Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman is 11-3 in postseason games.

The Cowboys still have many of the same guys who carried them to Super Bowl championships in 1992, '93 and '95, which can only be a plus in a postseason filled with NFC newcomers.

"We have to count on that being an edge for us," Dallas coach Chan Gailey said. "We need to get that type of leadership."

For all their past playoff success, the Cowboys barely made the playoffs despite ending the year against three teams that had no chance of getting in. Dallas lost the first two, then edged the New York Giants to set up a first-round game Sunday in Minnesota.

The Cowboys and Vikings (10-6) are the only NFC teams from last year's playoffs that are back again. The last team to win the Super Bowl after not making the playoffs the previous season was Washington in the strike-shortened 1982 season.

That doesn't mean whoever wins the Dallas-Minnesota game has any special advantages in the second round. But it does prove that playoff experience helps.

"There's a lot of teams lumped together," Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said. "Anybody can win this thing. People say it every year, but I think this year it's probably more true than in the previous seasons that I've been a part of.

"It's just a matter of who gets hot at the right time and if things go their way."

Aikman is 11-3 in postseason games. Minnesota quarterback Jeff George and Washington's Brad Johnson are each 0-1. The other three NFC playoff quarterbacks have never taken a postseason snap.

Dallas also has Emmitt Smith and several offensive linemen, plus defensive stars such as Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson, who understand the difference between playoff games and regular-season games.

	“	I know that on any given day we can win against the teams that we're going to be playing. I genuinely feel that we can do something special here and go to a Super Bowl. ”
		— Dallas owner Jerry Jones

"Someone like Emmitt or Troy can go to a young guy and say, 'Hey, this is what it takes. We've got to crank it up a few notches and be more focused,' or whatever they need to say to let them know it's different. Because it is different now," Cowboys safety George Teague said.

Things will have to be different for Dallas to get past Minnesota.

The Cowboys have lost seven straight on the road, including a 27-17 loss to the Vikings in October. They haven't beaten a non-NFC East team on the road since the 1997 opener.

Dallas has lost its last two to Minnesota and has a two-game playoff losing streak. Another streak going against the Cowboys is the 0-3 record for teams making the playoffs at 8-8.

Team owner Jerry Jones believes in the power of experience.