In 1995, the Cowboys — hungry for revenge for their controversial loss in San Francisco in the ’94 NFC Championship Game — returned West and were comprehensively drubbed by the 49ers by 18 points.
In 1993, Leon Lett infamously attempted to recover a blocked field goal in the Thanksgiving snow at Texas Stadium, leading to a heartbreaking loss to the Dolphins that dropped Dallas to a mediocre 7-4.
In 1992, the Cowboys were embarrassed 31-7 by the division-dominating Eagles on Monday Night Football.
In 1977, in what most experts believed to be a Super Bowl 12 preview, the Cowboys went to Pittsburgh and were flatly humbled by the defending champion Steelers 28-13.
And in 1970, Tom Landry’s team was so humiliated on Monday Night Football by the Cardinals, that — after the 38-0 shellacking — he announced he was drastically changing game plans.
Moral to the stories? The Cowboys’ 33-10 loss to the Eagles on Thanksgiving was not the death knell most of us predicted. In fact, it was a big loss that — as has been the case during Cowboys’ success in past years — might lead to much bigger victories.
Since the 23-point defeat that seemingly gave the Eagles control of the NFC East on Nov. 27, the Cowboys have been by far the best team in the NFL. In their final four regular-season games in December, they slaughtered the Bears, Eagles, Colts and Redskins, jumping to leads of 35-7, 21-0, 42-0 and 27-7 and winning by an average of 21 points per game. It’s their best prolonged stretch of football since going 13-3 in 2007.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
And history says it just might continue, perhaps all the way to the Super Bowl.
After the 18-point loss to the 49ers, the ’95 Cowboys went 7-2 and won Super Bowl 30.
After Lett’s gaffe, the ’93 Cowboys won their next eight games including Super Bowl 28.
After the 24-point prime-time loss to Philly, the ’92 Cowboys went 13-2 and won Super Bowl 27.
After the showdown loss in Pittsburgh, the ’77 Cowboys won their last seven games including Super Bowl 12.
After the humiliating loss to the Cardinals, the ’70 Cowboys went with Roger Staubach as their starting quarterback and won seven consecutive games to get to their first Super Bowl.
And after their embarrassing loss to the Eagles on Thanksgiving, the ’14 Cowboys produced four consecutive blowout wins on their way to the NFC East Championship and …
To be continued.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
