The top 5 most painful losses in Dallas Cowboys history

1.  2014 Divisional Round Loss to Packers – Dez Caught It*

The 2014 version of Tony Romo was on a warpath. He led the NFL in QBR, passer rating, and completion percentage. In Romo’s 11th season, it all seemed to be finally coming together and seemed to be his best chance since 2007 to finally get his team to the Super Bowl.

After going 12-4 and finishing with a three-way tie atop the NFC, Dallas lost out on the tie-breaker, sending them to play in a Wild Card game versus Detroit. They handed Detroit a loss in a too-close-for-comfort style of game and were set to face off against the Green Bay Packers and their QB who beat Romo out for the MVP that year.

This was another close game. However, with only 4:42 left in the game, the Cowboys were down by five and were facing a 4th and 2 on the Packers’ 32-yard line. Opting to go for it, Romo threw a dagger of a pass to star receiver Dez Bryant down the left sideline.

Bryant leaped into the air, caught the ball, and then extended towards the endzone. While the call on the field by the officials was initially ruled as a catch, with Bryant being ruled down at the one-yard line, the play would be reviewed due to a thrown challenge flag by then Packers head coach, now Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

After reviewing the play on the field, the officials would overturn the call and rule it an incomplete pass, stating that Bryant never fully secured the ball before the ball hit the ground. That meant the Cowboys turned the ball over to Green Bay, and they never saw another possession, as Rodgers and the Packers would completely run out the clock.

This is arguably one of the most controversial calls in football history. People still argue about it to this day. In an interview following the loss Bryant angrily stated, “Look, I’ll tell you this, I’ve never seen that a day in my life. I want to know why it wasn’t a catch.” This play sprung debates about what the rules on catching a football would be for years to come as well.

Look, we all know even if the Cowboys scored there, that would likely be far too much time on the clock left for Aaron Rodgers to torch us down the field once again; however, when even the league itself admits they made the wrong call, it’s an appropriate response for the fans to be angry.

Honorable Mentions: 2021 NFC Wild Card vs. San Francisco 49ers, 1996 NFC Divisional Round vs. Carolina Panthers, 1998 NFC Wild Card vs. Arizona Cardinals