FanPost

We Can Hang With The Champs

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As people have started penciling in the Denver Broncos as this year’s Super Bowl Champion it got me thinking about something. For seven straight years, dating back to when Tony Romo took over as our starting quarterback, the Cowboys have played against the eventual Super Bowl Champions. What’s even more interesting is how some of those games how played out. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and see how we faired against the team the held the Lombardi Trophy over their heads.

2006 against the Indianapolis Colts

How’d we fair – we beat them 21-14. It was their first loss of the season as they had started the season 9-0. Manning was picked off twice and Dallas came back from a 14-7 lead to score two unanswered touchdowns, courtesy of Marion Barber.

How’d it all end – the Colts went on to beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. We finished 9-7 and lost in a Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks where some weird stuff happened, but I can’t recall specifically what it was.

2007 against the New York Giants

How’d we fair – well, we played them three times that season. We started out with what’s now become our standard opening day beating of the New York Giants, winning 45-35. Romo threw for 345 yards and 4 TDs as he began what would be a record breaking single season record. Terrell Owens had two TDs. In the second meeting we beat them 31-20. Again Romo had 4 TDs and again Owens had two of them.

How’d it all end – we ended up finishing 13-3 for the regular season and got a first round bye in the playoffs. Of course the third time was a charm for them as they beat us 21-17 in the divisional playoffs. They would go on to spoil New England’s perfect season.

2008 against the Pittsburgh Steelers

How’d we fair – this one stung a little. After asserting control most of the game and jumping out to a 13-3 lead after three quarters, the Steelers scored 17 unanswered points. Romo had 3 picks in that game including one returned for a TD by Deshea Townsend late in the 4th quarter.

How’d it all end – the Steelers went on to beat the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. We finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

2009 against the New Orleans Saints

How’d we fair – like the Colts game a few years prior Dallas once again had a chance to spoil a team’s bid for a perfect season. This time the Saints came in with a 13-0 record. We won 24-17 as DeMarcus Ware closed the deal for us with a sack/forced fumble on Drew Brees late in the game.

How’d it all end – the Saints beat the Colts in the Super Bowl. We finished 11-5 and won our first playoff game in what I believe was 63 years or something like that. Trust me; it was a really long time because that is all Cowboys’ haters wanted to talk about. We would lose the following week in the divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings.

2010 against the Green Bay Packers

How’d we fair – they blew us out, 45-7. A lot of things went wrong in that game. We were Romo-less and they had Aaron Rodgers.

How’d it all end – the Packers beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl and we had one of our worst seasons over the last several years, finishing 6-10.

2011 against the New York Giants

How’d we fair – this time around the Giants swept us in the regular season. In the first game they beat us 34-22 as our defense collapsed as the Giants were able to score TDs late in the fourth quarter. The second game was the season finale in which the winner would take home the division and the winner would go home. They beat us 31-14. We went home.

How’d it all end – the Giants would again come from nowhere to again beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. We finished 8-8.

2012 against the Baltimore Ravens

How’d we fair – in a great back and forth game, the Ravens squeaked one out on a missed FG by Dan Bailey.

How’d it all end – the Ravens played lights on early on and hung on to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. We finished 8-8. Again.

So that is 10 games. We won 4, lost 6, but all but two were competitive. Tomorrow’s contest with the Denver Broncos could very easily be another one of those games where we play against the eventual champions. And if it is anything like the ones over the last seven years it stands to be a good game.



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