After three straight 8-8 seasons and four straight years without a playoff appearance, things were getting testy in Dallas.
The 55th season for the Cowboys got off to a solid start in the draft. Dallas selected Zack Martin in the first round. DeMarcus Lawrence followed in the second.
Lawrence was drafted to replace DeMarcus Ware, who left for Denver in free agency.
Both players will play their 10th year for the Cowboys this season. The next pick came in the 4th round and was linebacker Anthony Hitchens.
The Iowa alum gave Dallas four solid seasons before moving on to Kansas City. Overall, it was one of the best drafts in the post-Jimmy Johnson era.
It was saved by Stephen Jones taking away the draft card with Johnny Manziel’s name on it from his father. Many in the fan base wanted Johnny Football to replace Romo.
Another man in the room saved it too. Will McClay was elevated to Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the Cowboys in the offseason.
He has continued to make his mark in the drafts for Dallas ever since.
No Do Overs
Dallas opened the season at home against the 49ers and elected to take the opening kickoff. They probably should have kicked it away.
On the second play of the season, after an 18-yard pass from Tony Romo to Terrance Williams, DeMarco Murray fumbled the ball at the 35.
Chris Culliver recovered and raced to the endzone for a 7-0 49ers’ lead less than a minute into the game. It kept getting worse after that.
After a Dan Bailey field goal, Colin Kaepernick hit Vernon Davis for two touchdowns and a 21-3 lead after one quarter. The 49ers went on to a 28-17 win.
Cowboys Crack Open A Six-Game Win Streak
Dallas avoided a 0-2 start with a 26-10 road win over the Titans. Romo was still not 100% following off-season back surgery.
DeMarco Murray had 167 yards and a touchdown in the victory and Dez Bryant had 10 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
On the road for a second-straight week, the Cowboys fell behind the Rams 21-0 after a Romo pass was intercepted and returned for a score.
But Romo and the Cowboys rebounded with 20 unanswered points to get to within one at 21-20 going into the final quarter.
Romo hit Williams for the go-ahead touchdown. Bruce Carter returned an interception 25 yards for the eventual game-winning score for a 34-31 win.
Back home, Dallas jumped out to a 24-0 lead at halftime over the Saints and cruised to a 38-17 victory. But Dallas needed overtime to hold off the Texans 20-17 the next week.
The Cowboys scored the last 10 points in Seattle to rally to a 30-23 win over the Seahawks.
Romo hit Gavin Escobar for two touchdowns in a 31-21 win over the Giants to go to 6-1 on the season.
The Streak Ends
Hosting the Redskins, and trailing 10-7 in the third quarter, Romo was sacked for the fifth time in the game. He was knocked out of the game and would miss the next game against Arizona.
Brandon Weeden came in and rallied the Cowboys back twice to tie the game. But the Redskins would leave with a 20-17 win in overtime.
Weeden and Murray got Dallas out to a 10-0 lead over the Cardinals, but Arizona took command and won going away 28-17.
The Cowboys headed for London to face Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium and dominated the Jaguars 31-17. Dallas enjoyed a bye week after the trip overseas.
Trailing 21-10 at halftime, Romo hit Bryant for two touchdowns in the final 16 minutes for a 31-28 victory over the Giants in New York.
Dallas suffered another home loss, this one a 33-10 defeat at the hands of the Eagles. At 8-4, Dallas was one game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Strong Finish
The Cowboys rebounded with consecutive road wins over Chicago (41-28) and Philadelphia (38-27). They evened their home record at 4-4 with a 42-7 win over the Colts.
Dallas closed out the regular season with a 44-17 win at the Redskins to win the NFC East for the first time since 2009.
But Dallas’ 12-4 record tied them with the Seahawks and the Packers for the best record in the NFC.
The aggregate record of games between the teams stood at: Dallas 1-0; Seattle 1-1; and Green Bay 0-1. But the NFL tie-breakers fell differently.
Seattle would be the No. 1 Seed and Green Bay would get the other first round bye. Dallas would have to host Detroit in the wild card round.
After falling behind 20-7 midway through the third quarter, Dallas rallied for a 24-20 victory. They would advance to a divisional round game in Green Bay.
Dallas held a 21-13 lead with just over 19 minutes remaining in the game after a Murray touchdown run. The Packers rallied for two touchdowns and a 26-21 lead with nine minutes remaining.
After a Murray 30 yard run, Romo moved the Cowboys to the Packers’ 32 with just under five minutes to play.
On 4th-and-2, Romo dropped back and heaved the ball down the far sideline toward Bryant…
Dez Caught The Ball
Thanks to Calvin Johnson a few years earlier, the NFL had twisted itself into a pretzel trying to redefine what a catch was.
Terms like “surviving the ground” and “two steps and making a football move” would soon follow.
Somehow — in a league where “one knee equals two feet” and “the ground cannot cause a fumble” — the ground could cause an incomplete pass.
Possession of the ball and two feet making contact with the ground inbounds made too much sense.
So when Bryant leapt high into the air, snagged the ball in both hands, and landed both feet inbounds most everyone knew he’d made an incredible catch.
Everyone except the NFL, which ruled he did not survive the ground and the pass was incomplete.
The Packers ran out the clock and Dallas’ season was over. The debate continues to this day.
But Dez caught it. And you know he did too.
