We all know money changes everything, especially when you are talking big money like what the NFL makes off of certain teams in their league. It is no secret that certain teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots get more viewers than teams like the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans or the Kansas City Chiefs.
With that being said, there is a lot more money to be made when popular teams play in the playoffs or in prime time slots. The same goes for all the major sports. For example the last World Series got the worst ratings all-time, not because the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays weren't good teams, but because they aren't based in major markets (at least the Rays aren't). For that reason the MLB suffered huge losses, of course they always make money in October, but they would have profited a lot more from say a Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers World Series rather than the one they got. Not only do both teams have a huge fan base, but they sell a lot of merchandise and then you have the Manny Ramirez factor where people who aren't even fans of baseball would watch just to see what happens when he played against his old team.
There probably isn't a conspiracy with the NFL trying to get the Cowboys a playoff spot, but with the recent time change of the Eagles/Cowboys matchup in week 17, some people think that the NFL is being a bit shady in their tactics.
This game which will determine the outcome of both the Cowboys and the Eagles season, with a win by the Cowboys they will almost certainly get a Wildcard spot with a Eagles win they will end the Cowboys season and have a chance at a Wildcard.
The Eagles are a long shot to make the playoffs, they have to have a few things happen before they even have a chance at getting a Wildcard shot, but their fate might be determined before the game do to the time change which totally benefits the Cowboys because the Eagles could quite possibly have nothing to play for. The only thing that Dallas will have against them if the Eagles season is over is that Philly fans absolute hate the Cowboys and the Eagles will want to be their rivals regardless.
This game will now get the prime time spot for football on Sunday which is 3:15pm ET, but the games before the Cowboys/Eagles will ultimately already determine whether or not the Eagles have a chance. The Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Bucs hold the fate of the Eagles in their hands. If both the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears, who play the Giants and Texans, beat New York then Philly is done. Another scenario is if the Tampa Bay Bucs beat the Oakland Raiders, which is a very good possibility, then the Eagles are finished.
So like I said, the Eagles are definitely a long shot to make playoffs, but there is a chance. The Cowboys on the other hand just have to win, no scenario, no other teams in the their way, just a win.
Is there a NFL conspiracy? Who knows. Would it surprise me if the NFL did do this on purpose to get the Cowboys in the playoffs? Nope.
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