Between the inaugural season of 1960 and the 1995 season, the Dallas Cowboys played in 16 NFC Championship games.
The first two came in 1966 and 1967, when it was still the NFL Championship game and the winner moved on to play the AFL Champions.
Those two losses were both to the Green Bay Packers, who went on to beat the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders in what would later become the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys would not reach the next two NFL Championship games, thanks to the Cleveland Browns in the Divisional round.
But after the two leagues merged for the 1970 season – and the Cowboys would play in the new NFC conference – Dallas would play in 10 of the next 13 NFC title games.
They would go 5-5 in those games between 1970 and 1982. A nine-year drought would follow as Dallas would go just 1-3 in playoff games during that stretch.
In 1992, the Cowboys would start a string of four straight NFC title game appearances and go 3-1 in those games.
Since winning the 1995 NFC championship they have played 28 seasons.
Dallas is 5-13 in the playoffs from 1996 through the 2023 season. They have not made it back to the conference title game in those 28 years.
The Israelites wandered the Sinai for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land. Cowboys fans are starting to wonder if they'll have to wait as long too.
The 1960s
The Cowboys hosted their first-ever title game in 1966 at the Cotton Bowl.
It would be the only title game played at the Cotton Bowl.
They won four of their five NFC title games played at Texas Stadium. Dallas is just 4-6 however in title games on the road for an 8-8 record overall.
The first game against Green Bay saw the Cowboys stand toe-to-toe with the Packers with the first quarter ending in a 14-14 tie.
But Bart Starr kept throwing touchdowns and the Cowboys settled for two field goals in a 34-27 loss.
The following year the teams met again in Green Bay for what is now known as the Ice Bowl.
Starr threw for two early touchdowns and a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Don Meredith struggled, going just 10-of-25 for 59 yards and an interception.
The Cowboys rallied behind a George Andrie fumble return for a touchdown and a Danny Villanueva field goal to get to 14-10 going into the final quarter.
Dan Reeves then hit Lance Rentzel on a 50-yard pass to make it 17-14. The Cowboys were on the verge of their first title.
But Starr drove the Packers downfield and plunged in from the one for a 21-17 win.
The 1970s
The Cowboys started off the decade with a conference title game at Keezar Stadium in San Francisco in 1970.
Duane Thomas' 143 yards and a rushing touchdown led Dallas to a 17-10 win over the 49ers and their first trip to a Super Bowl against the Colts.
The next year the two teams met again, this time at the brand new Texas Stadium.
The Cowboys prevailed 14-3 to advance to a second-straight Super Bowl.
Dallas' reign as NFC champions ended in 1972 with a 26-3 loss at the Redskins in the title game.
The Vikings made it back-to-back losses in the NFC title game in 1973. Minnesota drubbed the Cowboys 27-10 as Roger Staubach was intercepted four times.
Dallas' run of NFC Championship appearance ended at four in 1974 as they failed to reach the playoffs.
In 1975 the Cowboys faced the Rams at Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum in the NFC Championship and crushed them 37-7.
This time, Staubach threw four touchdown passes. He only had one interception in the game.
After a Divisional round exit in 1976, the Cowboys were back in the title game in 1977, beating the Vikings 23-6 at Texas Stadium.
They were back in Los Angeles the following year, blanking the Rams 28-0 to advance to the Super Bowl.
Another Divisional round exit to the Rams followed in 1979. Not only did the loss close out the decade, but it also served as Staubach's final game.
The 1980s
The Cowboys would start the 1980s with three straight NFC Conference game appearances from 1980-82. They would lose all three.
All three games were played on the road as well.
With Danny White taking over for the retired Staubach, the Cowboys fell 20-7 to the Eagles in 1980.
A heartbreaking 28-27 loss at Candlestick Park to the 49ers would follow in 1981.
“The Catch” is mostly remembered from that game. But it was “The Tackle” and “The Fumble” that followed that actually sealed the 49ers victory.
In 1982, White was injured early and Gary Hogeboom could not rally the team as the Redskins won 31-17 at RFK Stadium.
The Cowboys would not make another conference title game for the rest of the decade.
The 1990s
The nine-year drought ended back at Candlestick Park in 1992. The Cowboys exorcised a lot of demons with a 30-20 win over the 49ers.
The two teams met again in the next year's title game, this time at Texas Stadium.
Dallas dominated the game, taking a 21-point lead at halftime on the way to a 38-21 win.
The 49ers got their revenge – thanks to Jimmy Johnson no longer serving as Dallas' head coach – in 1994 with a 38-28 win at Candlestick Park.
The Cowboys then rallied with two fourth quarter touchdowns in the 1995 title game against the Packers at Texas Stadium.
The victory evened their overall conference title game record. And it stands as the last title game the Cowboys have played in since.
