In 48 out of 730 regular season games over the past 49 seasons, the Cowboys have gained fewer than 200 total yards. These 48 games thus represent only 6.6% of the total regular season games played. With Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay, the Cowboys’ record in games where they gain fewer than 200 yards improved to 8-40.

Several stories have noted that the 172 total yards is the fewest ever recorded in a Dallas win. This rather infamous mark breaks the previous one set against Cleveland on December 12, 1970, when Dallas survived a mud bowl to beat the Browns 6-2. The Cowboys came very close to that mark in 1968 when the gained only 177 yards in a 20-7 win over Minnesota.

Not surprisingly, many of the games listed in the table below took place during dark times in the franchise’s history, such as the early years (1960-1965), the transition years between Landry and Jimmy Johnson (1986-1990), and the post-dynasty depression (2000-2002).

Five of the teams that have kept Dallas below 200 yards were eventually Super Bowl (or NFL) champions: Green Bay (1965), San Francisco (1981), Chicago (1985), New York Giants (1990), and Baltimore Ravens (2000).

Several of these teams are also highly regarded in NFL history for their defenses, including the New Orleans Saints of the late 1980s, the Philadelphia Eagles of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the Tennessee Titans of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Note: the eight wins are listed in bold.

Date Opponent Score Total Yards (Dallas)
Oct. 16, 1960 Cleveland L 48-7 167
Oct. 23, 1960 St. Louis L 12-10 175
Oct. 30, 1960 Baltimore Colts L 45-7 147
Oct. 1, 1961 Cleveland L 25-7 152
Nov. 12, 1961 Pittsburgh L 37-7 185
Dec. 10, 1961 St. Louis Cardinals L 31-13 126
Nov. 22, 1964 Washington L 28-16 196
Nov. 29, 1964 Green Bay L 45-21 132
Dec. 6, 1964 Philadelphia L 24-14 132
Oct. 4, 1965 St. Louis Cardinals L 20-13 181
Oct. 24, 1965 Green Bay L 13-3 192
Dec. 4, 1966 St. Louis Cardinals W 31-17 190
Oct. 20, 1967 Minnesota W 20-7 177
Dec. 12, 1970 Cleveland W 6-2 174
Dec. 17, 1972 N.Y. Giants L 23-3 132
Nov. 11, 1973 N.Y. Giants W 23-10 195
Nov. 23, 1980 Washington W 14-10 199
Oct. 11, 1981 San Francisco L 45-14 192
Nov. 21, 1982 Tampa Bay W 14-9 185
Nov. 17, 1985 Chicago L 44-0 171
Nov. 13, 1988 Minnesota L 43-3 159
Sept. 10, 1989 New Orleans L 28-0 174
Sept. 24, 1989 Washington L 30-7 190
Nov. 23, 1989 Philadelphia L 27-0 191
Dec. 10, 1989 Philadelphia L 20-10 194
Dec. 16, 1989 N.Y. Giants L 15-0 108
Sept. 16, 1990 N.Y. Giants L 28-7 156
Oct. 14, 1990 Phoenix Cardinals L 20-3 100
Nov. 11, 1990 San Francisco L 24-6 158
Sept. 15, 1991 Philadelphia L 24-0 90
Dec. 24, 1994 N.Y. Giants L 15-10 183
Dec. 10, 1995 Philadelphia L 20-17 196
Sept. 22, 1996 Buffalo L 10-7 192
Sept. 28, 1997 Chicago W 27-3 180
Dec. 21, 1997 N.Y. Giants L 20-7 184
Dec. 6, 1998 New Orleans L 22-3 182
Sept. 3, 2000 Philadelphia L 41-14 167
Nov. 19, 2000 Baltimore Ravens L 27-0 192
Dec. 17, 2000 N.Y. Giants L 17-13 145
Dec. 25, 2000 Tennessee L 31-0 95
Sept. 9, 2001 Tampa Bay L 10-6 127
Nov. 22, 2001 Denver L 26-24 191
Nov. 17, 2002 Indianapolis L 20-3 178
Dec. 21, 2002 Philadelphia L 27-3 146
Dec. 29, 2002 Washington L 20-14 186
Oct. 26, 2003 Tampa Bay L 16-0 178
Dec. 30, 2007 Washington L 27-6 147
Oct. 26, 2008 Tampa Bay W 13-9 172