National Football League

History On Cowboys' Side After Hot Start To Season

Published Oct. 21, 2014 6:12 p.m. ET

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This goes against the very fiber of Jason Garrett's "Process"-oriented mantra. You aren't going to find a Cowboys player or coach who is willing to look past Wednesday's film study, let alone next week's game against Washington — and certainly not nine more games this season.

That said, we're entering rare territory to this point in the Cowboys' remarkable six-game winning streak. Dallas has a 6-1 record through seven games, making this Cowboys team one of just 12 to achieve that mark dating back to 1960.

Of the 11 other Cowboys teams to manage that feat, not one has missed the playoffs.

You can start with the obvious recent history of the 2007 team, which started 5-0 before losing to New England. Those Cowboys then ripped off seven more wins en route to a 12-1 start and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

It goes all the way back to the team's early years, as well. In 1968 and 1969, they started 6-1 and finished 12-2 and 11-2-1, respectively. Those teams would lose back-to-back Eastern Championship Games to Cleveland.

Three Cowboys teams managed such a fast start in the 1970s — including the 1971 team, which won the franchise's first Super Bowl.

History shines brightest on the famous 1990s-era Cowboys, as you might have expected. Three of Jerry Jones' early teams started this hot, and they reached three-straight NFC Championship Games and won Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXX.

The similarities between those teams and this one have already been well-documented. But it's worth mentioning: the Cowboys have only had the NFL's rushing champion in four seasons during their history — Emmitt Smith claimed the honor in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995.

The Cowboys lost in the divisional round of the playoffs in that 1991 season, and then they proceeded to rip off three Super Bowl wins.

DeMarco Murray clearly has a long way to go to earn that distinction this season, but he has a 298-yard lead in the competition as he nears the halfway season. That 13-3 Cowboys squad in 2007 didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher on the season — Murray has a good chance to break 1,000 yards in Week 8 against Washington.

Obviously, none of this is indicative of what's to come. There are nine games remaining on the Cowboys' schedule, five of which come away from the confines of AT&T Stadium. Anything is possible, especially given the parity in the NFL today.

At the pace the Cowboys have gotten to this point, though, failure to reach the postseason would be unprecedented in this franchise's proud history.

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