Dallas Cowboys remain only franchise in NFL history to lose Wild Card playoff game as #2 seed

The Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up their Wild Card Round playoff win on Sunday afternoon and did so against the Green Bay Packers. It was horrible to watch as a Dallas Cowboys fan.

Part of what makes the result so frustrating for Cowboys faithful is that Philadelphia did what Dallas could not a year ago. The Eagles were the NFC East winners this season and wound up with the #2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Their prize for this was a home date against the Packers which they obviously capitalized on. It was the exact same situation that the Cowboys were in last year, and they blew it so badly it still hangs over the franchise.

You obviously knew that, but what you might not know is that this year’s playoffs marked the fifth in which a game like this was even possible. Prior to the 2020 season the #2 seed received a bye in the first round and ever since then has had to host the #7 seed with only the top seed getting the week off.

The Cowboys became the first #2 seed to ever lose in the Wild Card Round last year. With the Eagles win on Sunday and the Buffalo Bills taking care of business shortly before, Dallas remains alone in this stat.

#2 Seed Playoff Teams To Win Their Wild Card Game

2020 Buffalo Bills
2020 New Orleans Saints

2021 Kansas City Chiefs

2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2022 Buffalo Bills
2022 San Francisco 49ers

2023 Buffalo Bills
2024 Buffalo Bills
2024 Philadelphia Eagles

#2 Seed Playoff Teams To Lose Their Wild Card Game
2023 Dallas Cowboys
This is still only a five-year sample size so it’s not like the Cowboys are one out of 500 or something; however, it is obviously not a fun thing for Dallas to be the only outlier in such a horrible way.

It stands to reason that it is not too challenging of a thing for the #2 seed to take care of business and advance to the Divisional Round where they used to get to automatically.

Sigh.