In 1990, the Cowboys were one year removed from a 1-15 record. After 14 games, the Cowboys were 7-7 and needed to win just one of their last two games to clinch a playoff berth.

Dallas was coming off of a 41-10 rout of the Phoenix Cardinals when the team traveled to Philadelphia. But in the first quarter, Troy Aikman separated his shoulder. Backup quarterback Babe Laufenberg completed only 13 of 36 passes for 140 yards and four interceptions in a 17-3 loss.

In the final game of the season, Dallas merely needed a win at Atlanta, which entered the game at 4-11. Laufenberg was no better than he was the previous week, completing only 10 of 24 passes in a 26-7 loss. When New Orleans beat the L.A. Rams, the Saints earned a trip to Chicago for the playoffs rather than the Cowboys.

The 1991 season was slightly better than the 1990 season, but the Cowboys were merely 6-5 when they traveled to Washington to face the unbeaten Redskins. Aikman injured his knee in the game and would be lost for the rest of the regular season. Dallas’ new backup in 1991 was Steve Beuerlein, who had thrown only five passes all year prior to Aikman’s injury. But Beuerlein quickly proved he could do what Laufenberg couldn’t: win. Dallas beat Washington in a great 24-21 game, and the Cowboys followed by winning four straight.

The Cowboys’ final two opponents in 1991 were again Philadelphia and Atlanta, as was the case in 1990. Wins in either game meant that Dallas would return to the playoffs for the first time since 1985. Beuerlein came through in both games, leading Dallas to a 25-13 win over Philadelphia and a 31-27 win over Atlanta. Dallas won a playoff game that season for the first time since 1982 by beating Chicago on the road.

There are certainly some differences between 1991 and 2009. Most notably, the 1991 squad was two years removed from a 1-15 season, while the 2009 Cowboys are two years removed from a 13-3 record. Moreover, the 1991 squad won its last five in a row, while the current Cowboys only have a two-game streak heading into next Sunday’s game against Philadelphia.

But the 2009 Cowboys have an opportunity at season’s end that is much like the opportunity that the 1991 squad had: to erase a bad memory from last season.

Nobody has forgotten that the 2008 Cowboys needed only one win in its final two games, including the final game played at Texas Stadium, to clinch a playoff berth. The defense failed the team against the Ravens before the whole team fell apart in a 44-6 loss at Philadelphia.

During the entire offseason, nobody could forget that loss to the Eagles. Pull up just about any website focusing on the Cowboys, and one of the first things you would likely see was that score.

One year after last season’s collapse, and the Cowboys needed one win in the final two weeks to clinch. The team went out a dominated the Redskins. A win against the Eagles may come  close to eradicating the effects that last year’s collapse had on many people’s opinions of the heart of this team.