The Dallas Cowboys have only played three games scheduled for the 18th week of a season.
They won their first two Week 18 games – 28 years apart. But Dallas will come into today’s Week 18 game having lost their last Week 18 contest.
Confused yet?
Back in 1993 the NFL scheduled two bye weeks during their 16-game schedule. It was the only time two bye weeks were ever scheduled in a single year.
The NFL didn’t go to an official 18-week schedule in 2021.
All three games have come against NFC East opponents. The Giants were first in 1993, the Eagles in 2021, and the Commanders in 2022.
All three games – like today’s game against Washington – have come on the road.
1993
It was the 18th game of the 1993 season, but it was played on Jan. 2, 1994.
Both the Cowboys and Giants came into the game at 11-4. The winner would not only win the NFC East, but they would also secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead and looked to be cruising to the division title and top seed.
Then, with just under two minutes left in the half, Emmitt Smith separated a shoulder. Still, Dallas led 13-0 at halftime.
The Giants rallied to tie the game at 13 before the final gun and sent the critical game into overtime.
Smith willed himself back onto the field and put the Cowboys on his wounded back.
The Cowboys ran 12 plays on their overtime drive. Smith touched it nine of those 12 times, setting Eddie Murray up for a game-winning 41-yard field goal.
Smith had 168 yards rushing and another 61 receiving in the 16-13 win.
The Cowboys went on to win their second-straight Super Bowl.
2021
There wasn’t a division title on the line on Jan. 8, 2022, when the Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia.
That’s probably why the Cowboys trounced the Eagles, 51-26.
Dak Prescott threw five touchdowns – two each to Cedrick Wilson and Dalton Schultz. His final scoring strike to Corey Clement came just 27 seconds into the final quarter.
Dallas tacked on two more scores after that. The Cowboys won the division title with a 12-5 record but lost the Wild Card game the next week to the 49ers.
2022
One year later, the Cowboys closed out the 2022 regular season by laying an egg in D.C.
Sam Howell and the Commanders rolled to an easy 26-6 victory over a listless Cowboys team. Dallas finished 12-5 for the second-straight year.
This time they easily won their Wild Card game, a 31-14 rout, over Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, it didn’t go so well in San Francisco the next week.
Against The Commanders
The Cowboys will come into today’s game with a 0-1 Week 18 record against Washington.
But after their 45-10 Thanksgiving Day massacre of the Commanders a few weeks ago, Dallas holds a 77-48-2 overall record against the franchise.
The Cowboys have won four of the last five meetings with their long-time rivals. Dallas is just 34-31 in games played at Washington.
The Cowboys hold a 1,360-1,333 scoring advantage over Washington in games played in the D.C. area.
The teams have met 14 previous times in the regular season finale. Washington holds an 8-6 advantage in such games.
Weekly By The Numbers
The only three possible outcomes of today’s game will result in three possible Week 18 all-time records: 3-1, 2-1-1, or 2-2.
Dallas does not currently have a .500 record in any of the 18 weeks.
They only have losing all-time records in two weeks: Week 9 (30-31 .492) and Week 17 (14-21 .400)
The Cowboys begin today at 561-413-6 (.572) all-time. They are 313-160 (.662) at home and 248-253 (.495) on the road.
