Every season brings new story lines. There are NFL teams that rise from oblivion to contend for a season. Unforeseen injuries cripple playoff contenders. Teams rise and teams fall every year.
Every new NFL season also brings new, unfounded criticism from the media. This season, the pundits have hung their hat on the fact that since their last Super Bowl (and excluding this season), the Cowboys are essentially a .500 team.
| DALLAS COWBOYS | REGULAR SEASON RECORD | POST SEASON RECORD | COMBINED RECORD |
| 1996 - 2011 | 130-126 | 2-7 | 132-133 |
The rest of the story is conspicuous in its absence. That the Cowboys are .508 during the regular season during the poorest portion of their illustrious history is generally reported independently of the fact of how the other 31 teams have played over that same period of time.
The Cowboys are actually 12th in winning percentage over that period of time.
| TEAM 1996-2011 | REGULAR SEASON RECORD |
| New England Patriots | 0.691 |
| Green Bay Packers | 0.645 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0.631 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 0.605 |
| Denver Broncos | 0.586 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 0.571 |
| Tennessee Titans | 0.559 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 0.549 |
| New York Giants | 0.541 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0.531 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0.523 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 0.508 |
So during the darkest time in Cowboys history, there are still 20 NFL teams that boast a winning percentage worse than America's Team. Of the teams in front of the Cowboys, only the Eagles (heh, heh), Titans, Vikings, and Jaguars have not won a Super Bowl. Jacksonville is the only team not to make a Super Bowl appearance despite its winning record.
Notable teams behind Dallas include:
| TEAM 1996-2011 | REGULAR SEASON RECORD | NOTES |
| San Francisco 49ers | 0.500 | No Super Bowl appearances |
| Chicago Bears | 0.473 | Has the all-time best winning percentage |
| Buffalo Bills | 0.441 | Nothing since four consecutive AFC titles |
| Arizona Cardinals | 0.395 | Worst team to make a Super Bowl |
| Detroit Lions | 0.332 | Worst team that played every season |
| Cleveland Browns | 0.327 | Maybe it was a good thing that they moved |
Teams such as the Bears, that have experienced great success over their history, have not even been a .500 team since Dallas won a Super Bowl. New Orleans (.488) and Tampa Bay (.500) are the only teams that have won a Super Bowl with a record worse than the Cowboys over that time period.
It seems that Dallas is in the midst of teams that win enough games to contend for a championship. Unfortunately, most people only know a portion of the real story.
Of course, reporting the whole story would probably sell less copy...
