The Dallas Cowboys were a top-10 team in the 16-game season era

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t sniffed the Super Bowl since the mid 90’s but that doesn’t mean it’s always been doom and gloom the past few decades. The Dallas Cowboys have actually been a fairly successful franchise over the past 40+ years.

In fact, since the 16-game season era began (1978), the Dallas Cowboys have been one of the most successful teams in the NFL. While that includes the Super Bowl days of the early 90s, it also spans those tough times in the 80s and early 00s.

It’s easy to get caught up in the disappointment of the day when we’re sitting here in March looking forward to our well-earned top-10 pick in the upcoming draft (that’s dripping with sarcasm in case you didn’t notice).

The Dallas Cowboys were one of the most successful teams of the 16-game season era

But all in all, things even out and everyone endures those dark days that have been all-too-familiar to Dallas Cowboys fans.

With the NFL expected to add a 17th game, here's how every team fared during the 16-game era (1978-2020).

We'll go deeper in tomorrow's newsletter.

Sign up: https://t.co/FlruWcV58L pic.twitter.com/8cB1PDe509
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) March 28, 2021

The Cowboys aren’t just top-10 but they’re sixth overall in win percentage since the Jimmy Carter administration. That’s not too shabby.

Those years came with plenty of highlights too. Stars, superstars, and Hall of Famers spanned those years. We’ve seen undrafted free agents lift this franchise up and inspire us all. Countless rags to riches stories have been written in Big D. And countless more are being written right now.

The decade immediately following the Super Bowls will always be dark times to those in Cowboys Nation who lived through it. The Tony Romo era will always be special no matter how much it’s been misunderstood by those outside our circle.