Week 3 rooting guide for Cowboys fans

Another week, another NFC rooting guide for fans of the Dallas Cowboys . After wacky Week 2 which saw several upsets among the conference favorites, will things go closer to expectations in Week 3?

The Cowboys, Eagles, 49ers , and Lions all took losses, with all but San Francisco's coming at home. These surprises have left NFC standings feeling almost upside down as the Commanders, Vikings, Saints, and Seahawks are currently leading the four divisions.

Obviously, it's still far too early to worry about how these standings will eventually impact the playoffs. But it won't be long before we can really start talking about which teams are running with the lead and who's trying to play catch up. Week 3 will help put us closer to that point.

So as always, here are this week's games involving our NFC brethren and the results we want to see. The Cowboys have a tough task of their own, trying to fend off the Baltimore Ravens who may be 0-2 but have narrowly lost both games and have all the tools to make life difficult for Dallas. The opponent will be tough, but knowing who we're rooting for here is easy.

In other NFC action:

Saints over Eagles Cheering for New Orleans won't feel good after what they just did to the Cowboys, but watching them do it to Philadelphia will help. While the win would put the Saints to 3-0 and with serious momentum in the conference, Dallas just needs to worry about winning the NFC East for now. The Eagles remain our biggest obstacle to that goal, so every loss they take is a positive.

Commanders over Bengals This is a big-picture pick. Washington does currently have the lead in the NFC East, tied with Dallas and Philadelphia at 1-1 and owning the only division win right now after beating the Giants. But do we really believe that the Commanders will be contending by December? Their temporary lead will evaporate with time, and meanwhile, we don't want them getting too high of a draft pick. So sure, let them have this one.

Browns over Giants Given what we just said about the Commanders and the 2025 draft, why wouldn't the same logic apply here? Well, in this case, New York is the Cowboys' opponent in Week 4. So do you want the Giants and their fans feeling demoralized at 0-3 or getting a boost from their first win, which would then be amplified by a home game against their hated division rivals from Dallas? The first scenario feels far more inviting for the Cowboys.

Rams over 49ers With Los Angeles already 0-2 this season, seeing San Francisco at 1-2 after this week would be far tastier for Dallas. Assuming that the 49ers are still one of the top NFC contenders, their having to work out of a hole can only benefit the Cowboys down the road.

Cardinals over Lions Similar thought process here; would you rather see Arizona or Detroit with a 1-2 record after this game? While the Cardinals are looking good right now, we know the Lions are a battle-tested NFC powerhouse. Like with the Niners, better to see them have a steeper path to the playoffs.

Dolphins over Seahawks Titans over Packers Colts over Bears Texans over Vikings Broncos over Buccaneers Chiefs over Falcons We have a slew of AFC vs NFC matchups this week and all of the NFC teams listed here are 1-1 or 2-0 right now. It's far too soon to start trying to pinpoint certain teams as preferred division winners or wild card contenders for postseason matchups, let alone even presuming that the Cowboys will be one of them. For now, just root against all of our potential conference foes.

Raiders over Panthers There will be likely points later in the season when a Carolina win is good for Dallas, such an upset against a team we find ourselves competing against for playoff seeding. But outside of those scenarios, we want the Panthers to lose as much as possible to keep the Giants or Commanders from getting a top draft pick.