Chaos and the Dallas Cowboys are old companions, especially in the Jerry Jones era. But the 2022 season was possibly more chaotic than any other.
Despite questions lingering over the injury suffered by Michael Gallup the year before – and having signed him to a five-year deal in 2019 – the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to Cleveland.
In return they basically got a fifth-round draft pick as the teams’ exchanged sixth-round picks in the deal.
The ill-advised trade that caused Cooper’s absence from the offense would be felt all year.
The Cowboys thought they had re-signed Randy Gregory and even announced the signing.
But the Nebraska alum instead signed with Denver for the same amount of years and money the Cowboys had offered.
Dallas gained some measure of karmic revenge as Gregory only played six games for the Broncos in 2022.
The Cowboys brought back Brett Maher — another Cornhusker — as their placekicker. It was a decision that would come back to haunt them.
Is This A Re-Run?
The Cowboys drew Tampa Bay of their season-opening opponent for the second-straight year. Only this time at home.
It was an ugly game, with the Buccaneers leading 12-3 at halftime in a field goal kicking contest. A Tom Brady five-yard pass to Mike Evans made it 19-3 with 18 minutes left in the game.
Still down by the same score with six minutes left in the game, Dak Prescott suffered a fractured right thumb. He would have surgery the next day.
Cooper Rush would not be able to get the offense into the end zone either as Tampa Bay held on for the 19-3 victory.
Super Cooper
Most Cowboys’ fans were ready to throw in the towel on the season with Prescott expected to miss up to eight weeks.
But the offensive game plan with Rush was to protect the ball and lean heavily on the defense. It worked.
Over the next four weeks, the Cowboys defeated the Bengals (20-17), Giants (23-16), Commanders (25-10), and the Rams (22-10).
During the four-game run Rush threw four touchdowns and no interceptions. He totaled just 775 yards over the four games but did not turnover the ball by interception or fumble.
The Cowboys’ lone turnover during the four-game win streak came courtesy of Dalton Schultz, who fumbled after making a catch against the Bengals.
The conservative play-calling worked to perfection. Unfortunately, it was abandoned the next week in a 26-17 loss to the Eagles.
After falling behind 14-0 early, Rush was forced to take chances, leading to three interceptions.
Dak Is Back
Prescott returned ahead of schedule to lead Dallas to a 24-6 win over the Lions. Going 19-of-25 for 207 yards and a touchdown Prescott looked to be in top form.
The backfield duo of Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott was churning up yardage. But Elliott would miss the next two games.
Pollard would take advantage of the opportunity, cementing himself as the Cowboys’ running back of the future. Elliott’s days in Dallas were numbered.
Pollard Power
Pollard would make his first game as the full-time back in 2022 count. On 14 carries, he would score three touchdowns on 131 yards.
Dallas would jump out to a 28-7 lead with six minutes left in the first half over the Bears at AT&T Stadium. The Bears would make it 28-14 with 40 seconds left in the half.
In his two games played in 2022, Prescott had thrown just one interception.
But instead of taking a knee to end the half with a comfortable lead, Prescott threw deep for CeeDee Lamb and was picked off by Eddie Jackson.
The Bears converted the turnover into a field goal with three seconds left. The turnover ultimately didn’t prove fatal as Dallas went on to win 49-29.
But it was an indicator of a troubling trend for Prescott post-injury. And the interceptions proved costly the very next week against Green Bay.
Prescott threw two interceptions, setting up both of Green Bay’s first-half touchdowns. Dallas rallied to take a 28-14 lead in the third quarter.
Green Bay rallied behind two Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes to Christian Watson to tie the game before winning it in overtime 31-28.
Another Winning Streak
The Cowboys got their second four-game winning streak of the year rolling with a 40-3 rout of the Vikings in Minnesota.
Dallas followed that up with a 28-20 win over the Giants and a 54-14 drubbing of the Colts.
The Cowboys trailed the lowly Texans 23-17 going into the fourth quarter. A 53-yard field goal by Maher got them to within three.
A two-yard run by Elliott with 41 seconds remaining gave Dallas a 27-23 win they could not feel all that good about.
A Bad Day In Jacksonville
The Cowboys looked to be rolling to a fifth straight win, leading 27-10 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
But the Jaguars reeled off 21 straight points in just 10 minutes to take a 31-27 lead with 10 minutes to play. A Prescott interception set up the Jaguars at the Cowboys 39 for a short drive for the second score.
Prescott drove Dallas to the go-ahead score with three minutes remaining on a 13-yard pass to Noah Brown. But Jacksonville forced overtime with a field goal in the final seconds.
After forcing a Jacksonville punt on the first possession, three Pollard runs put Dallas near midfield.
On Prescott’s first pass attempt of overtime, the ball deflected off of Brown and into the hands of Rayshawn Jenkins.
Fifty-two yards later, the Jaguars had a walk-off pick-six victory.
Final Playoff Push
The Cowboys would defeat the Eagles (40-34) and the Titans (27-13) before a season-ending loss at the Commanders (26-6).
Dallas would finish second in the east with a 12-5 record. It was the first time since 1996 they’d had consecutive seasons with double-digit wins.
It was also the first time since 2007 they’d qualified for the post-season in consecutive years.
But Prescott’s interceptions were of concern. He led the NFL for the year with 15 despite missing nearly a third of the season.
Wild Card Win
Prescott was nearly flawless in a 31-14 win over Tampa Bay in the wild card game. Though Dallas had the better record, the Bucs hosted the game as division winners.
The only thing that went wrong that night was the kicking game. Maher missed his first four point after attempts.
It was so bad that, on national television, Payton Manning lost his mind after the fourth miss. He wasn’t the only one.
Still, the Cowboys chased Tom Brady into retirement and prepared for a trip to San Francisco and the divisional round.
Different Year, Same Result
The 49ers were down to their third starting quarterback – the last player picked in that spring’s draft at that – when the teams met in California.
After a Robbie Gould field goal gave the 49ers a 3-0 first quarter lead, Prescott got Dallas on the board in the second quarter.
His short pass to Schultz put Dallas up 6-3. But not 7-3.
Maher’s point after try was shanked so badly it hit a 49ers’ defender who should have been too far wide to impact the play.
After a pair of Gould field goals, Maher redeemed himself with a 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 9-9 after three quarters.
The 49ers would outscore Dallas 10-3 in the final quarter for a 19-12 victory to end Dallas’ season.
The frustration for the Cowboys was that both of Prescott’s interceptions immediately put the 49ers in scoring position.
Two of Gould’s four field goals directly followed Prescott interceptions.
Elliot’s Final Stand
For Elliott it would be his final game in a Cowboys’ uniform. His final play would be one he’d like to forget.
With six seconds left and at their own 24, Dallas ran a trick formation with Elliott at center snapping the ball to Prescott.
He got immediately pancaked by a 49ers’ defender and the play netted all of eight yards.
In seven seasons in Dallas, Elliott rushed for 8,262 yards and 68 touchdowns. He ranks third in both categories behind Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett for the Cowboys.
Elliott was released earlier this year and has signed to play with the Patriots this fall. He will return to AT&T Stadium to play against the Cowboys on Oct. 1st.
