The Dallas Cowboys come into today’s Wild Card round playoff game with an 8-6 record in the first round all-time.
A Wild Card team was added to the playoffs in 1970, after the two leagues merged in 1970.
But the additional team simply played in the Divisional round with the three division champions. A Wild Card round wasn’t added until 1978 when a second wild card team was added.
Dallas’ first year as a wild card entrant into the playoffs came in 1980.
They dispatched the Rams 34-13 at Texas Stadium. Two years later they hosted Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round, winning 30-17.
The Cowboys first loss in a Wild Card game came the next year in a 24-17 loss at home to the Rams.
They would play just one more playoff game with Tom Landry as head coach after that loss, a 1985 Divisional round loss at the Rams.
Jimmy Johnson’s first Wild Card playoff game was a 17-13 win at home against the Bears. It was the only time he coached in a Wild Card game in Dallas.
In 1996, the Cowboys trounced the Vikings, 40-15, at home for their final Wild Card win of the 20th Century.
The Cowboys would lose at home to Arizona in 1998 and Minnesota in 1999 in the Wild Card round.
The Wild Card round losing streak extended into the next century as the Cowboys fell to Carolina (2003) and Seattle (2006).
Dallas would end their first-round woes in 2009, beating the Eagles 34-14 at AT&T Stadium. They made it two straight with a 24-20 win over the Lions in 2014.
A 24-22 win over Seattle in 2019 at home made it three in a row.
The 49ers ended the streak in 2021 with a 23-17 victory at Dallas. The Cowboys rebounded last year with a 31-14 win at Tampa Bay.
Versus Green Bay
The Packers lead the all-time series 21-17, but the teams are 4-4 in playoff meetings.
The most infamous of all games out of the previous 35 is the 1967 Ice Bowl. The Packers won the NFL Championship game, 21-17, on Dec. 31, 1967.
Ironically, it was the second time Dallas had lost an NFL Championship game in the 1967 calendar year.
On Jan. 1, 1967, the Packers beat the Cowboys 34-27 at the Cotton Bowl for the title.
Green Bay has won the last four meetings, and nine of the last 10 overall. The last Dallas win was in 2016, a 30-16 win on three Dak Prescott touchdown passes.
Dallas is 12-9 at home against the Packers.
The Cowboys have lost all four meetings against Green Bay at AT&T Stadium. The last Dallas home win was at Texas Stadium in 2007, a 37-27 victory.
The Cowboys were 11-2 against the Packers at Texas Stadium and just 1-3 at the Cotton Bowl.
Trivial Pursuit
Can you name the only NFC team the Dallas Cowboys have never faced in the playoffs?
The answer?
The New Orleans Saints. Yep, that surprised me too.
You’d have thought at some point over the last 50-plus years they’d have met in the playoffs but not yet.
When Dallas takes the field on Sunday against the Packers it will reduce the number of NFC teams they haven’t met in the Wild Card round to just four.
The Cowboys have yet to play the Giants, Commanders, Falcons, or the Saints in the wild card round.
They have faced the Falcons (2-0) and Giants (0-1) in the divisional round. Dallas has lost to the Commanders twice in the NFC Championship game.
All-Time Playoff Records
Dallas starts the playoffs with a 36-30 (.545) record all-time.
In addition to the 8-6 (.571) Wild Card record, the Cowboys are 15-13 (.536) in the Divisional round.
They are 8-8 (.500) in the Conference championship game and 5-3 (.625) in the Super Bowl.
Dallas is 21-10 (.677) at home all-time in the playoffs. They are 10-17 (.370) away from Dallas.
The Super Bowls have all been played at neutral sites.
But while Dallas is 5-3 in the Super Bowl – played against an AFC opponent – they are not 5-3 in the playoffs against AFC teams.
That’s because they faced the Cleveland Browns in the playoffs three times in the 1960s. Dallas won just one of those three games.
Both were NFL teams prior to the 1970 merger.
After the merger, the Browns were moved to the new AFC along with the Baltimore Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns’ games gives Dallas an all-time mark of 6-5 (.545) against the AFC’s current teams in the playoffs.
By Divisions
NFC East
- Giants (0-1)
- Eagles (3-1)
- Commanders (0-2)
NFC West
- Cardinals (0-1)
- Rams (4-5)
- 49ers (5-4)
- Seahawks (1-1)
NFC South
- Falcons (2-0)
- Panthers (0-2)
- Saints (0-0)
- Buccaneers (3-0)
NFC North
- Bears (2-0)
- Lions (2-1)
- Packers (4-4)
- Vikings (4-3)
AFC East
- Bills (2-0)
- Dolphins (1-0)
- Patriots (0-0)
- Jets (0-0)
AFC South
- Texans (0-0)
- Colts (0-1)
- Jaguars (0-0)
- Titans (0-0)
AFC North
- Ravens (0-0)
- Bengals (0-0)
- Browns (1-2 — non-Super Bowl)
- Steelers (1-2)
AFC West
- Broncos (1-0)
- Chiefs (0-0)
- Raiders (0-0)
- Chargers (0-0)