History Says The Dallas Cowboys Won’t Win A Playoff Game This Year

The Dallas Cowboys are off to one of their best starts in franchise history. At 9-1, they have the single best record in the NFL and have their eyes on home-field advantage. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott are both in the running for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year this season.

Things couldn’t be better, right?

Hold on a second. The previous three times the Cowboys have started a season 9-1, they failed to even win a single playoff game. That doesn’t necessarily mean these Cowboys won’t win a playoff game, but as a wise man once said, “history repeats itself.”

Here is a look at the other three time the Cowboys began a season 9-1.

1976

This Cowboys squad was fresh off a Super Bowl appearance in 1975, and with a 9-1 record, it looked like they were going to repeat as conference champions. The Cowboys had a very balanced team this year ranking top 10 in both offense and defense, but were stunned in one of the biggest playoff upsets in NFL history. The Los Angeles Rams shocked the football world by defeating the Cowboys in their stadium in a defensive slugfest, 14-12. The quarterbacks, Roger Staubach and Pat Haden combined for zero touchdowns and six interceptions. The Cowboys did win the Super Bowl the very next year over the Denver Broncos.

1983

Danny White truly was an underrated quarterback. Unfortunately he just couldn’t live up to being Roger Staubach’s successor. The 1983 Cowboys, still coached by Tom Landry, began their season 9-1 before losing to the San Diego Chargers in Week 11. The ’83 Cowboys had an elite offense led by Tony Dorsett, who ran for 1,321 yards that year. They didn’t exactly end the season on a high note, however. “America’s Team” lost their final two games of the season by 21 and 25 points, and that slump continued in the postseason. The Cowboys would go on to lose to the Los Angeles Rams, 24-17 as Eric Dickerson ran for 99 yards.

2007

This was bad, really bad. The 2007 Cowboys finished the season 13-3 and got the No. 1 seed in the NFC. This team actually started off 12-1. Tony Romo and Terrell Owens had a great connection, and it looked certain that they would advance to the NFC Championship game to face Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. They also got to face the New York Giants in the playoffs, a team they swept in the regular season. What seemed like an easy game turned into disaster as the Cowboys fell to Big Blue at home, 21-17. To make this loss even more painful, the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl.