Troy Aikman and the Cowboys endured a disappointing day.

Dallas, the team that won three Super Bowls from 1992-1995, has now lost three consecutive playoff games after its 27-10 defeat at Minnesota on Sunday.

And, after a game in which they lost the ball four times and dropped countless passes, the Cowboys (8-9) were left wondering where their dynasty has gone.

"I think this was pretty reminiscent of the year we had," said quarterback Troy Aikman, who threw for 286 yards but no touchdowns. "You get in a game like this and it comes down to a few plays."

"Today's game symbolized the whole season," added running back Emmitt Smith said. "It's like a roller coaster -- up and down, up and down."

Smith, who rushed for 99 yards and became the NFL's career leading rusher in playoff history, said the Cowboys, who lost four of their top five receivers since training camp, underachieved.

"I never would have dreamed how inconsistent we would be," Smith said.

"We had our chances, and we let them get away," Aikman added.

Last year, Aikman threw three interceptions in a first-round 20-7 loss at home to Arizona in the first round. The Cowboys lost their previous playoff game 26-17 to Carolina in the 1996 season.

Taking advantage of opportunities is exactly what Dallas prided itself on in dominating the mid-'90s, with a 49-15 regular-season record from 1992-1995. The last four years, however, the Cowboys have been a much different team at 34-30.

Missing this season with neck injuries were wide receiver Michael Irvin and fullback Daryl Johnston, and in their place were wide receivers Jason Tucker, Chris Brazzell and fullback Robert Thomas. Irvin went down in the first game of the season, and Johnston missed the entire year.

"I think we have a lot of inexperienced players and a lot of young players that may not understand truly what it means to be a professional athlete," Smith said.

"I'm trying to let the players know there are small things that go along with being a professional athlete to give you that mental edge," Smith said. "If you don't have that mental edge, you're going to get defeated almost every time."

It was one of Dallas' veterans that made the first big mistake Sunday.

Deion Sanders' muff at his own 30-yard line of Mitch Berger's punt in the first quarter led to Minnesota's first field goal. Thomas' fumble with 11:44 left in the second led to the Vikings' first touchdown.

"That's not acceptable in a game of this caliber," Sanders said of his drop.

Sanders, whose contract is up this season, said he was unsure if he would be back next season.

"I can't tell you if that was my last game in a Dallas Cowboys' uniform," Sanders said. "I would love to come back."

The Cowboys lost their final eight road games, even though they led in each of them.

During their glory years, Smith ran behind his behemoth offensive line and Aikman threw to Irvin to keep defenses from stacking up the line of scrimmage to stop Smith.

The Cowboys would then turn to their quick defense to close out games.

On Sunday, they went ahead 10-3 but couldn't hold on, giving up the game's final 24 points.

"If you make that many mistakes, and there were different types -- there were turnovers, there were dropped passes and mental mistakes -- you don't give yourself a great chance to win," coach Chan Gailey said.