The 30th season under the ownership of Jerry Jones – and 10th playing at AT&T Stadium – was nothing short of tumultuous for the Cowboys.
Tight ends Jason Witten and James Hanna both retired. Dez Bryant left the team for Baltimore and Dan Bailey departed for the Vikings.
In all, over one-third of the 2017 roster did not return in 2018. The Cowboys signed Allen Hurns from Jacksonville and traded for Tavon Austin to shore up the receivers room.
AT&T Stadium hosted the 2018 NFL Draft. It was a successful draft for the Cowboys and eventful for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Anticipating a warm welcome a few months removed from suspending Ezekiel Elliott, Goodell walked out onto the stage using several Cowboys’ legends as human shields.
“I’m sure he’s going to get a good response with us being out there,” Roger Staubach — one of the human shields along with Troy Aikman and Jason Witten — told ESPN. “If they boo, all of us are in trouble.”
It did him little good. He was booed and heckled mercilessly.
Dallas added several key players during the draft after the fans were done with Goodell.
Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (1st), guard Connor Williams (2nd), wide receiver Michael Gallup (3rd), tight end Dalton Schultz (4th), and wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. (6th) highlighted the draft.
Shaky First Half
The Cowboys alternated wins and losses over the first six weeks of the season. The offense was flat in a season-opening 16-8 loss at Carolina.
Dallas dominated the Giants in a 20-13 home-opening win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
But the offense continued to struggle the following week in a 24-13 loss at Seattle.
Brett Maher hit four field goals, including the game-winner as time expired in a 26-24 win over the Lions. A 19-16 overtime loss at Houston followed.
Maher hit four field goals – including two at 50 yards or more – in a 40-6 win over Jacksonville. But Maher’s 52-yard attempt to tie the game hit the upright in a 20-17 loss to the Redskins.
At 3-4, the Cowboys needed a spark to turn their season around.
Welcome To Dallas Mr. Cooper
After a bye week, the Cowboys hit the field against the Titans with their brand-new WR1, Amari Cooper.
The day after the Redskins loss, the Cowboys sent their 2019 first round pick to the Raiders for Cooper. Dallas ranked 29th at 183 passing yards per game for the first seven games of 2018.
Cooper caught five passes for 58 yards in his first game in Dallas. A four-yard pass from Prescott to Cooper put the Cowboys up 7-0 early.
The Titans went on to win the game 28-14, but the Cowboys’ offense was coming to life.
Win Streak Turns Around Season
Dallas reeled off a five-game win streak to get to 8-5 on the season. The streak was bookended by wins over the Eagles.
A 27-20 win at Philadelphia kicked off the run and the fifth win came at home against the Eagles, 29-23.
In between, Dallas beat the Falcons (22-19) and Redskins (31-23). A 13-10 win over the Saints on Thanksgiving Day wasn’t pretty, but it was a win.
During the streak, Cooper had 35 catches for 584 yards and five touchdowns.
Driving For A Division Title
The streak was snapped in Indianapolis as the Cowboys lost 23-0. Marlon Mack gashed the defense for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Dallas’ offense had a missed Maher field goal in the first quarter and got stuffed on a 4th down run at the Colts’ three-yard line in the second quarter.
They never seriously threatened to score the rest of the way.
The Cowboys rebounded with a 27-20 win over Tampa Bay at home, setting up a win at New York to secure the NFC East title in the season finale.
Prescott hit Blake Jarwin for two first quarter touchdowns and an early 14-0 lead. Another Prescott to Jarwin connection gave Dallas a 21-10 lead with five minutes remaining in the third quarter,
Over the next 20 minutes, the two teams would combine for 40 points. The Giants scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 25-21 lead with just under 11 minutes left.
A one-yard run by Rod Smith put Dallas back in front by a field goal with nine minutes remaining. Saquon Barkey’s two-yard run with 3:21 left made it 32-28.
The Giants made it 35-28 with 2:35 to go after a field goal set up by a Cooper fumble. Prescott drove the Cowboys 70 yards in just 83 seconds with no timeouts to use.
A 32-yard pass to Cole Beasley brought Dallas to within a point at 35-34. But rather than go for the game-tying point after kick, Dallas went for two instead.
Prescott found Michael Gallup to give the Cowboys a 36-35 lead. The defense held Eli Manning to four straight incomplete passes to hold on for the division-clinching victory.
Wild Card Revenge
The last time the Cowboys had played the Seahawks in a wild card playoff game was in 2007. That game was played in Seattle and resulted in a Seahawks win.
It also resulted in a rule change in how kicking balls were handled on the sidelines.
But in 2018, the teams would play in Arlington and Dallas would have its revenge. Trailing 14-10 going into the final quarter Dallas rallied with two touchdowns.
One-yard runs by Elliott and Prescott put Dallas up 24-14 with 2:08 remaining. Russell Wilson quickly moved the Seahawks downfield.
With 1:18 remaining, Wilson hit J.D. McKissic for a seven-yard touchdown. A Chris Carson run for two points made it 24-22.
Cole Beasley recovered the onside kick and Dallas ran out the clock to advance to a divisional round game in Los Angeles.
Another Divisional Disappointment
Coming into the game, Dallas was 4-4 against the Rams in playoff games. The two teams had not met in the postseason since 1986 and the Rams had won the last two meetings and three of the last four.
A 29-yard pass from Prescott to Cooper put the Cowboys up 7-3 after the first quarter. But Los Angeles would score the next 20 points on the way to a 30-22 victory to end Dallas’ season.
