With only one game remaining on the NFL slate of games for Week 11, there are clearly four classes of franchises. There’s a sticky middle between two tiers: teams that are currently in playoff position and teams that have a chance of getting theirs. The next level is made up of teams with realistic Super Bowl dreams. Clubs such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings have separated themselves from the pack.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, at the fourth tier, there are a multitude of teams without any realistic chance of playoff glory. These teams are in a reverse race. I’m not actively trying to lose, but in reality these teams’ futures are better served by better draft positioning.

This is the group the Dallas Cowboys sit in as they prepare to take on the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.

Currently, after the results of Sunday’s games, Dallas sits at the 9th pick in the first round thanks to a 3-6 record. Depending on the results of the competition, everything could change.

With a defeat, Dallas remains in 9th place. The only team with a 3-7 record, the Carolina Panthers, has a much worse strength of schedule than Dallas. This is the decisive factor in terms of draft order; no head-to-head, no conference record, or anything else that matters for playoff tiebreakers.

The Panthers’ SOS currently sits at .489 while Dallas’s is at .523.

If the Cowboys pull off the upset at home and improve to 4-6, they will likely fall to 13th.

There are two teams with records of 4-7 (New Orleans, Cincinnati) and three others with records of 4-6. Dallas has a better SOS than Miami (.433) and Tampa Bay (.517), and a worse one than Chicago (.557) thanks to the strength of the NFC North this season.