Wild Card, 1991: Dallas 17 Chicago 13

Game information
The Cowboys jumped to a 10–0 first quarter lead and held on to win their first playoff game in nine years. Although Chicago outgained the Cowboys in total yards 372–288 and first downs 26–15, Dallas forced three turnovers and three sacks, while giving up none of either on their side of the ball. They also forced two turnovers on downs inside their own 10-yard line.

Bill Bates set up the first score of the game by forcing a fumble from Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh on the opening drive, which defensive end Tony Hill recovered at midfield, leading to Ken Willis's 27-yard field goal. Then Cowboys linebacker Darrick Brownlow blocked a punt that was recovered by linebacker Ken Norton Jr. at the Chicago 10-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown by running back Emmitt Smith.

In the second quarter, Chicago moved the ball 68 yards to the Cowboys' 2-yard line. On third and 1, Harbaugh was stuffed for no gain by linebacker Jack Del Rio, and Neal Anderson was dropped by Tony Tolbert on the next play. This experience would be repeated later when Chicago drove 77 yards to the 2-yard line again, with rookie Darren Lewis rushing four times for 37 yards and catching a pass for 11. On second and goal, Norton tackled Anderson at the 1, and then he and Tolbert dropped Anderson for no gain on the next play. Rather than try another fourth-down conversion, Chicago settled for Kevin Butler's 19-yard field goal to make the score 10–3 with 15 seconds left in the half.

Butler narrowed the gap to 10–6 with a 43-yard field goal, but Dallas responded with a 75-yard, 14-play drive to go up 17–6 on Steve Beuerlein's 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Novacek. In the fourth quarter, the Bears drove to the Dallas 7-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs with Harbaugh's fourth-down incompletion. Following a Cowboys punt, Chicago managed to score their first touchdown on Harbaugh's 6-yard touchdown pass to Tom Waddle, cutting the deficit to 17–13. Their defense then forced a three-and-out, giving Chicago a chance to drive for the winning touchdown. However, this was made difficult by Mike Saxon's 52-yard punt, which pinned the Bears back on their own 4-yard line with 1:50 left in regulation. Three plays later, Bates intercepted a pass from Harbaugh on the Bears' 16, enabling Dallas to run out the clock.

"We're on a mission to kind of make a name for ourselves", Dallas nose tackle Russell Maryland said. "People said a couple of years ago that our defense was like a three-ring circus out there. Now we're out to prove that we're the greatest show on earth." "We just don't get any credit", added safety Ray Horton, describing a defense that did not have any Pro Bowl selections. "We come up and do what we have to do. Hey, we've won 12 games! Other higher-ranked defenses are at home right now. So it's not like we're riding the coattails of our offense."

Smith finished the game with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown, the most rushing yards ever allowed by Chicago in a playoff game. Waddle caught nine passes for 104 yards and a score.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Bears. Dallas won the only prior meeting.

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