Cowboys countdown to kickoff reaches Day 61 as franchise’s “iconic games” series continues

The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason calendar has found a new kind of momentum. With 100 days remaining until kickoff for the 2026 season, a sports countdown series from Yahoo Sports has reached Day 61, adding another entry to its attempt to rank the franchise’s most iconic games in history. Rather than relying on a single metric, the series says it evaluates matchups across several themes tied to Dallas lore and organizational impact.

According to the series’ stated approach, the ranking is designed to capture more than just results. It incorporates factors such as how big the game was for the organization, how memorable it was for fans and the franchise, and whether any unusual events defined the night. The editor’s rubric also calls for inclusion of games that have become part of NFL tradition, not only those that are celebrated internally by Dallas.

The countdown is also framed as a “variety” exercise. The series description indicates the goal is to avoid a one-note list by mixing different types of Cowboys games, including what it describes as franchise firsts and matchups where Dallas “dominated.” That matters because teams often have a wide spectrum of memorable performances, from spotlight moments to games that shifted expectations in a season.

In addition to its ranking purpose, the series points to user-facing functionality: it will link readers back to each day of the countdown. That structure suggests the series is meant to be consumed progressively, with each entry building toward an opening kickoff date for 2026 that the countdown is said to approach.

For readers, the key question is what qualifies as “iconic” in a franchise with decades of playoff runs, division races, and postseason narratives. A list like this can reward different kinds of history. Some games become iconic due to their stakes, others because of novelty or a singular swing, and still others because the performance itself became a shorthand for the team’s identity.

Because this is an ongoing countdown installment, the specific game featured on Day 61 is not included in the information available here. That means readers should expect more concrete details, including the actual matchup and its historical framing, in the full published entry itself.

What to watch next is straightforward: the series will continue cycling through the remaining days, with each installment adding another cited moment to the franchise’s “100 iconic games” picture. If the series keeps to its stated criteria, it should function less like a straight wins-and-losses list and more like a curated timeline of what shaped the Cowboys’ reputation over time.