving Washington needing a win against the Carolina Panthers. However, Washington fell 20-13 after digging themselves a 20-3 halftime deficit.
The Cowboys (6-9) kept their postseason chances alive with a 37-17 win over the Eagles, eliminating Philadelphia in the process.
Washington holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Cowboys, sweeping the season series. So if Washington beats the Eagles, they win the division and are in the playoffs. But if they happened to falter, and the Cowboys win, Dallas would move past Washington in the standings to win the division.
If the Giants get the win and Washington loses, New York clinches the division despite being 6-10 by winning head-to-head tiebreaker over Washington and having a better division mark than Dallas.
Washington’s playoff hopes may hinge on the health of quarterback Alex Smith. He has missed each of the last two games with a right calf injury. Dwayne Haskins has started in his place for both games, however his struggles led to losses in both games. Plus, Haskins was benched in the fourth quarter against the Panthers in favor of Taylor Heinicke.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera said the starting quarterback for next week is to be determined, depending on Smith’s injury.
