1992 was the last time that the Dallas Cowboys won a playoff road game. After upsetting Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and the 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the fresh-faced Cowboys, featuring a young core of players like Tory Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, went on the win the franchise's third Super Bowl. This was the beginning of a dynasty orchestrated by the team's coach, Jimmy Johnson, and their brash owner Jerry Jones. Back then, Tom Brady was an underclassman in high school, unbeknownst to a litany of Divison I colleges. However, five years after the Cowboys won their third Super Bowl in four years (1992, 1993, and 1995) under Jerry Jones' ownership, Brady entered the league as a 6th round draft pick for the New England Patriots. The combination of an injury to the team's starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, and a blown call (that later became known as the Tuck Rule Game) against the Oakland Raiders, thrust Brady into the limelight as the Patriots' signal caller and ignited his fairytale run from a "game manager" to a 15-time Pro-Bowl selection and 7-time Super Bowl winner. To put Brady's success in perspective, his ongoing NFL career has lasted 19 seasons, during which time he has amassed 35 playoff wins. In comparison, the Dallas Cowboys, as a franchise, have won 35 playoff games in total since joining the league as an expansion team in the early sixties.
On Monday night, Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) will host a wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys (12-5). The winner will notch their 36th career playoff win before moving on to the divisional playoff round against the San Francisco 49ers (13-4). Although the Cowboys are 2.5 favorites, their career record against Tom Brady-led teams is 0-7. As a member of the New England Patriots, Brady went 5-0 against the Cowboys. Additionally, since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers via free agency, in 2020, Brady has won both meetings against the Cowboys. In the seven regular season games that Tom Brady has played against the Dallas Cowboys, he has a 95.5 passer rating, 15 touchdown passes, and five interceptions while averaging 277.9 yards per contest. According to reports, the 45-year-old could be joined on the field by his Pro Bowl center, Ryan Jensen, who missed the entire regular season due to an ACL injury in training camp. On the flip side, the Dallas Cowboys have not won a playoff game since 2019, when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks at home, 24-22. That was Dak Prescott's only playoff win as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. His career playoff record currently stands at 1-3.
While Jerry Jones has pledged his support for the team's head coach, Mike McCarthy, several pundits believe the Super Bowl XLV Champion could be coaching for his job if the Cowboys are unsuccessful in their primetime postseason showdown against the Buccaneers.
Source: The Athletic
