Morning Distribution for Thursday, December 22, 2022

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Morning Distribution]( Thursday, December 22, 2022 Your daily briefing from FiveThirtyEight --------------------------------------------------------------- The Morning Story [Dallas Cowboys v Jacksonville Jaguars]( [Can The Dallas Cowboys Avoid Another Playoff Flop?]( By [Andres Waters]( Among die-hard NFL fans, there are really only two ways to feel about the Dallas Cowboys: Either [you love them or you hate them](. And around this time of year, as we get into the final stretch of the season, both of those sides are itching to be right about how and when the season will come to an end for “America’s Team.” Cowboys fans have been on the wrong side of that debate in recent years. Despite entering the playoffs with 10 or more regular-season wins seven times since 2002, the organization has yet to make the NFC title game since its [Super Bowl XXX win in 1996](. And with Dallas sitting at [10-4]( this season, the Cowboys could find themselves in a familiar position once again. Coming off a [40-34 overtime loss]( to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday — a game in which the Cowboys held a 27-10 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter — Dallas needed the New York Giants to beat the Washington Commanders for the Cowboys to clinch a playoff berth. (Which [did happen]( It wasn’t exactly the most convincing way to make the case that the league’s most polarizing franchise will finally make it past the divisional round. So why should this year be any different in Big D? [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: What I Learned From The 2022 Midterms]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.