In the final season of NFL football for Texas Stadium, the Cowboys started out with high hopes. They had gone 13-3 the previous year and had their core players intact.
The Cowboys released receiver Terry Glenn but added defensive back Adam “Pac-Man” Jones to the roster. Terence Newman injured his groin in late July and would only play in 10 games in 2008.
But the tone for what was to come may have been set during the draft. Once again the Cowboys drafted on sentiment instead of talent.
With the 22nd pick of the first round, Dallas took running back Felix Jones from Jerry Jones’ alma mater, Arkansas. The running backs they passed on, you ask?
Matt Forte (9,796 yards), Chris Johnson (9,651 yards), and Ray Rice (6,180 yards). Felix Jones would rush for a career-total of 2,912 yards.
Dallas then traded back into the first round just three picks later to reach for defensive back Mike Jenkins out of South Florida.
The available defensive backs that they passed up, you ask? Kenny Phillips, Brandon Flowers, and Antoine Cason.
Another Hot Start
The Cowboys jumped out of the gate nicely to start the year. A 21-point run led Dallas to a 28-10 season-opening win at Cleveland.
A Monday night home opener against the Eagles was a blink-and-you-missed-it affair.
Dallas jumped out to a 14-6 first-quarter lead on a 72-yard pass from Tony Romo to Terrell Owens and a 98-yard kickoff return by Felix Jones.
The two teams combined to scored 34 points in the second quarter, mostly by the Eagles, who took a 30-24 lead at halftime.
After the teams traded touchdowns, Nick Folk hit a 47-yard field goal and Marion Barber scored the game-winner on a one-yard run for a 41-37 victory.
The Cowboys moved to 3-0 with a 27-16 road win over the Packers.
Mid-Season Slump
Dallas would get only two wins over the next six games however. A 26-24 loss to the Redskins at home snapped the win streak. The Cowboys then struggled to beat the winless Bengals 30-22, also at home.
Dallas rallied to tie the Cardinals at Phoenix with 10 points in the final two minutes. But a blocked punt in overtime handed Arizona a 30-24 win.
The Worst Trade In Team History
Two days after the Arizona loss had dropped the team to 4-2, Jerry Jones got amnesia. Completely forgetting how the trade for Joey Galloway had imploded a few years earlier, Jerry did it again.
Dallas sent their first, third, and sixth round draft picks for 2009 off to Detroit for receiver Roy Williams.
While the Lions would not put the extra picks to good use, the trade blew up Dallas’ draft in 2009. The Cowboys would not have a pick in the first two rounds of that draft.
Of the 12 players they eventually selected, only kicker Davied Buehler would make any impact.
In two-plus seasons in Dallas, Williams would compile 94 receptions for 1,324 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Romo Misses Games
With Romo out after the Arizona loss, the Cowboys turned to Johnson to start. His tenure did not go well.
St. Louis scored 34 unanswered points and Stephen Jackson had three touchdowns on 160 yards rushing.
The Cowboys suffered their second straight loss, 34-14.
The Cowboys offense continued to struggle the next week against Tampa Bay, yet Dallas escaped with a 13-9 victory.
The Giants rolled to an easy 35-14 victory to send Dallas to 5-4 on the season as the Cowboys got a much-needed bye the next week.
The Return Of Romo
Romo got back into the lineup and the Cowboys got past the Redskins 14-10 on a 25-yard pass from Romo to Martellus Bennett.
Romo threw three touchdowns at home as Dallas rolled to a 35-22 win over the 49ers. Dallas made it three in a row with a 34-9 win over the Seahawks on Thanksgiving.
But Romo would throw an interception with less than two minutes left and Deshea Townsend returned it 25 yards for a game-winning touchdown. The 20-13 loss to the Steelers was a bad omen.
Dallas would recover with a 20-8 win over the Giants. At 9-5, they would need only one more win to make the playoffs as a wild card team.
Texas Stadium Finale
Rumor had it that Jerry Jones lobbied for the Ravens to be the last regular season game at Texas Stadium before the schedule was made for 2008. He probably should have asked for the Seahawks instead.
The Ravens had finished 5-11 in 2007 and maybe Jones had hoped they were on the decline. By the time they arrived in Irving they were a juggernaut.
The teams slugged it out for three quarters, with the Ravens leading 16-7 going into the final quarter. They would combine for 34 points in the fourth – 28 coming in the final 3:50 of the game.
The Cowboys would pull to within two points twice in the quarter. A Romo to Owens touchdown made it 19-17 with 3:50 left.
Just 18 second later, Willis McGahee scored a 77-yard touchdown run for the Ravens.
Romo hit Witten for a 21-yard score with 1:36 left. Le’Ron McClain would post an 82-yard touchdown run, again, just 18 seconds later.
The Ravens would get the final victory, 33-24, at Texas Stadium in their only appearance in the stadium.
Baltimore would advance to the AFC title game before falling to the Steelers, who would eventually defeat the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.
One Last Chance
The Cowboys still had a shot to make the playoffs with a win in Philadelphia in the season finale. It was a massacre.
Romo would have one interception and two fumbles. The Eagles would get back-to-back touchdowns on fumble returns and roll to a 44-6 victory.
Dallas’ season ended with a winning record of 9-7 but without a playoff berth.
Texas Stadium By The Numbers
The Cowboys opened Texas Stadium on Oct. 24, 1971, with a 44-21 win over the New England Patriots.
In between that win and the loss to the Ravens the Cowboys were 197-94 (.677) in games played at Texas Stadium. They went 16-6 (.727) in playoff games played there.
By contrast, Dallas was 43-31-1 (.573) in regular season games at the Cotton Bowl and 2-2 in the playoffs. So far, at AT&T they are 66-47 (.584) in the regular season and 3-2 (.600) in the playoffs.
All of Dallas’ NFC Conference championships — save one — and Super Bowl wins have come while the team played in Irving.
They failed in two bids to win the NFL Championship during their time at the Cotton Bowl, but did secure an NFC title in 1970 before losing in the Super Bowl the year before moving to Texas Stadium.
In the 14 seasons that AT&T has been the Cowboys’ home, they have yet to reach a conference championship or Super Bowl.
