Given how the team had finished the 2010 season under Jason Garrett, there were expectations of a playoff run going into 2011.
They had a solid draft, taking tackle Tyron Smith in the first round. Linebacker Bruce Carter followed in the second.
DeMarco Murray was the third round pick and Dallas got a steal in the sixth round with receiver Dwayne Harris.
Smith has anchored the offensive line in Dallas since. Murray would only start seven games as a rookie and still racked up 897 yards.
He would give Dallas four good years, leading the league in rushing in 2014 with 1,845 yards before leaving in free agency.
Carter would have an up and down run during his time in Dallas. A knee injury in his senior season had dropped his draft value, allowing Dallas to take a risk on him in the second round.
He spent the first two months of his rookie year recovering from the injury. Carter was limited to playing on special teams when he was activated.
He, like Murray, would depart in free agency after the 2014 season.
Unhappy Anniversary Reunion
The NFL season opened on Sept. 11th, the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Cowboys drew the short-straw of playing at New York that day.
Dallas jumped out to an early lead on the Jets behind a pair of Tony Romo touchdown passes. Felix Jones’ touchdown run had Dallas up 24-10 with 14:50 left.
But Mark Sanchez hit Plaxico Burress on a 26-yard scoring pass to cut the lead in half. With five minutes left, Isaiah Trufant returned a blocked punt 18 yards to tie the game.
With 27 seconds remaining on the clock, the Jets got a game-winning 50-yard field goal for a 27-24 win.
The kicker for the Jets? Nick Folk.
The player Dallas had drafted in 2007 and discarded after the 2009 season.
The following week in San Francisco the Cowboys reversed the script. This time they trailed by double-digits in the fourth quarter before rallying to win.
After a David Akers 55-yard field goal put the 49ers up 24-14 with 11:12 left, Dallas rallied back. Romo hit Miles Austin for a 25 yard score with 6:55 to go.
Dan Bailey hit a 48-yard field goal to tie the game as time expired in regulation. Bailey then hit a 19-yarder in overtime for the 27-24 victory.
Dipping Below .500
The Cowboys would drop their next two games by four points each to fall below .500.
Calvin Johnson caught two Matthew Stafford passes for touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys watched as a 30-17 lead after three quarters turned into a 34-30 loss to the Lions.
Dallas took a 16-13 lead over the Patriots on the road after a bye week. But Tom Brady drove New England 80 yards in just 2:04 for a 20-16 victory.
For the second time during the season, the Cowboys played back-to-back games that ended with the same final scores. Like the first time, they split the decisions.
They routed the Rams 34-7 at home. Dallas fell to 3-4 on the year after getting routed in return 34-7 by the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Four-Game Win Streak
The Cowboys got back over the .500 mark for good with home wins over the Seahawks (23-13) and the Bills (44-7). A Bailey 39-yard field goal in overtime gave Dallas a 27-24 road win over the Redskins.
Dallas fell behind 16-10 to the Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day. But Romo’s second touchdown pass of the game to Laurent Robinson put Dallas up by a point with 14:31 to go.
The Dolphins regained the lead, 19-17, with a field goal with just over seven minutes remaining.
Romo drove the Cowboys 54 yards and set up Bailey for a game-winning 28-yard field goal as time expired.
The Cowboys were at 7-4 and in position not only for a playoff spot, but for the division title too.
A Giant Pain In The…
At home against the Giants, the Cowboys appeared to break open a close game with two Romo passes for touchdowns.
A six-yard pass to Austin put Dallas up by five. With 5:41 remaining in the game, Dez Bryant’s 50-yard touchdown appeared to seal the victory.
But Eli Manning found Jake Ballard on a short pass to cut the lead to 34-29 with 3:14 to play. The Cowboys went three-and-out and burned only one minute off the clock.
Manning went back to work, driving the Giants 58 yards for the go ahead score. Brandon Jacobs punched it in from a yard out and the two-point try was good.
Down 37-34 with 46 seconds remaining, Romo moved the Cowboys from their own 20 to the Giants 29 in just 40 seconds. He didn’t even use the Cowboys’ last time out.
With six seconds left, Bailey’s 47-yard attempt to send the game into overtime was blocked by Jason Pierre-Paul to preserve the Giants’ victory.
Dallas would bounce back with a 31-15 win at Tampa Bay. But a 20-7 loss to the Eagles would follow.
The Cowboys would head to New York, where they had begun the season. They needed a win for the division title and a playoff spot.
Too Little, Too Late
New York time is one hour ahead of Dallas time. That may explain why the Cowboys didn’t show up for the first half of their season finale.
The Giants jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead in the winner-take-all showdown. Romo tried to rally back, hitting Robinson for two touchdowns.
But after getting back to within seven points with 10 minutes left, the Cowboys defense couldn’t hold up. The Giants scored 10 straight to close out the game.
The 31-14 loss ended Dallas’ season at 8-8, one game short of the playoffs. It was a maddening season of missed opportunities.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys – and their fans — there would be two more seasons of such misses yet to come.
