FOOTBALL: Cowboys face must-win game against surging Chargers

The Dallas Cowboys know exactly what is at stake with three regular-season games remaining.

Dallas must win all three of its remaining games and hope the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles lose all three of theirs to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight season.

The immediate goal is simple: survive another week. The Cowboys will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in Arlington, Texas, in a game that could determine whether their postseason hopes remain alive.

Dallas (6-7-1) enters the matchup after allowing 78 total points in back-to-back losses to the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. If the Cowboys are still in contention after this weekend, they will close the season with road games against the Washington Commanders and New York Giants.

“I’m going to stay in the moment,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday. “I’m going to be all about the Chargers, and after we go and play the Chargers and hopefully win, I’m going to be all about the Commanders, and then the Giants, and then see what happens.”

The Chargers (10-4) also have playoff implications to consider. Los Angeles, which has won six of its last seven games, would clinch a playoff berth with a victory over Dallas and additional help from either the Las Vegas Raiders, who face the Houston Texans, or the San Francisco 49ers, who host the Indianapolis Colts.

A loss would delay the Chargers’ postseason qualification for at least another week.

Los Angeles is coming off a 16-13 road victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, completing a season sweep. It marked the third straight game—and the sixth in the last seven—in which the Chargers allowed 20 points or fewer.

The Chargers also limited Kansas City to 239 total yards, the Chiefs’ lowest output of the season. Daiyan Henley intercepted Patrick Mahomes, while Derwin James Jr. sealed the win with an interception of Gardner Minshew with 14 seconds remaining, shortly after Mahomes exited the game with a serious knee injury.

“These past few weeks we’ve been trying to prove to ourselves more than anybody else who we are and what our identity is,” Henley said. “That identity we’re chasing is a playoff defense.”

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who will play his third straight game since undergoing left-hand surgery, praised the defense’s performance.

“This year, they’ve taken it to a whole other level,” Herbert said.

Herbert has thrown for 3,191 yards and 23 touchdowns this season, along with 12 interceptions—the second-highest total of his career.

For Dallas, quarterback Dak Prescott leads the NFL with 3,931 passing yards and is closing in on his fourth career 4,000-yard season. Only Tony Romo has accomplished that feat four times in franchise history. Prescott ranks third in the league with 26 touchdown passes and has thrown 10 interceptions.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is just 24 yards shy of his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season despite missing three games due to injury. Offseason acquisition George Pickens is enjoying career highs with 81 receptions, 1,212 yards and eight touchdowns, though he has faced criticism for occasional concentration lapses.

Pickens has managed just eight catches for 70 yards over the past two games but said outside criticism does not affect him.

“Some people’s job is to tear down character and chase clicks,” Pickens said. “I’m just here to play football and help the team.”

Lamb (illness) was among five Cowboys who missed practice Wednesday. Left tackle Tyler Guyton (ankle) also sat out and could miss his fourth straight game. Cornerback DaRon Bland (foot), defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (concussion), and running back Hunter Luepke (concussion) were also sidelined.

For the Chargers, wide receiver Derius Davis (ankle) and safety R.J. Mickens (shoulder) did not practice due to injuries.

Los Angeles has won its past three road games in the series. The Chargers’ last road loss to the Cowboys came in 1990, when Dallas still played in Irving. -Field Level Media/Reuters