As the Cowboys begin their well-earned bye week, they know their playoff opponent will be one of three teams, all of which they've already faced this season.
While Dallas powered its way to home-field advantage and the No. 1 seed in the NFC because of its 13-3 season, its opening game of the playoffs on Jan. 14 or 15 at AT&T Stadium figures to be a doozy.
It could be against the New York Giants, who just so happen to be the NFC East rival that has defeated the Cowboys twice this season. They could've been the only team to crack Dallas' code at all this season, but the Cowboys fell 27-13 Sunday at Philadelphia while saving most of their stars for the postseason.
Maybe a date is fated with the Green Bay Packers, who have been one of the hottest teams in the NFL since Dallas defeated them in October at Lambeau Field. They're also the ones who knocked the Cowboys out of their most recent playoff run in 2014.
The Detroit Lions are the last option and perhaps the least intimidating, considering the Cowboys dumped them, 42-21, just a week ago.
"I'm a fan of the game always, so I'm going to watch," Dallas cornerback Brandon Carr said of the opening week of the playoffs. "But I also want to see what's going on, keep up with the injuries, who looks hot and all those things. We're going to tune in and see who we're going to play. So it should be exciting."
New York, the NFC's fifth seed, will travel to Green Bay, which won the NFC North over Detroit on Sunday night. Detroit is headed to face No. 3 seed Seattle.
Dallas will face the worst-seeded team that advances from the wild-card round.
Let's start with New York. The Giants are 11-5 after knocking Washington out of the playoffs Sunday with a 19-10 win.
They defeated Dallas, 20-19, in the season opener Sept. 11 in Arlington. That was the first regular-season NFL game for Dallas rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott.
But the story didn't change 91 days later when the Cowboys traveled to East Rutherford, N.J., for the rematch. The Giants' defense, including impact players such as cornerback Janoris Jenkins and defensive end Olivier Vernon, still stuffed Dallas, this time 10-7.
Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant struggled against the Giants this season, finishing with two catches on 14 targets.
Prescott threw two interceptions against them in the latest meeting, going just 17 of 37 for 165 yards and a touchdown.
It was New York that ended Dallas' season in the divisional round in 2007, the only playoff meeting between the NFC East rivals.
Dallas had twice defeated the Giants in regular-season meetings that year on the way to a 13-3 record (matching the franchise record for wins) and the NFC's top seed. Quarterback Tony Romo took an infamous trip to Cabo during the bye week _ and the impact it had on the ensuing week will always be debated. But the ensuing exit certainly stung after such a promising regular season.
Green Bay and quarterback Aaron Rodgers aren't the same as when the Cowboys blasted them over two months ago, 30-16, part of opening the season 4-6.
They had won five straight heading into Sunday night's showdown with Detroit.
Rodgers forecast the winning streak and played a direct role in it, throwing 11 touchdowns and no interceptions heading into Sunday night.
He also had a hand in ending Dallas' last playoff run. The infamous ruling reversal that Bryant didn't catch it is the most memorable part of that 26-21 loss to end the 2014 season. But Rodgers also beat the Cowboys while hobbled with a left calf injury.
Dallas can hope to recreate the first meeting this season, in which Elliott rushed for 157 yards, Dallas forced four turnovers and Prescott proved he could handle adversity on the road.
Dallas and Green Bay have met in postseason play seven times, including two NFL championship games.
As for Detroit, the Cowboys would likely feel good about that rematch. They won the first game despite the result not having an impact on Dallas' postseason positioning. Still, they did trail 21-14 in the first half before the defense rallied to shut down the Lions and Highland Park-grown Matthew Stafford in the second half.
Dallas is 2-1 versus the Lions in the playoffs, including a 24-20 win in the wild-card round of the 2014 season.
Not all of the Cowboys said they would be paying much attention to the potential matchup this week. Receiver Cole Beasley wanted to take a mental break. Receiver Terrance Williams said the playoffs still felt a ways away.
But it's coming.
And while Dallas is a favorite to win the Super Bowl, it's also a franchise that hasn't made it out of the divisional round of the playoffs in its eight postseason appearances since winning the Super Bowl in the 1995 season.
