Dallas Cowboys seasons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of seasons completed by the Dallas Cowboys American football franchise of the National Football League (NFL). The list documents the season-by-season records of the Cowboys' franchise from 1960 to present, including postseason records, and league awards for individual players or head coaches. The Cowboys franchise was originally founded in 1960 as an expansion team.[1] The team has earned the most postseason appearances (29, which includes another league record of 54 postseason games, winning 32 of them), the longest consecutive streak of winning seasons with 20, the most appearances in the NFC Championship Game (14), and the most Super Bowl appearances (8), two more than any other NFL team. The Cowboys have played for 10 NFL Championships and have won five, all five being Super Bowls.[2]

The Cowboys won Super Bowl VI, XII, XXVII, XXVIII and XXX. They also played in and lost Super Bowl V, X, and XIII.[2]

The franchise has experienced two major periods of continued success in their history. The first period of success came from 19661985 when the Cowboys played in the postseason 18 times.[3] During this period, they played in two NFL Championships and five Super Bowls, winning two of them.[3] The second period of success was between 19921996 when the Cowboys captured five straight NFC East Division titles and won three Super Bowls.[3]

The Cowboys have also experienced failure in their history. The most notable period of failure was from their 1960 inaugural season to 1965, during which the Cowboys did not have a single postseason appearance.[4] Their first season they went winless, compiling an 0-11-1 record that is still the worst in franchise history.[4] Also, they did not have a single winning record in this period.[4]

For complete team history, see History of the Dallas Cowboys

  • Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play. Italicized numbers mean that the records are subject to change each week due to regular season or postseason games being played.
NFL Champions (1920–1969) Super Bowl Champions (1970–present) Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth
Official NFL records as of January 12, 2008
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason Results Awards
Finish Wins Losses Ties
Dallas Cowboys
1960 1960 NFL Western 7th 0 11 1
1961 1961 NFL Eastern 6th 4 9 1
1962 1962 NFL Eastern 5th 5 8 1
1963 1963 NFL Eastern 5th 4 10 0
1964 1964 NFL Eastern 5th 5 8 1
1965 1965 NFL Eastern 2nd 7 7 0
1966 1966 NFL Eastern 1st 10 3 1 Lost NFL Championship Game (Packers) (34-27) Tom Landry (NFL COY)
1967[5] 1967 NFL Capitol 1st 9 5 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Browns) (52-10)
Lost NFL Championship Game (Packers) (21-17)
1968 1968 NFL Capitol 1st 12 2 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Browns) (31-20)
1969 1969 NFL Capitol 1st 11 2 1 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Browns) (38-14) Calvin Hill (Off. ROY)
George Andrie (Pro Bowl Def. MVP)
1970 1970 NFL NFC East 1st 10 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Lions) (5-0)
Won Conference Championship (49ers) (17-10)
Lost Super Bowl V (Colts) (16-13)
Chuck Howley (SB MVP)
Mel Renfro (PB Def. MVP)
1971 1971 NFL NFC East 1st 11 3 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) (20-12)
Won Conference Championship (49ers) (14-3)
Won Super Bowl VI (1) (Dolphins) (24-3)
Roger Staubach (SB MVP)
1972 1972 NFL NFC East 2nd 10 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (49ers) (30-28)
Lost Conference Championship (Redskins) (26-3)
1973 1973 NFL NFC East 1st[6] 10 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Rams) (27-16)
Lost Conference Championship (Vikings) (27-10)
1974 1974 NFL NFC East 3rd 8 6 0
1975 1975 NFL NFC East 2nd 10 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) (17-14)
Won Conference Championship (L.A. Rams) (37-7)
Lost Super Bowl X (Steelers) (21-17)
Tom Landry (NFC COY)
1976 1976 NFL NFC East 1st 11 3 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Rams) (14-12)
1977 1977 NFL NFC East 1st 12 2 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Bears) (37-7)
Won Conference Championship (Vikings) (23-6)
Won Super Bowl XII (2) (Broncos) (27-10)
Tony Dorsett (Off. ROY)
Harvey Martin and Randy White (SB co-MVPs)
1978[7] 1978 NFL NFC East 1st[8] 12 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) (27-20)
Won Conference Championship (L.A. Rams) (28-0)
Lost Super Bowl XIII (Steelers (35-31)
1979 1979 NFL NFC East 1st[9] 11 5 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Rams) (21-19)
1980 1980 NFL NFC East 2nd[10] 12 4 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (L.A. Rams) (34-17)
Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) (30-27)
Lost Conference Championship (Eagles) (20-7)
1981 1981 NFL NFC East 1st 12 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Buccaneers) (38-0)
Lost Conference Championship (49ers) (28-27)
1982[11] 1982 NFL NFC 2nd 6 3 0 Won First Round (Buccaneers) (30-17)
Won Second Round (Packers) (37-26)
Lost Conference Championship (Redskins) (31-17)
1983 1983 NFL NFC East 2nd 12 4 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (L.A. Rams) 24-17
1984 1984 NFL NFC East 4th 9 7 0
1985 1985 NFL NFC East 1st[12] 10 6 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Rams) (20-0)
1986 1986 NFL NFC East 3rd 7 9 0
1987[13] 1987 NFL NFC East 4th 7 8 0
1988 1988 NFL NFC East 5th 3 13 0
1989 1989 NFL NFC East 5th 1 15 0
1990 1990 NFL NFC East 4th 7 9 0 Emmitt Smith (Off. ROY)
Jimmy Johnson (NFL COY)
1991 1991 NFL NFC East 2nd[14] 11 5 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bears) (17-13)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Lions) (38-6)
Michael Irvin, (Pro Bowl MVP)
1992 1992 NFL NFC East 1st 13 3 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) (34-10)
Won Conference Championship (49ers) (30-20)
Won Super Bowl XXVII (3) (Bills) (52-17)
Troy Aikman (SB MVP)
1993 1993 NFL NFC East 1st 12 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) (27-17)
Won Conference Championship (49ers) (38-21)
Won Super Bowl XXVIII (4) (Bills) (30-13)
Emmitt Smith (SB MVP)
Emmitt Smith (NFL MVP)
1994 1994 NFL NFC East 1st 12 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) (35-9)
Lost Conference Championship (49ers) (38-28)
1995 1995 NFL NFC East 1st 12 4 0 Won Divisional Playoffs (Eagles) (30-11)
Won Conference Championship (Packers) (38-27)
Won Super Bowl XXX (5) (Steelers) (27-17)
Larry Brown (SB MVP)
1996 1996 NFL NFC East 1st[15] 10 6 0 Won Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) (40-15)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Panthers) (26-17)
1997 1997 NFL NFC East 4th 6 10 0
1998 1998 NFL NFC East 1st 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Cardinals) (20-7)
1999 1999 NFL NFC East 2nd[16] 8 8 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) (27-10)
2000 2000 NFL NFC East 4th 5 11 0
2001 2001 NFL NFC East 5th 5 11 0
2002 2002 NFL NFC East 4th 5 11 0
2003 2003 NFL NFC East 2nd 10 6 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Panthers) (29-10)
2004 2004 NFL NFC East 3rd 6 10 0
2005 2005 NFL NFC East 3rd 9 7 0
2006 2006 NFL NFC East 2nd 9 7 0 Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Seahawks) (21-20)
2007 2007 NFL NFC East 1st 13 3 0 Lost Divisional Playoffs (Giants) (21-17) Greg Ellis (CBPOY)
Total 412 302 6 (1960–2007, includes only regular season)
32 24 -- (1960–2007, includes only playoffs)
444 326 6 (1960–2007, includes both regular season and playoffs; 5 NFL Championships)

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ 1950 Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys' Official Website. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  2. ^ a b Dallas Cowboys' Championship History. NFLTeamHistory.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c Dallas Cowboys Championship History. NFLTeamHistory.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  4. ^ a b c Dallas Cowboys History. CBS Sports. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  5. ^ The 1967 NFL season marks the first season in the league's history where the league was divided into two conferences which were subdivided into two divisions. Up to 1967, the league was either divided into two divisions, two conferences, or neither.
  6. ^ At the end of the 1973 season, the Cowboys and the Redskins finished the season with identical 10-4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Washington in the NFC East based on better point differential in head-to-head games.
  7. ^ For the 1978 season, the NFL expanded from a 14-game season to a 16-game season.
  8. ^ At the end of the 1978 season, the Cowboys and the LA Rams finished the season with identical 12-4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Los Angeles was the top NFC seed over Dallas based on a better head-to-head record.
  9. ^ At the end of the 1979 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the season with identical 11-5 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on a better conference record.
  10. ^ At the end of the 1980 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the season with identical 12-4 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Philadelphia finished ahead of Dallas in the NFC East based on better net points in division games.
  11. ^ The 1982 NFL season was shortened from 16 games per team to 9 games because of a players' strike. The NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament; eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8, and division standings were ignored.
  12. ^ At the end of the 1985 season, the Cowboys, Redskins, and the Giants finished the season with identical 10-6 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of New York and Washington based on a better head-to-head record.
  13. ^ The 1987 NFL season was shortened from 16 games per team to 15 games because of a players' strike. Games to be played during the third week of the season were canceled, and replacement players were used to play games from weeks 4 through 6.
  14. ^ At the end of the 1991 season, the Cowboys and the Bears finished the season with identical 11-5 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Chicago was the first NFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Dallas.
  15. ^ At the end of the 1996 season, the Cowboys and the Eagles finished the season with identical 10-6 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas finished ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East based on better record against common opponents.
  16. ^ At the end of the 1999 season, the Cowboys, Lions, and the Panthers finished the season with identical 8-8 records. Using the NFL's tie-breaking procedures, Dallas was the second NFC Wild Card based on a better record than Detroit against common opponents and a better conference record than Carolina.

[edit] References