Most analysts and fans alike are pretty optimistic about the Cowboys being better in 2026. The offense that lit up the scoreboard last season is back in full force, with no major personnel losses and a full year of the Schottenheimer/Adams system under their collective belt. And there are high hopes for a turnaround under defensive coordinator Christian Parker, his revamped scheme, and his massively-overhauled roster on that side of the ball.
Yes, the general consensus is that the Cowboys should improve, at least slightly. After going 7-10 in 2024 and then finishing 7-9-1 last season, ESPN’s Mike Clay recently projected Dallas to effectively flip the script and notch 10 wins this year. And the network’s Football Power Index, after thousands of simulations, spat out a projected 9-8 mark for the Cowboys.
Let’s hope reality doesn’t fall short of those predictions, or Cowboys Nation will suddenly find themselves looking at a stretch of disappointment that the franchise has rarely seen.
A losing record in 2026 would be the Cowboys’ third straight… and, amazingly enough, among the four longest spans the team has ever endured.
2000-2002: 3 straight losing seasons
The last time Dallas had three losing seasons in a row was the entire Dave Campo era, from 2000 to 2002.
Really, the deck was stacked against Campo from the start. His first game as head coach was the infamous “Pickle Juice Game” versus Philadelphia, kicking off what turned out to be Troy Aikman’s final season as a pro. The subsequent rebuild at the most important position on the field (featuring Quincy Carter) obviously hampered Campo’s second year, and the focus of his third season at the helm quickly became about getting Emmitt Smith the all-time rushing record.
The team went 5-11 in all three of Campo’s seasons, leading to his dismissal and cementing his place as the losingest coach in franchise history (by winning percentage).
Prior to that, the Cowboys have only ever had two longer runs of ineptitude, both of which come with asterisks of sorts that help explain the failures.
1986-1990: 5 straight losing seasons
The Cowboys have only twice before struggled through five-year losing streaks. The most recent was 1986 through 1990. The first three years of that run were the final three for head coach Tom Landry.
The man in the hat nearly finished .500 or better in two of those campaigns. Four of the team’s nine losses in 1986 were by four points or less; had just one of those defeats gone the other way, the Cowboys would have finished 9-7 instead. The next year saw four contests decided by six points or less, including an overtime heartbreaker against Minnesota. Just a play here or there might have resulted in an 8-7 finish (or better) in the strike-shortened 1987 campaign.
Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989 and fired Landry, replacing him with Jimmy Johnson. Despite the near-total rebuild, though, the pair needed just two losing seasons to finish construction on one of the greatest dynasties the sport has ever seen, quickly burying the bad memories of the five straight losing seasons that preceded it.
1960-1964: 5 straight losing seasons
The only other five-year skid in Cowboys history came in their first half-decade of existence. Established just in time for the 1960 season, the expansion Cowboys and Landry (a first-time head coach) had to cobble together their initial roster from other teams’ castoffs, aging veterans, and backups. The team didn’t even get to participate in an actual college draft until their second season of play.
Unsurprisingly, Dallas went winless in that first year and compiled a 18-35-3 mark over the next four seasons, finally playing break-even ball in 1965, their sixth year in the league. They would then go on to 20 straight winning seasons.
That the Cowboys have never had a streak of more than five sub-.500 seasons is somewhat remarkable. And while the current Super Bowl drought may leave fans feeling like the underachievement is never-ending, it’s worth remembering that even when the Cowboys are down, it’s historically not for long.
The Eagles, Lions, and Broncos have all had 10-year runs of losing records in their past; the Jets are on a 10-year streak right now. New Orleans and Cleveland have previously seen 12-year stretches below .500, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers once went 14 consecutive years in which they posted a losing season.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 2026 Cowboys need 9 wins to stay off this infamous franchise list
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