NFL History: Ranking the 30 best wild card teams in NFL history

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 06: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Eli Manning #10 and Brandon Jacobs #34 of the New York Giants in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 6, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Eagles defeated the Giants 36-21. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 06: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Eli Manning #10 and Brandon Jacobs #34 of the New York Giants in action against the Philadelphia Eagles on October 6, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Eagles defeated the Giants 36-21. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Dallas Cowboys
Running back Robert Newhouse #44 of the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 30 best wild card teams in NFL history: 11. 1975 Dallas Cowboys

Another entry from “America’s Team” as they couldn’t always be dominant in the regular season. Despite not winning the NFC East, the Cowboys still made a run to the Super Bowl. This was the first Wild Card team ever to make it all the way to the Super Bowl.

The Wild Card game was a dog fight with the Minnesota Vikings. This was one of the craziest endings to a game of all time. Let’s fast forward to the end. Roger Staubach threw a pass 50 yards to the end zone, and it ends up in the hands of Drew Pearson. The Cowboys were dead in the water and stuck at midfield. Then, one of the best throwers of the ball ever finds the best pass in his illustrious history. Before that, Pearson caught a ball on 4th and 16, but he was pushed out of bounds. The ref ruled it was a completion due to push out, and the rest is history.

Then in the championship game, the Cowboys just dominated the Los Angeles Rams. They scored in every quarter, and they ended up winning the game 37-7.

This is legitimately a team that could have won it all. We’re starting to get into the “special” team territory. These teams were legitimately great instead of just going on great runs.