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Cowboys seek end to playoff drought
Source: Agencies |
January 9, 2010, Saturday
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THE Dallas Cowboys haven't won an NFL playoff game in more than a decade. The Cincinnati Bengals haven't won one in nearly two decades. That can change, they hope, in today's wildcard round.
Both get familiar foes: Dallas takes on NFC East division rival the Philadelphia Eagles for the third time since early November, and for the second straight week. Cincinnati plays the New York Jets.
Tomorrow, it's Baltimore at New England, and Green Bay at Arizona.
Unlike the Bengals, whose only appearance in the playoffs since 1990 was in 2005, Dallas is somewhat of a regular in the Super Bowl parade. Since beating Minnesota and then losing to Carolina in the 1996 playoffs, the Cowboys have reached the playoffs six times, including now, meaning they're on a six-game losing streak.
"It's surreal to be sitting here having to even answer that question," owner Jerry Jones said. "I wouldn't have dreamed that in '96 we wouldn't have (won) a playoff, and I wouldn't have dreamed that we would have had the turnover in the coaches that we've had."
Team record
But imagine this: The Cowboys are among the hottest teams in the NFL heading into the playoffs. Dallas set a team record with 6,390 total yards, exceeding 6,000 in a season for the first time. The defense, which blanked the Eagles last weekend to win the division, allowed only 37 points total in the last four games.
Still, there is that 13-year run of disappointment, and the Eagles have won their first playoff game in seven consecutive appearances. They've taken 10 playoff games since Dallas last won one.
"We've just got to put it together any way possible to go out there and win," Eagles game-breaking receiver DeSean Jackson said.
The Jets lost seven times this season, but went 5-1 to end the regular season, receiving help from Indianapolis and the Bengals and sneaked in with a 9-7 record.
They're hotter than the Bengals, who finished 1-3 and struggled for much of the second half of the season. Indeed, Cincinnati was 6-0 in winning the AFC North, but 4-6 against opponents outside the division.
The Bengals face the league's top-ranked defense and No. 1 rushing offense, and New York dominated in those areas last week.
Both get familiar foes: Dallas takes on NFC East division rival the Philadelphia Eagles for the third time since early November, and for the second straight week. Cincinnati plays the New York Jets.
Tomorrow, it's Baltimore at New England, and Green Bay at Arizona.
Unlike the Bengals, whose only appearance in the playoffs since 1990 was in 2005, Dallas is somewhat of a regular in the Super Bowl parade. Since beating Minnesota and then losing to Carolina in the 1996 playoffs, the Cowboys have reached the playoffs six times, including now, meaning they're on a six-game losing streak.
"It's surreal to be sitting here having to even answer that question," owner Jerry Jones said. "I wouldn't have dreamed that in '96 we wouldn't have (won) a playoff, and I wouldn't have dreamed that we would have had the turnover in the coaches that we've had."
Team record
But imagine this: The Cowboys are among the hottest teams in the NFL heading into the playoffs. Dallas set a team record with 6,390 total yards, exceeding 6,000 in a season for the first time. The defense, which blanked the Eagles last weekend to win the division, allowed only 37 points total in the last four games.
Still, there is that 13-year run of disappointment, and the Eagles have won their first playoff game in seven consecutive appearances. They've taken 10 playoff games since Dallas last won one.
"We've just got to put it together any way possible to go out there and win," Eagles game-breaking receiver DeSean Jackson said.
The Jets lost seven times this season, but went 5-1 to end the regular season, receiving help from Indianapolis and the Bengals and sneaked in with a 9-7 record.
They're hotter than the Bengals, who finished 1-3 and struggled for much of the second half of the season. Indeed, Cincinnati was 6-0 in winning the AFC North, but 4-6 against opponents outside the division.
The Bengals face the league's top-ranked defense and No. 1 rushing offense, and New York dominated in those areas last week.
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