NFL: 25 Most Disappointing 1 Seeds In NFL Playoff History
By Nick Villano
25 Most Disappointing 1 Seeds In NFL Playoff History: 13. 2007 Dallas Cowboys
It was really hard to hate Tony Romo when he was playing. He seemed like a nice guy with a fun personality, but he was the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, so we had to hate him. It made it a lot easier when the Cowboys kept losing in spectacular fashion in the playoffs. Romo finished his career with two wins in the postseason. He had many more bad memories than good ones.
One of those bad memories came with the 2007-08 team. This was the best Cowboys team since the team that was winning Super Bowls. They had one double-digit win season in the 2000s at this point in the decade. Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett paired together to put a formidable team that could win on both sides of the ball. There was a momentum issue, as the Cowboys lost two of their final three games of the season, but this team had enough talent to overcome that.
The New York Giants squeaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record. The Cowboys won both of their regular-season matchups pretty convincingly. New York wasn’t supposed to make the run that it did. They had talent, but something didn’t click during the regular season. It clicked in a huge way in the playoffs.
Things went downhill fast. Amani Toomer scored a 52-yard touchdown on the Giants opening drive. It was clear things would not be easy for Dallas. The Cowboys scored 14 second-quarter points, but Toomer scored another touchdown with 11 seconds left in the half to tie it. The Cowboys kicked a field goal to open the second half, but they didn’t score another point. Meanwhile, the Giants scored early in the fourth quarter on a Brandon Jacobs touchdown. With the team now desperate, the Cowboys marched to the 22-yard line with just 31 seconds left. A pass to Patrick Crayton should have won the game, but he hesitated on his route and couldn’t make the catch despite being wide open in the endzone. The Cowboys became the first NFC one seed to lose in their first game in two decades.