> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.grumpybuck.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The 10 Most Devastating Losses in Dallas Cowboys History - URL: https://www.grumpybuck.com/the-10-most-devastating-losses-in-dallas-cowboys-history/ - Published: 2026-10-09T15:26:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T15:26:24.000Z - Description: From Jackie Smith's drop in Super Bowl XIII to The Catch, the Dez no-catch and the 48-32 wild-card wipeout: the 10 Cowboys losses that still hurt, ranked, after Thursday night's loss to the winless Bucs. - Author: Brad Riddell - Tags: Sports History, Top 10, Football, NFL Thursday night the Dallas Cowboys lost at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 24-16\. The Bucs came in 0-4\. Their starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield, was out with a dislocated thumb, so they started Jalon Daniels, an undrafted rookie making his second NFL start. Dallas was an 8.5-point favorite. Tampa Bay's first possession lasted 15 plays, 73 yards and 10 minutes, 58 seconds. That is one second short of the longest scoring drive in Buccaneers history, set in 1994\. KaVontae Turpin fumbled a kickoff. Dak Prescott threw 2 interceptions. Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards, including a 72-yard burst that set up the touchdown that put the game away. The Bucs outscored Dallas 17-0 in the third quarter and ran for 241 yards on the night. Afterward, Prescott's biggest complaint was not the defense or the turnovers. It was a car-service driver stationed outside the tunnel who yelled "embarrassing" at him as he walked off. "Tough guy," Prescott said. "Get his ass out of here." Jerry Jones called himself "extraordinarily disappointed" and admitted he was surprised the Bucs ran it between the tackles. Brian Schottenheimer said it has to start with him calling better plays. The Cowboys are 2-3 after a 7-9-1 season, and the last time they played in an NFC Championship Game, Bill Clinton was in his first term. And here is the stat that will follow this game around: per ESPN, it was only the second time in franchise history Dallas lost at home to a team that came in 0-4 or worse. The first was October 19, 1975, when Bart Starr's winless Packers won 19-17 at Texas Stadium. That Cowboys team went on to the Super Bowl. Nobody expects this one to. ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 20, 1975: “Cowboys lose ‘great giveaway’ 19-17.” The last time Dallas lost at home to a winless team, until Thursday.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/11-packers-1975-great-giveaway-fwst-1975-10-20.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 20, 1975: “Cowboys lose ‘great giveaway’ 19-17.” The last time Dallas lost at home to a winless team, until Thursday. Here is the thing: nobody in Dallas was shocked. Cowboys fans have been conditioned by 30 years of this. So instead of dwelling on a Thursday night in October, let's rank the losses that actually hurt. These are the 10 that still get argued about at Thanksgiving. ## 10\. Super Bowl X: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17 (January 18, 1976) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 19, 1976: “Staubach’s unexploded bombs break pattern of Poke miracles.”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/10-sb10-staubach-unexploded-bombs-fwst-1976-01-19.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 19, 1976: “Staubach’s unexploded bombs break pattern of Poke miracles.” ![Lynn Swann's juggling catch in Super Bowl X.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-super-bowl-x.jpg) Lynn Swann's juggling catch in Super Bowl X. **The moment:** Roger Staubach, needing a touchdown on the final play, is intercepted in the end zone by Glen Edwards. Dallas was a wild-card team that had no business being in Miami, and they led 10-7 at halftime. Then Lynn Swann happened: 4 catches, 161 yards, including the juggling sideline grab that is still the most replayed catch in Super Bowl history. Pittsburgh scored 14 straight, Dallas got one back, and Staubach had the ball with time to tie or win. The deep ball to the end zone found Edwards instead. **Why it hurts:** It was the first Cowboys-Steelers Super Bowl, and it started the argument over which was the team of the 70s. The second one settled it, and that one is higher on this list. ## 9\. Packers 48, Cowboys 32 (January 14, 2024) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 16, 2024. The sports front needed one word.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/09-packers-2024-omg-fwst-2024-01-16.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 16, 2024\. The sports front needed one word. ![Aaron Jones and the Packers run through Dallas, January 14, 2024.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-48-32.jpg) Aaron Jones and the Packers run through Dallas, January 14, 2024. **The moment:** Darnell Savage returns a Dak Prescott interception 64 yards with 1:50 left in the first half. Packers 27, Cowboys 0. Dallas was 12-5, the No. 2 seed and 8-0 at home. Green Bay was 9-8 and the first No. 7 seed ever to win a playoff game. Jordan Love went 16 of 21 with 3 touchdown passes. It was 48-16 before 2 late Dallas touchdowns made the score look respectable. The Cowboys had not lost at AT&T Stadium since the 2022 opener a 16-game home winning streak. **Why it hurts:** Not because it was close. Because it was not. Three straight 12-5 seasons produced zero playoff wins past the first round, and this was the one where the whole operation was exposed on the home field. ## 8\. Super Bowl V: Colts 16, Cowboys 13 (January 17, 1971) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 18, 1971: “Super Fame Slips Past ’Pokes.”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/07-sb5-super-fame-slips-fwst-1971-01-18.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 18, 1971: “Super Fame Slips Past ’Pokes.” ![Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in Super Bowl V.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-super-bowl-v.jpg) Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in Super Bowl V. **The moment:** Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, set up by Mike Curtis's interception of Craig Morton. The Blunder Bowl. The two teams combined for 11 turnovers, 7 of them by Baltimore, and Dallas still lost. The Cowboys led 13-6 and spent the fourth quarter handing the ball back to the Colts. Linebacker Chuck Howley was named MVP, the only player from a losing team ever to win it. **Why it hurts:** Dallas had spent the late 60s as the team that could not win the big one. This was their first Super Bowl, they were the better team on the field, and they found a way to lose it anyway. ## 7\. The Ice Bowl: Packers 21, Cowboys 17 (December 31, 1967) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 1, 1968: “Cowboys Bow in Last Seconds.”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/08-ice-bowl-cowboys-bow-fwst-1968-01-01.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 1, 1968: “Cowboys Bow in Last Seconds.” ![Bart Starr's quarterback sneak with 16 seconds left.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-ice-bowl-i.jpg) Bart Starr's quarterback sneak with 16 seconds left. ![Minus 13 at kickoff at Lambeau Field.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-ice-bowl-ii.jpg) Minus 13 at kickoff at Lambeau Field. **The moment:** Bart Starr's quarterback sneak with 16 seconds left. Minus 13 degrees at kickoff at Lambeau Field, and the heating coils under the turf had failed. Dallas trailed 14-10 and took the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when Dan Reeves threw a 50-yard halfback option pass to Lance Rentzel. Then Green Bay went 68 yards in 12 plays on a field of concrete, and Vince Lombardi chose a sneak instead of a field goal that would have forced overtime. Starr went in behind Jerry Kramer, and the Packers went to Super Bowl II. **Why it hurts:** It was the second straight NFL Championship Game Dallas lost to Green Bay, after the 34-27 loss the year before. The Cowboys were the next dynasty, and the old one would not get out of the way. ## 6\. Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20 (January 6, 2007) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram front page, January 7, 2007: “Postseason is over in a snap.”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/06-romo-snap-fwst-2007-01-07.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram front page, January 7, 2007: “Postseason is over in a snap.” ![Tony Romo loses the hold on the 19-yard field goal try.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-romo.jpg) Tony Romo loses the hold on the 19-yard field goal try. **The moment:** Tony Romo, doubling as the holder, bobbles the snap on a 19-yard field goal with 1:19 left. The snap was good. Parcells said so afterward. Romo just dropped it, picked it up, ran left and was dragged down at the 2-yard line by Jordan Babineaux. It was a chip shot that would have put Dallas up 23-21 in a wild-card game they had led 20-13 in the fourth quarter. **Why it hurts:** Romo was half a season into his career as a starter and had just saved the season. He said afterward that he had cost his team a playoff win and that it would sit with him a long time. He was right, and it became the first line of every story about him for a decade. ## 5\. Giants 21, Cowboys 17 (January 13, 2008) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram front page, January 14, 2008: “A soaring season crashes to earth.”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/05-giants-soaring-season-fwst-2008-01-14.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram front page, January 14, 2008: “A soaring season crashes to earth.” ![Eli Manning and the Giants against the Cowboys.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-giants.jpg) Eli Manning and the Giants against the Cowboys. **The moment:** R.W. McQuarters intercepts Romo in the end zone with 9 seconds left. This was the best Cowboys team since the 90s. They went 13-3, earned the top seed, sent 13 players to the Pro Bowl and had beaten the Giants twice in the regular season. Then Romo spent the bye week in Cabo with Jessica Simpson, and Jerry Jones had NFC Championship Game tickets waiting in the locker room before the divisional game had kicked off. Tom Coughlin has said he made sure his team knew about it. **Why it hurts:** The Giants went on to beat the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. That could have been Dallas. Instead it was the first entry in a long list of Jerry Jones counting chickens. ## 4\. Packers 26, Cowboys 21 (January 11, 2015) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 12, 2015: “What(’s) a catch!(?)”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/04-dez-whats-a-catch-fwst-2015-01-12.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 12, 2015: “What(’s) a catch!(?)” ![Dez Bryant reaches for the goal line over Sam Shields.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-dez-bryant.jpg) Dez Bryant reaches for the goal line over Sam Shields. **The moment:** Dez Bryant's 31-yard catch on fourth-and-2 at the Green Bay 32, with 4:42 left, is overturned on review. Dez went up over Sam Shields, came down with the ball, reached for the goal line and lost it when he hit the ground. On the field it was a catch at the 1\. After review it was incomplete under the "process of the catch" rule, and the Packers ran out the clock. The NFL rewrote the rule in 2018, which is the league's way of admitting the call was wrong without saying so. **Why it hurts:** Dallas was 12-4, had just won a playoff game at home, and had a real shot at Seattle the next week. Everyone who saw it knows it was a catch. Including the people who wrote the rule. ## 3\. 49ers 38, Cowboys 28 (January 15, 1995) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 16, 1995: “Cowboys’ miscues, officials’ non-call fatal.” Michael Irvin tries to get away from Deion Sanders.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/03-1994-nfccg-noncall-fwst-1995-01-16.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 16, 1995: “Cowboys’ miscues, officials’ non-call fatal.” Michael Irvin tries to get away from Deion Sanders. ![Deion Sanders (21) and Michael Irvin go up for the ball.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-deion-irvin.jpg) Deion Sanders (21) and Michael Irvin go up for the ball. **The moment:** Deion Sanders drapes Michael Irvin on a deep ball late in the fourth quarter, no flag, and Barry Switzer draws a 15-yard penalty for going after the official. Dallas was the 2-time defending champion, but Jimmy Johnson was gone and Switzer was in his first year. Three Cowboys turnovers in the first quarter turned into a 21-0 hole before most of the crowd at Candlestick had sat down. Troy Aikman threw for 380 yards bringing them back, and with about 6 and a half minutes left and the Cowboys down 10, he went deep to Irvin with Sanders beside him. Sanders had an arm across Irvin's chest. The pass fell incomplete, the flag stayed in the pocket, and Switzer's penalty pushed Dallas out of range. **Why it hurts:** This was the three-peat. Dallas was better than San Francisco, and Irvin has said the play still haunts him. They won the Super Bowl the next year, but that was the last time the franchise ever played in a conference championship game. ## 2\. The Catch: 49ers 28, Cowboys 27 (January 10, 1982) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 11, 1982: “White, Cowboys take ‘worst’ loss hard.” Joe Montana celebrates; Larry Bethea bemoans.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/02-the-catch-white-cowboys-worst-loss-fwst-1982-01-11.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 11, 1982: “White, Cowboys take ‘worst’ loss hard.” Joe Montana celebrates; Larry Bethea bemoans. ![Dwight Clark goes up for The Catch with 58 seconds left.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-the-catch-ii.jpg) Dwight Clark goes up for The Catch with 58 seconds left. ![Clark celebrates as the official signals touchdown.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-the-catch.jpg) Clark celebrates as the official signals touchdown. **The moment:** Joe Montana rolls right, throws high off his back foot, and Dwight Clark goes up and gets it with 58 seconds left. Dallas led 27-21 and had the 49ers pinned at their own 11 with 4:54 to play. Montana took them 89 yards. After the touchdown, Danny White hit Drew Pearson across the middle and Pearson was one shoestring tackle from the winning touchdown. On the next play, White was sacked and fumbled. Game over. **Why it hurts:** This was the hinge of the decade. Staubach retired after the 1979 season. Danny White took over and led Dallas to 3 straight NFC Championship Games, in January 1981, 1982 and 1983, and lost all 3\. Add the Super Bowl XIII loss and the Cowboys reached the NFC title game 10 times in 13 seasons without a trip to the Super Bowl in the last 3\. The Catch is the one everyone remembers because it handed the league to San Francisco and sent Dallas into the wilderness. ## 1\. Super Bowl XIII: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31 (January 21, 1979) ![Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22, 1979: “Smith’s dream turns to nightmare,” by Jim Dent.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/01-sb13-jackie-smith-fwst-1979-01-22.jpg) Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 22, 1979: “Smith’s dream turns to nightmare,” by Jim Dent. ![Jackie Smith on the end zone turf after the drop.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/116-jackie-smith.jpg) Jackie Smith on the end zone turf after the drop. **The moment:** Jackie Smith, alone in the end zone, drops a Staubach pass on third-and-3 from the 10 with the Cowboys down 21-14 in the third quarter. Smith was a 16-year Hall of Famer who had come out of retirement to play one season in Dallas. He slipped as he turned, the ball hit his hip pad, and Dallas settled for a field goal. A touchdown would have tied it. Instead the Steelers scored 14 points in 19 seconds in the fourth quarter, aided by a pass-interference call on Benny Barnes that is still argued about in Texas, and Dallas's late rally fell 4 points short. **Why it hurts:** It was the night game at the Orange Bowl, the two best teams of the decade, and the Cowboys lost the argument forever. Pittsburgh was the team of the 70s, and Dallas would not play in another Super Bowl for 14 years. Smith carried the drop for the rest of his life. "It was my hip that hit the ball instead of my chest," he said decades later. Staubach always insisted the throw was low. Nobody in Dallas has ever cared. ## Honorable mentions - **NFL Championship Game, January 1, 1967: Packers 34, Cowboys 27.** Don Meredith's pass is intercepted in the end zone by Tom Brown with 28 seconds left. - **NFC Championship Game, January 11, 1981: Eagles 20, Cowboys 7.** The first of Danny White's 3 straight. - **NFC Championship Game, January 22, 1983: Redskins 31, Cowboys 17.** The last of them. - **Divisional round, January 15, 2017: Packers 34, Cowboys 31.** Aaron Rodgers to Jared Cook on the sideline sets up the winning kick as time expires. - **Wild card, January 16, 2022: 49ers 23, Cowboys 17.** Prescott's quarterback draw with 14 seconds left, and the clock runs out before Dallas can spike it. - **Divisional round, January 22, 2023: 49ers 19, Cowboys 12.** Ezekiel Elliott lines up at center on the final play. ## Your turn What did we miss? Is Thursday night's loss to a winless team with an undrafted rookie at quarterback top-10 material, or does a 24-16 game in October not clear the bar? Make your case in the comments.