On Dec. 26, in a prime-time game, the Dallas Cowboys beat Washington 56-14. While the hype after that game was a little out of control, it wasn't unjustified. The Cowboys did look Super Bowl worthy.
A few weeks later, that same team went one-and-done in the playoffs.
The Cowboys are on an improbable streak. They haven't played in a conference championship game since the end of the 1995 season. This failure will linger for a long time. It's a team that had the offensive and defensive stars to make a deep run, but they were outplayed on their home field by a San Francisco 49ers team that barely made the playoffs.