After a pair of embarrassing losses to the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals heading into their bye week, the Dallas Cowboys faced what was basically a must-win situation against the Las Vegas Raiders on _Monday Night Football_.
And while emotions were naturally running high, as this was the first game for the Cowboys since the tragic death of Marshawn Kneeland, they [honored No. 94](https://thelandryhat.com/dak-prescott-opens-up-about-cowboys-persevering-through-marshawn-kneeland-tragedy) by playing one of their most complete games of the season en route to an emphatic 33-16 victory.
Dak Prescott performed beautifully and earned his highest passer rating of the season (138.6) after completing 25 of 33 passes for 268 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions, with his four TD passes going to four different receivers, as CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, George Pickens, and Ryan Flournoy all found the end zone. Pickens had a particulary big night, catching nine of 11 targets for a game-high 144 yards, while Lamb ended his night with five receptions for 66 yards.
The ground game was working as well, with Javonte Williams going for 93 yards on a season-high 22 carries.
The Dallas defense also had one of its best outings of the year, _finally_ holding an opposing offense to under 20 points for the first time all season. While Raiders quarterback Geno Smith threw for 238 yards, he was also sacked four times, with 1.5 of those coming from the Cowboys' newest defensive star, Quinnen Williams. Matt Eberflus' unit also held Las Vegas to just 27 rushing yards and even stuffed Ashton Jeanty into his own end zone for a safety.
This was simply a fantastic all-around effort, and, again, it was one the Cowboys had to have to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Cowboys are back in the top 10 of the NFC standings after big win over Raiders
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With Week 11 officially now in the books, here's a quick look at the updated NFC playoff picture heading into Week 12.
### Updated NFC playoff picture
1. **Philadelphia Eagles (8-2, 1st NFC East)**
2. **Los Angeles Rams (8-2, 1st NFC West)**
3. **Chicago Bears (7-3, 1st NFC North)**
4. **Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4, 1st NFC South)**
5. **Seattle Seahawks (7-3, 2nd NFC West)**
6. **Green Bay Packers (6-3-1, 2nd NFC North)**
7. **San Francisco 49ers (7-4, 3rd NFC West)**
8. Detroit Lions (6-4, 3rd NFC North)
9. Carolina Panthers (6-5, 2nd NFC South)
10. Dallas Cowboys (4-5-1, 2nd NFC East)
11. Minnesota Vikings (4-6, 4th NFC North)
12. Arizona Cardinals (3-7, 4th NFC West)
13. Atlanta Falcons (3-7, 3rd NFC South)
14. Washington Commanders (3-8, 3rd NFC East)
15. New Orleans Saints (2-8, 4th NFC South)
16. New York Giants (2-9, 4th NFC East)
As you can see, the Cowboys now sit in 10th place in the conference, up one spot [from where they were](https://thelandryhat.com/updated-nfc-playoff-picture-reveals-cowboys-got-lot-help-their-bye-week) a week ago. Yes, it's only one slot, but any movement in the right direction is obviously good news for a team that has struggled as much as Dallas has at times this season.
And while the situation still looks a little bleak, the Cowboys aren't out of this thing just yet, as they only sit two games behind the sixth-seeded Green Bay Packers, who hold a sliim lead the seventh-seeded San Francisco 49ers by way of percentage points, edging the Niners .650 to .636. That pesky tie between the Cowboys and Packers in Week 4 obviously makes things a little trickier to calculate.
The bad news with San Francisco is that Dallas is still three games back in the win column, as the Niners got victory number seven on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The Carolina Panthers, to whom Dallas lost in Week 6, improving to 6-5 with a win over the Atlanta Falcons certainly didn't help matters either. Oddly enough, the 49ers and Panthers will square off next Monday night in a matchup the Cowboys will be watching very closely.
Sitting two spots ahead of Dallas at No. 8 are the Detroit Lions, with whom the Cowboys will kick off Week 14 on Thursday Night Football in a contest that could be crucial for both teams if a head-to-head tiebreaker comes into play down the line.
Before that, however, the Cowboys first have pending dates with the two teams that met in last season's Super Bowl, as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday before turning around and hosting the Kansas City Chiefs four days later on Thanksgiving. At the very least, Dallas needs to split these two games to stay alive in this playoff race, as a pair of losses would almost certainly spell the end for Brian Schottenheimer's squad.
So, buckle up, Cowboys fans. It's going to be wild couple weeks in Big D.