The Washington Commanders already punched their playoff ticket last weekend by taking down the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, but that doesn't mean the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys will be meaningless.

At least that's not the way head coach Dan Quinn and the players view it. There's still plenty to play for, particularly in terms of who they will play after their road trip to Texas.

Thanks to their win over Atlanta and the Green Bay Packers' loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Commanders are in control of the No. 6 seed and would be set to play the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. That's certainly the most ideal situation for the Burgundy & Gold, but it isn't a lock yet. First, they'll need to get a win against the Cowboys, who handed them their last defeat at Northwest Stadium back in November.

Although the Commanders could choose to rest their starter, as other playoff teams have already announced they plan to do this weekend, Quinn has already made it clear: Washington will be playing to win.

"We recognize having a six seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing," Quinn said. "And so, we're going to fight like hell to keep that."

Because the Philadelphia Eagles already locked up the NFC East with a win over the Cowboys last week, the Commanders will need to travel no matter what happens in Week 18. The difference will be where they go; should they get a win at AT&T Stadium, they would remain in the No. 6 seed and travel to play either the Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who beat them in Week 1.

If the Commanders slip to the No. 7 seed, they will travel to play the Eagles, who will have a healthy Jalen Hurts and a well-rested Saquon Barkley. Washington did beat the Eagles two weeks ago, thanks to a last-second touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels, so they've proven they can be competitive against the Super Bowl favorite. However, playing at Lincoln Financial Field in a playoff environment would be difficult for any team.

The Rams and Buccaneers, while still talented teams in their own right, offer different challenges than the Eagles. A matchup against the Buccaneers would provide the Commanders with a good litmus test of how much they have grown on both sides of the ball, as Daniels was slightly thrown off by Todd Bowles' blitz-happy defense and Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes in a 37-20 loss. The Rams, meanwhile, have won their last five games and been one of the hottest teams in the league after starting 1-4.

What Quinn cares about more, though, is the possibility, however small, that Washington could host a playoff game at Northwest Stadium. The next opportunity for that would be for the NFC Championship game, and several things would need to happen for that. Aside from Washington having to win out, the No. 7 team, which in this case would be the Green Bay Packers, would have to beat the No. 2 and No. 1 seeds. That means the Eagles, Detroit Lions and Vikings -- all viewed as Super Bowl contenders -- would have to lose.

Still, Quinn would rather leave the door open for the possibility than lose, get bumped down to the No. 7 seed and have to travel for each round of the postseason.

"Anybody...who had been at that game Sunday night [knows] that was home field advantage," Quinn said. "It was. And it was loud, and it was intense, and it was awesome. That's the type of support that when you feel it, you know it."

There's also a much simpler reason that the Commanders will play to win Sunday's game: they want to end the regular season on a positive note. Not only would a win against the Cowboys be their 12th victory -- a first in more than three decades -- but it would allow them to surge into the playoffs after playing well against a team that beat them previously in the season. The Commanders did not play well against the Cowboys in a 34-26 but still had multiple chances to win they couldn't capitalize on.

Daniels certainly cares more about that than who they play in the first round.

"You want to win every game," Daniels said. "It means something to us...not just for the season, but to end the regular season off right with a win."

Quinn knows how hard the team has worked to get the No. 6 seed. The Commanders went from 7-2 to losing three straight in November, and they were hoping that they could manage to get the seventh spot by finishing strong in the final stretch. They managed to do that by winning their last four games, the last three of which were decided by less a touchdown or less.

So, Quinn wants the players to keep what they earned, but there's something else to consider: going for the win is part of the Commanders' identity.

"That's who we are, man," Quinn said. "And I don't want to ever back off of that."