• A debilitating playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers: The Dallas Cowboys crashed out of the postseason once again, this time in 48-32 fashion after earning the NFC's No. 2 seed.
• Playoff wins remain elusive despite regular-season dominance: The Cowboys rank second in wins since 2021 (36) but are 1-3 in the postseason over that span, including this latest debacle.
• Start your Dallas Cowboys mock draft: Try PFF's mock draft simulator — trade picks and players and mock for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
It happened again. Installed as a 7.5-point favorite, the Dallas Cowboys crashed out of the playoffs, falling to the Green Bay Packers at home by a score of 48-32 in the wild-card round.
That scoreline flattered the Cowboys significantly, as some garbage time production briefly threatened to rekindle the flames of a game whose fire was stomped out in the first half by the Packers.
This loss shocked Jerry Jones. The Cowboys' owner has been in a constant struggle to restore the glory of the championships that he and Jimmy Johnson enjoyed together in the 1990s, and he felt that this year they really had a chance. Just like the last time. And the time before that.
This is a big part of the problem.
Dallas isn’t just competing against its opponent but also against the weight of history, which is getting heavier with each postseason failure.
Since the start of 2021, the Kansas City Chiefs have the best record (37-14) in the NFL and are 6-1 in the postseason, winning a Super Bowl in the process.
The Cowboys are No. 2 on that list, with 36 wins, but are 1-3 in the postseason, including this latest debacle.
1995 marked the last Super Bowl win for the Cowboys, when Barry Switzer was still the head coach. Since that season, Dallas has clinched 13 playoff berths — a 46% rate — but hasn’t won more than a single game in any postseason appearance.
That history now permeates everything. It’s the entire narrative surrounding any Cowboys season. They have won 12 games in three straight seasons, but the commentary all year is, “Just wait for the inevitable playoff meltdown.” Sports personalities Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith have turned the entire thing into content bits and await each instance.
The Packers took advantage of that notion by electing to take the ball first instead of deferring to the second half. They scored a touchdown with their opening drive and immediately planted the seed of doubt in the minds of every Cowboys player. When Dallas failed to convert on third-and-8 on its first drive, the doubt grew, and it must have spiraled out of control when the Packers scored another touchdown and began to put the hammer down.
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