This is the Cowboys' first season since 2013 without guard Zack Martin or defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. Martin announced his retirement on February 20,[1] and Lawrence signed with the Seattle Seahawks during free agency.[2] Also, this is the first season since 2020 without defensive end Micah Parsons, as the Cowboys traded him to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first round draft picks amid a contract holdout going back to last season and heading into the subsequent offseason and preseason.[3][4]
The Cowboys missed the playoffs for the second straight season, as they were eliminated from playoff contention after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders in Week 16.
The Cowboys' Thanksgiving game against the Kansas City Chiefs became the most watched NFL regular season game on record, drawing 57.2 million viewers. The game was broadcast on CBS and streaming service Paramount+, and peaked with 61.4 million viewers by the game's conclusion.[5]
12The Cowboys traded a fourth-round selection to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a seventh-round selection and WR Jonathan Mingo.[6]
12The Cowboys traded a fifth-round selection (170th overall) and a 2026 seventh-round selection to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a sixth-round selection (204th overall) and CB Kaiir Elam.[7]
12The Cowboys traded a fifth-round selection (171th overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for a seventh-round selection (217th overall) and QB Joe Milton.[8]
↑The Cowboys traded a sixth-round selection to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for LB Kenneth Murray.[9]
↑The Cowboys traded a seventh-round selection and a 2024 first-round selection (24th overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for first- and third-round selections (29th and 73rd overall).[10]
The Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia to face the Eagles in the NFL Kickoff Game. Immediately following the opening kickoff, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott. The Cowboys took advantage of the subsequent fifteen-yard penalty and powered their way to a 7–0 opening drive lead on a Javonte Williams touchdown run. The Eagles quickly answered with a touchdown of their own as quarterback Jalen Hurts scored on a four-yard run to tie the game at 7. Williams would score his second touchdown on the Cowboys' second drive to put Dallas back on top 14–7, but the defense again failed to slow the Eagles down, and Hurts scored another touchdown to tie the game at 14. The Cowboys' third drive stalled at the Eagles' 23, and they settled for a Brandon Aubrey field goal to reclaim a three-point lead. Less than two minutes later, however, Saquon Barkley scored Philadelphia's third touchdown on the ensuing Eagles drive to put the Eagles ahead 21–17. Dallas would pull within one point before halftime on a 53-yard field goal by Aubrey, but would never get any closer. In the second half, the Cowboys defense held Philadelphia to a field goal on the opening drive, then the offense drove into the red zone, powered by a 49-yard run by former Eagle Miles Sanders. However, Sanders would fumble at the 10 yard line, giving the Eagles the ball back. The game was suspended immediately afterwards due to a thunderstorm in the area. After a weather delay of over an hour, the game resumed. From there, the teams' defenses stymied each other. Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb would have three crucial dropped passes after the weather delay, the last occurring on a fourth down with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter, effectively sealing the game for Philadelphia.
With the 24–20 road loss, the Cowboys began the season 0–1, and suffered their sixth road loss in their past seven visits to Philadelphia.
Week 2: vs. New York Giants
Week 2: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys– Game summary
In a back-and-forth game that featured six lead changes, tying an NFL record, Giants quarterback Russell Wilson threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Malik Nabers to give the Giants the lead with 25 seconds remaining. Dak Prescott led the Cowboys to the New York 46-yard line, and kicker Brandon Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. In overtime, after both teams combined for five consecutive go-ahead touchdowns, Prescott led the Cowboys down the field again, and Aubrey kicked the game-winning 46-yard field goal as time expired, securing a 40–37 victory for Dallas. With the win, the Cowboys extended their winning streak against the Giants to nine games, the longest active streak among division opponents in the NFL.[14]
Week 3: at Chicago Bears
Week 3: Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears– Game summary
DAL – George Pickens – 8 receptions, 134 yards, 2 TD
This was the Cowboys' first tie game since a 24–24 result against the San Francisco 49ers on in the 1969 season, and consequently their first tie game to be played with overtime rules. With the tie, the Cowboys improved to 1–2–1 while snapping their 5 game losing streak to Green Bay. Despite this, the Cowboys are now 0–5–1 against the Packers at AT&T Stadium since it opened in 2009.
Week 5: at New York Jets
Week 5: Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets– Game summary
DAL – George Pickens – 9 receptions, 168 yards, TD
CAR – Rico Dowdle – 4 receptions, 56 yards, TD
The Cowboys were severely outgained on the ground, 216–31, with Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who played for Dallas from 2020 to 2024, rushing for 183 yards and totaling 239 yards from scrimmage. With their first loss to Carolina since 2018, the Cowboys fell to 2–3–1.[15]
Week 7: vs. Washington Commanders
Week 7: Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys– Game summary
DEN – Troy Franklin – 6 receptions, 89 yards, 2 TD
In a reversal of the previous week in the win over the Commanders, Cowboys went to Denver to take on the Broncos, a team whom Dallas has not beaten since 1995. Following a field goal on their opening drive following an interception thrown by Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, the Cowboys were dominated by the Broncos after that, which the Broncos scored 40+ points for the first time this season. With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 3–4–1, and fell to 0–8 in their last eight games against the Broncos, including the last three games by a combined score of 116–57.
Week 9: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 9: Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys– Game summary
The Cowboys had an extremely disappointing game against the Jacoby Brissett-led Arizona Cardinals, as they were defeated 27–17. With their fourth consecutive loss to the Cardinals since 2020, and their 7th of 8 since 2008, the Cowboys dropped to 3–5–1 entering their bye week.
Sam Williams propelled the Cowboys to block a punt, which was recovered by Marshawn Kneeland who would score the team’s first points of the game.
Tragedy later struck when defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died on November 6 as the result of an apparent suicide.[16]
Week 11: at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 11: Dallas Cowboys at Las Vegas Raiders– Game summary
Both teams paid tribute to Marshawn Kneeland, who died by apparent suicide on November 6. Coach Brian Schottenheimer and players weared t-shirts in his honor, and everyone bowed their heads during a moment of silence prior to kickoff.[17]
Despite an ugly first drive for the Cowboys, which led to Prescott throwing an interception, the Cowboys would control much of the game. They defeated the Raiders and improved to 4–5–1.
Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys– Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3
4
Total
Eagles
14
7
0
0
21
Cowboys
0
7
7
10
24
at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Date: November 23
Game time: 3:25p.m. CST
Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
Game attendance: 93,068
Referee: Bill Vinovich
TV announcers(Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi
DAL – George Pickens – 9 receptions, 146 yards, TD
After trailing 21–0 by the second quarter, the Cowboys marched back with 24 unanswered points to defeat the Eagles.[18][19][20]
The 21-point comeback tied a Cowboys franchise record for their largest comeback, matching a 21-point rally against the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 season.[21]Dak Prescott threw for 354 yards to become the Cowboys’ all-time leading passer, surpassing Tony Romo’s career total of 34,183 yards. Prescott also broke a tie with Romo by recording his 25th game-winning drive when tied or trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime.[22]
The Cowboys defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in a close game by a score of 31–28. Dak Prescott led his team to a critical victory to improve the Cowboys record to 6–5–1. With this victory, the Cowboys became the first team in NFL history to beat the previous year's Super Bowl teams in the same week.[23]
This game was watched by 57.2 million viewers, becoming the most watched NFL regular season game ever, shattering the previous record by more than 15 million.
Week 14: at Detroit Lions
Week 14: Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions– Game summary
With their second straight loss to the Lions, the Cowboys fell to 6–6–1 and 0–2–1 against the NFC North. Ceedee Lamb was also concussed in the third quarter and out the rest of the game.
Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 15: Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys– Game summary
With their first loss to Minnesota since 2019, the Cowboys fell to 6–7–1 and finished 0–3–1 against the NFC North, marking the first time they failed to defeat a single NFC North opponent since 2001 when it was called the NFC Central division. Dallas also failed to reach the 10-win mark for the second year in a row, their first time posting consecutive seasons with 9 or fewer wins since following up the aforementioned 2019 season's 8–8 record with a 6–10 record in 2020.
Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 16: Los Angeles Chargers at Dallas Cowboys– Game summary
DAL – George Pickens – 7 receptions, 130 yards, TD
Following the Eagles’ win over the Commanders from the previous day, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention.[24]
Despite a solid start, the Cowboys could not keep pace with the Chargers, and lost 34-17. It marked the Cowboys' first loss to the Chargers since 2017, and marked the Cowboys' third straight loss. They finished 2–2 against the AFC West (3–2 against the AFC) and 4–3–1 at home.
↑The Jets will receive the higher of the Cowboys' own 2027 1st or the Packers' 2027 1st that was previously traded to Dallas in the Micah Parsons trade
12San Francisco wins tie break over LA Rams based on division record.
12Minnesota wins tie break over Tampa Bay based on conference record.
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