Better ‘Boys: Ranking Cowboys’ 5 Super Bowl Wins.

Our terrible run of luck has continued because of the embarrassing landslide loss we suffered at home in the first round of the playoffs last month. This next Saturday, some 28-year-olds in Dallas-Fort Worth will go to a Super Bowl party without ever having experienced what it’s like to have the Dallas Cowboys play.

All they’ll have to do is eat wings, watch ads, and grudgingly cheer for the 49ers or the Chiefs, depending on which team they support, and play through VHS tapes from a time when their team actually made it to the NFL championship game. The Cowboys have been successful and well-liked since 1996, but they haven’t produced much. And most definitely not Super.

This Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII will be the team’s 28th straight year without the Cowboys. There are only nine teams with lengthier droughts, while the Jaguars (29), Browns (55), and Lions (58) are the only three that have never experienced one.

Super Bowls devoid of the Cowboys are magnificent events. However, their Super Bowls are Spectacular Bowls. As a journalist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I had the good fortune to be present for three of the five Cowboys Super Bowl victories. For the other two, which I saw on TV, I recall that my parents allowed me to skip school the following Monday since it was a “Cowboys holiday.”

Since it’s been sooo long – and because we’re just not that amped about any championship game involving the hated 49ers – let’s dig the Cowboys’ Super Bowl wins out of the moth balls and rank ’em. There are five. And they each represent the same thing – a championship season. But for different reasons and personal preferences, some are better than others.

5. XII 1978 Broncos 10, Cowboys 27 It was good to defeat former teammate Craig Morton and Denver’s highly anticipated “Orange Crush” defense, but it didn’t feel particularly amazing to defeat a helpless foe who made a record eight turnovers. With co-MVPs Randy White and Harvey Martin leading a pass rush that gave up just eight completions for 61 yards, the defense dominated. The careless Cowboys won in a landslide despite committing 12 penalties, two turnovers, and allowing Roger Staubach to be sacked five times. Dallas’ worst-played championship by far.

4. XXVIII 1994 Cowboys 30, Bills 13 – About as ho-hum as a Super Bowl can get, it was another expected blowout over another overmatched Buffalo Bills’ team in the wake of Dallas’ bigger victory over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The Cowboys actually trailed at halftime, but dominated the second half, 24-0, by simply handing the ball to Emmitt Smith. The win gave Dallas back-to-back titles, something since duplicated only by the Denver Broncos (1998-99) and New England Patriots (2004-05).

3. Cowboys 27, Steelers 17 in XXX 1996 The Cowboys finally got even with their longtime foe, who had defeated them twice in Super Bowls in the 1970s. This one stood out just for that alone. To be honest, though, the sensation was a little muted by the guidance of Barry Switzer, the MVP performance of Larry Brown, and the sense that the dynasty was coming to an end. We ought to have savored this one more at the time, looking back. since the following one is still something we’re waiting on.

2. XXVII 1993 Cowboys 52, Bills 17 – A 15-year wait for another title was worth it as Garth Brooks and Michael Jackson performed at the Rose Bowl. Troy Aikman threw four touchdown passes and only Leon Lett’s premature celebration prevented Dallas from setting a Super Bowl record for most points.

1. VI 1972 Dolphins 3, Cowboys 24 A particular spot in your heart will always be reserved for the Super Bowl and your first love. The Green Bay Packers’ devastating championship game losses were ultimately mitigated by a strong defense and an incredible 29-yard sack of Bob Griese by Bob Lilly. No longer “Next Year’s Champions.” Even now, when he finally smiles, Tom Landry gives us goosebumps. Thirty percent was relief, thirty percent was joy, and one hundred percent was fantastic.