I’m not sure whether to thank the Chicago Bears or the Chicago weather, but either way, the Cowboys secured home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with their win on Saturday and Green Bay’s 35-7 loss to the Bears on Sunday. The win gives Terrell Owens three weeks to rest his ankle. Moreover, a number of other starters, including Tony Romo and Terence Newman, may also miss next week’s game against the Redskins.

The NFL first started seeding teams for the conference playoffs in 1975. Since that time, the Cowboys have had home field advantage four times, winning the Super Bowl at the end of three of those seasons– 1977, 1993, and 1995. The other season was 1979, when the Cowboys lost 21-19 to the L.A. Rams.

Thanks to the Boston Herald, here is a complete list of the NFC’s top seeds since 1975, along with each team’s performance.

# 1975 — Rams-Lost NFC Championship
# 1976 — Vikings-Lost Super Bowl
# 1977 — Cowboys-Won Super Bowl
# 1978 — Rams-Lost NFC Championship
# 1979 — Cowboys-Lost Div. playoff
# 1980 — Falcons-Lost Div. playoff
# 1981 — 49ers-Won Super Bowl
# 1982 — Redskins-Won Super Bowl
# 1983 — Redskins-Lost Super Bowl
# 1984 — 49ers-Won Super Bowl
# 1985 — Bears-Won Super Bowl
# 1986 — NY Giants-Won Super Bowl
# 1987 — 49ers-Lost Div. playoff
# 1988 — Bears-Lost NFC Championship
# 1989 — 49ers-Won Super Bowl
# 1990 — 49ers-Lost NFC Championship
# 1991 — Redskins-Won Super Bowl
# 1992 — 49ers-Lost NFC Championship
# 1993 — Cowboys-Won Super Bowl
# 1994 — 49ers-Won Super Bowl
# 1995 — Cowboys-Won Super Bowl
# 1996 — Packers-Won Super Bowl
# 1997 — 49ers-Lost NFC Championship
# 1998 — Vikings-Lost NFC Championship
# 1999 — St.L Rams-Won Super Bowl
# 2000 — NY Giants-Lost Super Bowl
# 2001 — St.L Rams-Lost Super Bowl
# 2002 — Eagles-Lost NFC Championship
# 2003 — Eagles-Lost NFC Championship
# 2004 — Eagles-Lost Super Bowl
# 2005 — Seahawks-Lost Super Bowl
# 2006 — Bears-Lost Super Bowl

More than half of the NFL’s top seeds have advanced to the Super Bowl, with just over a quarter winning the title. Here are those stats:

* Seasons of playoff seeding: 33
* Total No. 1 Seeds: 66
* Super Bowl winners: 19 (28.8 percent)
* Super Bowl Losers: 17 (25.8 percent)
* Super Bowl Participants: 36 (54.5 percent)
* Did Not Make Super Bowl: 30 (45.5 percent)

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According to the Dallas Cowboys official site, Jerry Jones says that Terry Glenn has an outstanding chance to play in the season finale against Washington.

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More on Owens’ injury from Mickey Spagnola:

Yes, Owens suffered the dreaded high ankle sprain. The good news is X-rays were negative. Nothing is broken. Sunday’s MRI basically confirmed the high ankle sprain and gave the Cowboys a better idea of the severity of the injury.

While Phillips and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are hopeful this is not a long-term injury, the MRI suggests the injury would at least sideline Owens for the season-ending game at Washington, and that, even though the Cowboys already have earned a first-round playoff bye and would not play until Jan. 12-13, getting back in time for that first playoff game might be quite iffy.

In a release Sunday afternoon, just after the Bears dispatched the Packers (12-3) to secure home field for the Cowboys, who basically have a two-game lead over Green Bay with one to play, the club listed Owens as “week to week.” That does not sound quite as encouraging as “day to day.”

With nothing but the best single-season record in club history at stake next Sunday in Washington, Owens now will have three full weeks to heal before he will be asked to play another game. But how quickly Owens’ left ankle swelled up and how much had the team doctors concerned. That normally is a sign of a significant injury, likely to multiple ligaments.

No one really knows how soon he’ll be ready to play again, although on a much merrier note, Jones said he expected Terry Glenn to make his 2007 debut against the Redskins in the season finale.

“Not sure how long,” said Owens, leaving the stadium wearing a red Santa Claus cap. “I’m day to day. God is good, and it could have been worse. I know my body . . . all right, Merry Christmas.”