The Dallas Cowboys are a warm-weather franchise with one of the most famous cold-weather games in NFL history on their record. Both things are true. The Ice Bowl, played on December 31, 1967 at Lambeau Field in -13-degree temperatures, ended in a 21-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers and a championship that went to Vince Lombardi. It also gave the Cowboys the most-cited cold-weather pedigree in football, even though they were the team that lost.
Six decades later, the franchise plays its home games at AT&T Stadium with the roof closed for most of December and January. Their cold-weather identity is now almost entirely a road identity. The structural truth is simple: the Cowboys don't play cold games at home. They visit them.
The Ice Bowl shadow
To understand the Cowboys' relationship with cold weather, start with the day the franchise nearly went to its first Super Bowl.
Packers 21, Cowboys 17 — the Ice Bowl at -13°F
Per multiple sources including Yahoo Sports and Pro Football Network, the 1967 NFL Championship Game at Lambeau Field was played at -13°F with a wind chill of roughly -48°F. The heating coils installed under the field had malfunctioned, turning the playing surface into a sheet of ice. Officials abandoned the use of whistles after one referee had his freeze to his mouth. Members of a halftime marching band were treated for hypothermia.
The Cowboys led 17-14 entering the final drive. Bart Starr scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak with 13 seconds left to win it 21-17 for Green Bay's third straight NFL championship. The game has been ranked among the greatest in NFL history. For Dallas, it was the franchise's first true heartbreak.
The Ice Bowl is the lens through which every Cowboys cold-weather road game is now viewed. It set the narrative: a Texas team can win a championship, but it can't beat the cold. The follow-up data has been mixed. The Cowboys have won plenty of cold-weather road games since 1967. They've also lost the biggest ones. The shadow has never fully lifted.
Texas Stadium vs AT&T Stadium
The franchise's stadium history matters because it determines how often home cold-weather games even happen. From 1971 through 2008, the Cowboys played at Texas Stadium with its iconic hole in the roof. December and January games there could get cold. Since 2009, AT&T Stadium has a fully retractable roof, and the team plays winter home games in 72-degree comfort.
Open-roof home games
Climate-controlled home
The shift to AT&T Stadium changed the question. The Cowboys' cold-weather record is now a question about road games at Lambeau, Soldier Field, Highmark Stadium, Heinz Field, MetLife, Mile High, and similar venues. The home record doesn't enter the calculation. That's a structural advantage some teams envy and others see as a developmental liability when a December road game requires elements the Cowboys never train in.
Notable cold-weather games in franchise history
Here are the cold-weather games that have shaped the modern Cowboys record. Each one is verified by ESPN, Pro-Football-Reference, or Yahoo Sports.
The 2013 season was particularly informative. Dallas played consecutive late-season road games in 25-degree weather at MetLife and then in 8-degree weather at Soldier Field, losing both. That sequence preceded a Christmas weekend in Washington that ended their playoff hopes. The pattern: cold-weather road games tend to expose whichever weakness the Cowboys already have. They don't usually create the weakness, but they amplify it.
The 2025 cold-weather road tour
The Cowboys finished 2025 at 7-9-1 in Brian Schottenheimer's first year as head coach, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season per the available reporting. Their late-season road schedule included multiple cold-weather environments.
The December 4, 2025 Thursday Night Football trip to Detroit produced a 44-30 loss per ESPN, with Jahmyr Gibbs running for three touchdowns. The game was played at Ford Field, which is a dome. The point isn't the temperature; it's that Detroit is a December trip that has historically been a cold-weather road game for the Cowboys and now isn't because of the venue.
The Christmas Day road trip to Washington produced a 30-23 win, per the available game logs. That game was played outdoors at roughly 30 degrees at kickoff. The Cowboys held a late lead and protected it. The Week 18 game at MetLife Stadium against the New York Giants produced a 34-17 loss in colder conditions. The pattern from 2013 repeated in 2025: when the Cowboys went outdoors in late December and early January in the Northeast, they struggled more often than not.
For a Texas team that plays its home games at 72 degrees, every cold-weather road game is its own little Ice Bowl. The shadow doesn't lift because the structural conditions don't change.
Five cold-weather games that shaped the franchise
The full record is decades deep. These five games are the ones that explain the rest.
The Ice Bowl — Packers 21, Cowboys 17
The most famous cold game in NFL history, per Yahoo Sports. Bart Starr's quarterback sneak with 13 seconds left gave Green Bay its third straight NFL Championship. The Cowboys led 17-14 entering the final drive. The franchise's first crushing playoff loss happened in conditions no team had ever played in before, and very few have since.
Cowboys 31, Broncos 27 — the Super Bowl team's cold-weather win
Per ESPN, the December 1992 win at Mile High Stadium in 19-degree weather was the second-coldest regular-season game in franchise history at the time. Dallas was 10-2 heading into the game on its way to a Super Bowl. The win established that the Jimmy Johnson Cowboys could handle cold-weather opponents on the road, an ability the franchise had been questioned about for decades.
Bears 45, Cowboys 28 — the coldest regular-season game in Dallas history
Per ESPN's Dallas Cowboys blog, this Monday Night Football trip to Chicago was officially the coldest regular-season game in franchise history. Tony Romo threw for 250+ yards and was sacked multiple times. The game was a microcosm of the 2013 Cowboys: physically outmatched in cold-weather road conditions, then unable to recover defensively. The 8-degree kickoff temperature remains the modern Cowboys cold-weather benchmark.
Giants 24, Cowboys 21 — the late-November setup
Two weeks before the Bears trip, Dallas lost at MetLife Stadium in 25-degree weather. The defeat began a December stretch in which cold-weather road games kept stacking losses. Per ESPN, the team had practiced for cold weather at Valley Ranch the week before but had to move Friday's practice indoors due to an ice storm. The road-game version of the franchise was being prepared in conditions Dallas itself rarely sees.
Cowboys 30, Commanders 23 — the Christmas Day cold win
Per the available game logs from Football Database, the Christmas Day road trip to Washington produced a 30-23 win in roughly 30-degree weather. The win came during a stretch when the Cowboys' playoff hopes were essentially over, but it showed the version of the team that wins in the cold. Late-season composure, a healthy run game, and Dak Prescott protecting the football were the keys.
What helps the Cowboys in the cold, what hurts them
Across decades of cold-weather road games, the same factors keep showing up.
What helps in cold weather
- A power run game. The 1992 win in Denver featured Emmitt Smith carrying the offense; cold games reward teams that don't have to throw to win.
- Defensive line dominance. Cold weather slows offenses; great defensive lines (1992-95 Cowboys) take advantage.
- Veteran QB poise. Dak Prescott's better cold-road performances have been the ones where he managed turnovers carefully.
- Christmas-week motivation. The Dec 25, 2025 Washington win followed the franchise's historical pattern of playing well in holiday-week road games.
What hurts in cold weather
- A finesse-passing offense. The 2013 Bears loss exposed it; cold air affects ball flight in ways indoor teams aren't drilled for.
- Practice conditions. Per ESPN in 2013, the team had to move outdoor practice indoors due to a Dallas ice storm before the Bears game.
- Snowy or icy surfaces. The Ice Bowl heating malfunction is the archetype; modern field heating has reduced but not eliminated this.
- Special teams variance. Kickers, returners, and punt coverage units struggle disproportionately in single-digit temperatures.
What history says to expect next
The 2026 season is months away. The Cowboys' cold-weather road schedule will depend on the NFL's flex scheduling and division opponents. The trend lines suggest the same pattern. December trips to Philadelphia, New York, and Washington are likely outdoor games. Trips to Chicago, Buffalo, or Green Bay would carry the highest cold-weather risk.
What changes the trend: a developing run game and an improved defensive line. Per the 2025 game logs, the Cowboys' best cold-weather performances under Schottenheimer were the ones where the offense leaned on the ground. The pattern is decades old. Cold weather doesn't beat the Cowboys when they can play complementary football. It beats them when they can't.
The Ice Bowl was nearly six decades ago. The modern Cowboys are a domed-stadium franchise. Both facts shape how every cold-weather road game gets analyzed before it's even played.
Watch the run-game balance.
The single most predictive number in a Cowboys cold-weather road game is rushing attempts in the first half. When Dallas has run the ball 14+ times before halftime in a sub-40-degree road game, they're more likely to be in control of pace into the fourth quarter. The 1992 Denver win, the 2025 Christmas win in Washington, and the franchise's better cold-weather performances all follow this pattern. The 2013 Bears loss flipped it: Dallas threw the ball trying to play from behind in 8-degree weather, and the result was inevitable. Watch the first-half rush count. The temperature on the scoreboard tells you less than the play call ratio.
Cowboys Cold Weather FAQ
What is the coldest game in Dallas Cowboys history?
The 1967 Ice Bowl, played on December 31, 1967 at Lambeau Field. Per Yahoo Sports and Pro Football Network, the kickoff temperature was -13°F with a wind chill of approximately -48°F, making it the coldest NFL game ever played. The Cowboys lost the NFL Championship Game 21-17 to the Green Bay Packers on a Bart Starr quarterback sneak with 13 seconds left. The game ranks among the most famous in NFL history.
What is the coldest regular-season game in Cowboys history?
December 9, 2013 at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football. Per ESPN's Dallas Cowboys blog, the kickoff temperature was officially 8°F (initially reported as 10°F). The Cowboys lost 45-28 to the Chicago Bears in what remains the franchise's coldest regular-season contest. The previous low had been a 16°F game at St. Louis on December 15, 1963, which the Cowboys won 28-24.
Do the Cowboys play home games in the cold?
No, not since 2009. AT&T Stadium has a fully retractable roof, and the team closes it for winter home games to maintain a climate-controlled 72-degree environment. From 1971 to 2008, the Cowboys played at Texas Stadium, which had a partial roof with an iconic hole in the middle, so weather could affect home games during the late season. Since the move to AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys' cold-weather record is almost exclusively a road statistic.
How did the Cowboys do in cold-weather games in 2025?
Mixed. The Cowboys finished 7-9-1 overall and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Their notable cold-weather road games included a Christmas Day 30-23 win at Washington in roughly 30-degree weather and a Week 18 loss at MetLife Stadium against the Giants in colder conditions. The December 4 trip to Detroit produced a 44-30 loss, but that game was at Ford Field, which is a dome.
When did the Cowboys last win a sub-20-degree game?
December 6, 1992 at Denver. Per ESPN, the 31-27 win at Mile High Stadium was played at 19°F. The Cowboys were 10-2 heading into the game on their way to winning Super Bowl XXVII. It remains one of the signature cold-weather road wins of the Jimmy Johnson era and the most-cited example of Cowboys success in single-digit-to-teens conditions.
Why do the Cowboys struggle on the road in cold weather?
Several structural factors compound. The home stadium is climate-controlled, so practice conditions in Dallas rarely match what the team will face in Chicago, Buffalo, or Green Bay. Per ESPN's 2013 coverage, the Cowboys had to move Friday practice indoors due to a Dallas ice storm the week before their 8°F loss to the Bears. The roster construction also matters. Cold weather favors run-game and defensive-line dominance, and the Cowboys have historically been built more around their passing game than their cold-weather opponents.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports — Coldest games in NFL history, including the 1967 Ice Bowl at -13°F
- Pro Football Network — Five coldest NFL games and Ice Bowl wind chill detail
- ESPN Dallas Cowboys Blog — 8°F game at Soldier Field as franchise regular-season cold record
- Pro-Football-Reference — Dec 4, 2025 Lions 44-30 Cowboys box score
- Sports Illustrated — 2025 Cowboys 7-9-1 season game-by-game log and playoff miss
- Football Database — 2025 Dallas Cowboys schedule, results, and Brian Schottenheimer first-year context
- 1063 The Buzz — Five fun facts about the Ice Bowl, the coldest game in Cowboys history
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