When you look at how the first three weeks of this 2025 campaign have played out, the Dallas Cowboys could easily be 2-1 right now. If not for a couple of big drops from CeeDee Lamb in the season opener, there's a strong chance that America's Team takes down the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles instead of taking a 24-20 defeat.
On the flip side, however, Brian Schottenheimer's squad could also easily be 0-3, as it took a historic 64-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey just for the Cowboys to get to overtime in their wild Week 2 win over the New York Giants.
Let's not pretend 3-0 was ever an option, as Dallas was decimated by the Chicago Bears this past Sunday. As such, the Cowboys will head into their highly anticipated Week 4 matchup with Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in third place in the NFC East at 1-2.
And if history is any indication, this is a must-win game for Dallas. Since the Cowboys first took the field in 1960, they've started a season with a 1-3 record on seven occasions. And of those seven occasions, they've only fought back to make the postseason once.
The only time the Cowboys made the playoffs after starting 1-3 was in 1996
Here's a quick look at every instance in which Dallas lost three of its first four games and how that season went as a whole.
Season | Final Record | Result |
|---|---|---|
1964 | 5-8-1 | Missed Playoffs |
1974 | 8-6 | Missed Playoffs |
1990 | 7-9 | Missed Playoffs |
1996 | 10-6 | Lost Divisional Round |
2000 | 5-11 | Missed Playoffs |
2010 | 6-10 | Missed Playoffs |
2020 | 6-10 | Missed Playoffs |
As you can see, the only time the Cowboys started 1-3 and made the playoffs was in 1996, which, of course, was the season after the franchise won its last Super Bowl.
That year, Dallas lost its season opener to the Bears, beat the Giants in Week 2, and then took losses in Weeks 3 and 4 to the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills, respectively. The Cowboys then went on to win four straight and ultimately took nine of their last 12, thus finishing with a 10-6 mark to clinch their fifth consecutive NFC East title.
As the No. 3 seed in the conference, Dallas took down the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round by a score of 40-15 before falling 26-17 to the second-seeded Carolina Panthers in the Divisional Round.
So, again, history is not on the Cowboys' side if they lose to the Packers on Sunday night. And while we're at it, history really isn't on their side when it comes to this rivalry, as Green Bay has taken the last five meetings between these two historic franchises.
The last time the Cowboys beat the Packers was in Week 6 of the 2016 campaign when then-rookie Dak Prescott threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns, while the Dallas defense forced four turnovers in an easy 30-16 victory.