Cowboys have ridden second seed to a pair of Super Bowl wins

Cowboys have ridden second seed to a pair of Super Bowl wins

This year marks the 36th time that the Dallas Cowboys have qualified for the NFL postseason.

They do so as the second-seeded team for the tenth time.

They have six times been the top seed in the NFC.

Six times as the top-seeded club, the Cowboys have advanced to the Super Bowl.

As the top seed in the NFC, they made it to three Super Bowls and won them all.

As the second seed, they made it to three Super Bowls and won two of them.

Nine of the 16 times they have advanced to the Conference championship game,

they did so as the top or second-seeded club.

They have an all-time 9-3 record as the first seed in the playoffs.

In the years that they were the second seed, the Cowboys are 10-7.

When they are seeded third or lower going into the playoffs, they are 17–20 overall.

Only twice, in 1970 and 1975, did they make it to the Super Bowl while they were ranked lower than second.

Those two games were losses for them.

Constantly a Bridesmaid

Before the AFL and NFL merged in 1970,

the Cowboys finished as the second seed in three of the last four NFL seasons.

Dallas eventually made it into the playoffs as the second-ranked club in 1966.

Instead than using won-loss records to choose home field, it was done on a rotational basis.

The top-seeded Packers from the West visited Dallas, the winners of the East Division.

Following their 34-27 victory over the Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl,

Green Bay defeated Kansas City in the inaugural Super Bowl.

Dallas finished second to Baltimore in 1968 as well, but they were defeated 31–20 by the Browns on the road in the Divisional round.

In 1969, Dallas, the second seed behind the Vikings, fell to the Browns 38-14 at home in the Divisional round.

A Year of Breakthroughs

Dallas bounced back from losing to the Colts in Super Bowl V in Miami during the 1971 season. Once more,

they were positioned second, but this time, they turned the script.

The Cowboys (11-3) defeated the Vikings (11-3) 20–12 on the road to start the game.

In the other Divisional game, the 49ers (9-5) were drawn to host the wild card Redskins (9-4-1) for an unknown reason.

After this, the madness of alternating home games will soon come to an end.

After that, Dallas defeated the 49ers 14-3 at home before defeating the Dolphins 24-3 in Super Bowl VI.

Dallas was the second-seeded team behind Minnesota in 1976,

however they lost the Divisional round 14–12 to the Rams.

The Mountain Kings

In 1977, Dallas was able to earn its first-ever No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

With victories of 23-6 over Minnesota and 37-7 over the Bears, they ran the table at Texas Stadium.

In Super Bowl XII, they concluded their journey in New Orleans.

The Broncos, along with former Dallas quarterback Craig Morton, were defeated by the Cowboys, 27-10.

As the #2 seed in 1978, they easily defeated the Rams, 28-0, and the Falcons, 27-20 at Texas Stadium.

However, the season came to an end in Miami during Super Bowl XII, losing to the Steelers 35–31.

Dallas was once more the top-seeded club in the NFC in 1979.

Roger Staubach’s final game ended in a 21-19 upset victory for the Rams at Texas Stadium, shocking Dallas.

In the Divisional round in 1981, Dallas handed Tom Landry his final second seed and crushed the Buccaneers 38-0.

However, the 49ers, who were ranked first,

won the Conference title game at Candlestick Park 28–27 after a thrilling contest.

The Run of the Dynasty

The Cowboys and 49ers took turns being the first- or second-seeded team in the NFC from 1992 to 1995.

In 1992, the Cowboys, ranked second, defeated the Eagles 34-10 and then defeated the 49ers, ranked first,

30-20. After that, Dallas won Super Bowl XXVII 52–17 over Buffalo.

The Cowboys were the number one seed the next season and defeated the 49ers 38-21,

the Packers 27-17, and the Bills 30-13 in the Super Bowl XXVIII.

The Cowboys and 49ers switched places once more in 1994.

This time, they defeated the Packers 35-9 before losing the Conference title game in San Francisco 38-28 to the 49ers.

The two teams flipped places once more in 1995, with Dallas defeating the Eagles 30-11 to start the playoffs.

But the Packers defeated the 49ers by ten points this time,

so the team did not advance to the NFC championship game.

Dallas advanced to their ninth Super Bowl after defeating Green Bay 38–27.

In Super Bowl XXX, they defeated Pittsburgh 27-17. 21st Century Drought

Only three times this century has Dallas finished in the top two seeds for the NFC playoffs.

With a 13-3 record, they were the highest-seeded team in 2007.

However, in the Divisional round, Dallas was stunned by the Giants, 21-17.

Dak Prescott guided Dallas to a 13-3 record and the first seed in 2016.

But with time running out, Mason Crosby’s 51-yard field goal gave Green Bay a 34–31 Divisional round victory.

The Cowboys’ prize for finishing 12-5 this season was the second seed.

How far the team gets this year is still to be seen.

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