Dallas Cowboys surpass 10,000 days without an NFC championship

The Dallas Cowboys this week saw their NFC championship drought reach the 10,000-day mark, the latest indicator of how far the franchise has fallen from its glory days.

Not only has Dallas failed to win the NFC title each year since 1995, but the Cowboys have not even appeared in the NFC championship game itself since that year -- when they went on to win Super Bowl 30 in Tempe, Ariz.

The Cowboys' playoff failures

Once known as a benchmark for NFL success, the Cowboys' fortunes took a turn for the worse following their last Super Bowl victory at the end of the 1995 season.

In 1996, Dallas won its fifth consecutive NFC East division title but were stunned in the playoffs by the Carolina Panthers -- then in their second year of existence. That loss kicked off a six-game postseason losing streak that was finally snapped in 2009, but the Cowboys still have not made the breakthrough that their hardcore fans expect each year.

Dallas' past five playoff losses -- four in the divisional round -- have come by one touchdown or less. Not even back-to-back 12-win seasons under coach Mike McCarthy have brought an end to the barren run.

Will this be the Cowboys' year?

Expectations are once again sky-high in Dallas, where players like Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons figure to have America's Team in the mix in the NFC.

But the Cowboys have work to do to overcome elite teams like Philadelphia and San Francisco. FanDuel Sportsbook odds show the Eagles (+800) and 49ers (+1000) are favored to reach the 2023 NFC championship game over Dallas (+1400). But if either slips up, the Cowboys could easily be in position to end their 27-year run without a Super Bowl appearance.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3RnJhnm5%2BifKa6jqedpWeUlrmtrdJmmqivkqTGtHuRaWlsZ2BrfHGBjm9rcJxhZoV3fpVxnGydaGmDp4TBbWxvnF6dwa64