On Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys will face the San Francisco 49ers and renew a classic playoff rivalry. The Cowboys have gotten the better of the 49ers in the post season, winning 5 out of 7 matchups but it was San Francisco who won the last battle more than 25 years ago. Interestingly enough, this will be the first time the two teams will play in a wild card playoff game. Cowboys fans are hoping that Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys continue to build on their legacy and create some new wild card memories. Here is a look back at the most memorable moments in the Dallas Cowboys wild card history to date.
Honorable Mention: George Teague Forces Fumble to Save TD (Dec 28, 1996 VS Minnesota Vikings)
This was the last playoff victory for the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 90’s. The triplets dominated in this game with Troy Aikman scoring a rushing touchdown, Michael Irvin going over 100 yards receiving, and Emmitt Smith running all over the Vikings for 116 yards and 2 TD’s. Defensively, a young George Teague had a monster game and recorded 2 forced fumbles and pick 6 in the first half alone. The most impactful of those plays occurred late in the first quarter with the Cowboys up 7-0. Vikings RB Amp Lee caught a pass from Brad Johnson and was about to cross the goal line to tie the game when George Teague punched the ball out. The ball rolled out of the endzone resulting in a touchback for the Cowboys. The Cowboys never looked back after that on route to a 40-15 blowout victory.
5. BILL BATES GAME SEALING INTERCEPTION (Dec 29, 1991 VS Chicago Bears)
In Jimmy Johnston‘s first playoff game as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, his team had to travel to Soldier Field to take on Mike Ditka‘s Chicago Bears. It was the Cowboys first playoff appearance since 1983 and 3 seasons removed from finishing with a 1-15 record. In a hard fought, low scoring game, the Cowboys had a 17-13 lead with the Chicago Bears pinned deep in their own territory late in the fourth quarter. Cowboys DT Russell Maryland pressured Bears QB Jim Harbaugh and Cowboys special teams legend Bill Bates sealed the victory with an interception. The Cowboys, led by QB Steve Beuerlein at the time, did lose their subsequent divisional round match up against the Lions the following week; but, they would go on to win back to back titles the next two seasons with Troy Aikman under center.
4. MONTY HUNTER’S GO AHEAD PICK SIX (Jan 9, 1983 VS Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
This was a wild back and forth game which saw the lead change 4 different times. The Dallas Cowboys were trailing 17-16 going into the fourth quarter. That was when a rookie safety named Monty Hunter snatched a Doug Williams pass out of mid air and returned it 19 yards for his first career TD. The Cowboys added another score in the fourth quarter and beat the Bucs for the second straight year in the playoffs.
3. DAK GOES HEAD OVER HEELS FOR FIRST PLAYOFF WIN (Jan 5, 2019 VS Seattle Seahawks)
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys were down 14 -10 going into the fourth quarter against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys took the lead early in the fourth quarter and were driving down the field in the final minutes of the game to extend their lead. It was 3rd down and 14 for the Cowboys with 2 minutes and 32 seconds left on the clock. Dak Prescott decided at that moment to make a desperate run for it. He blew past Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner then summersaulted in midair past the first down marker to set up a first and goal for the Cowboys. A few plays later, Prescott hit Michael Gallup for a the TD which sealed his first playoff victory of his career.
2. TONY ROMO LEADS FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACK (Jan 4, 2015 VS Detroit Lions)
The Dallas Cowboys were down 14-0 early in this game but clawed their way back. The Lions held a 17-14 advantage in the fourth quarter and Romo and the Cowboys were driving down the field late. With 6 minutes left in the game, the Cowboys faced a fourth and 6 at the Lions 42 yard line. Romo converted by hitting Jason Witten on their patented Y Option over the middle. Then, on 3rd and goal from the eight yard line, Tony Romo danced around in the pocket and found Terrance Williams for the go ahead touchdown. That was an epic moment for Romo given his previous history of coming up short in the post season. The Cowboys went on to lose to Green Bay in the divisional round game after Dez Bryant‘s epic fourth down catch was ruled incomplete in one of the most controversial and heart breaking moments in Cowboys history, but that is a story for another day. Speaking of heart breaking moments, the MOST memorable moment in Dallas Cowboys wild card playoff history is…
1. ROMO FUMBLES THE FIELD GOAL SNAP (Jan 6, 2007)
This is a painful memory for Dallas Cowboys fans so I hate to rank it number one on this list but it must be done. There is no single moment that comes close to being as memorable (for all the wrong reasons) as this one. There were a lot of things leading up to this moment that were memorable in their own right. The Cowboys had a 20-13 lead in this game with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter. They had the ball inside their own 5 yard line and Tony Romo threw a quick screen pass to Terry Glenn on the outside to try to create some breathing room. The pass hung in the air and the Seahawks defender aggressively challenged Glenn. After making the catch, Glenn tried to beat his man one on one and fumbled the ball into his own endzone. The Seahawks were awarded a safety to make the score 20-15 and then scored the go ahead touchdown with just over 4 minutes to play after getting the ball back. Tony Romo and the Cowboys then marched down the field and looked poised to retake the lead. On third down and 7 from the Seahawks 8 yard line, Romo hit Jason Witten for what appeared to be a first down completion. Upon further review, Witten was ruled half a yard short setting up a fourth down chip shot field goal attempt for the Cowboys to take a one point lead in the game. Tony Romo started the season as the back up quarterback and he was the holder for the entire regular season. He kept his job as the holder even when he took over as the starting quarterback. Unfortunately, at this crucial moment, Romo inexplicably fumbled the snap. After botching the snap, Romo was quick on his feet and starting to run towards the Seahawks end zone. After the initial shock and disbelief, we Cowboys fans had begun to hope that Romo was going to run it in for a touchdown. We clung to the desperate hope that he was going to make it. In fact, it looked as though he really was going to make it…But then Jordan Babineaux of the Seahawks crushed all of our dreams with a brilliant diving tackle to save the TD and earn Seattle the victory. Many wonder how the career of Tony Romo may have played out differently if not for that play. It is one play, that as a Cowboys fan I will never forget and will replay over and over again in my mind until the team can bring home another long awaited championship to make me forget it.
*All data and statistics obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200701060sea.htm
Dak appears to be the next Romo. Win 10 plus games and flop in the playoffs. Dak is now on track with TR. 1-4 in games that count. TR finished at 2-6…