The
2013 season was the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
' 54th in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), their fifth playing home games at
AT&T Stadium
AT&T Stadium, formerly Cowboys Stadium, is a retractable roof, retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. I ...
(formerly known as "Cowboys Stadium") and the third full season under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Jason Garrett
Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is a former American football player and coach and current broadcaster. He previously served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2010s from 2010-2019. Garrett has also been offensive coordi ...
. The Cowboys finished 8–8 for a third consecutive season, but missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season after losing their final game for the third straight season, this time to the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
.
2013 draft class
Notes
*The Cowboys traded their original first-round selection to the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in exchange for first and third-round selections.
*The Cowboys traded their seventh-round selection to the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
for
offensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
Ryan Cook.
Staff
Rosters
Opening preseason roster
Week one roster
Final roster
Schedule
Preseason
Regular season
:Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. New York Giants
Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3: vs. St. Louis Rams
Week 4: at San Diego Chargers
Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos
Coming off their loss to the Chargers, the Cowboys hosted the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
at home for an interconference duel. The Cowboys grabbed a 14–0 lead in the first quarter, with a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Tony Romo
Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
to wide receiver
Dez Bryant
Desmond Demond Bryant (born November 4, 1988) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Oklahoma State, where he earned All-American honors in 2008. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fir ...
, followed by running back
DeMarco Murray
DeMarco Murray (born February 12, 1988) is an American football coach and former running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time first-team All-Pro, he was the NFL Off ...
rushing for a 4-yard touchdown. The latter score occurred after a fumble by Broncos' wide receiver
Eric Decker
Eric Thomas Decker (born March 15, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Minnesota, and was dr ...
. The Broncos later got on the scoreboard, with quarterback
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
connecting on a 4-yard shovel pass to tight end
Julius Thomas
Julius Dewayne Thomas (born June 27, 1988) is a former American football tight end. He played college football and basketball at Portland State, and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He also played fo ...
for a touchdown. Early in the second quarter, a 43-yard field goal by placekicker
Dan Bailey gave the Cowboys a 17–7 lead. The Broncos then reeled off 21 unanswered points, with Manning adding two more touchdown passes — a 2-yarder to Decker and a 9-yarder to Thomas, followed by Manning rushing for a 1-yard touchdown on a bootleg play. A 48-yard field goal by Bailey at the end of the first half narrowed the Broncos' lead to 28–20.
In the second half, the Broncos added to their lead midway through the third quarter, with Manning connecting on a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Wes Welker
Wesley Carter Welker (born May 1, 1981) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the San ...
. However, the Cowboys subsequently began chipping away at the Broncos’ lead, with Romo connecting on an 82-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Terrance Williams
Terrance Tyrone Williams (born September 8, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played college football at Baylor, where he earned All-American recognition, before being drafted b ...
. A 48-yard field goal by placekicker
Matt Prater
Matthew Phillip Prater (born August 10, 1984) is an American football placekicker for
the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the best long distance kickers in NFL history, he held the NFL record for lon ...
gave the Broncos a 38–27 lead, but the Cowboys further narrowed the Broncos' lead, with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Romo to Bryant (with an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt). Following an intercepted Broncos' pass, the Cowboys subsequently re-claimed the lead early in the fourth quarter, with Romo throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Jason Witten
Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...
, coupled with a two-point pass from Romo to Williams. The Broncos tied the game at 41–41 on their next possession, with a 50-yard field goal by Prater. As the shootout continued, on the Cowboys' next possession, Romo connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Cole Beasley
Cole Dickson Beasley (born April 26, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Methodist University and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an ...
to give the Cowboys a 48–41 lead with 7:19 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Manning subsequently led the Broncos on a 9-play, 73-yard drive, which culminated with running back
Knowshon Moreno
Knowshon Rockwell Moreno (born July 16, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Georgia and was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He also pl ...
rushing for a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at 48–48 with 2:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. Two plays into the Cowboys' next possession, as the Cowboys were attempting a game-winning drive, Romo was intercepted by Broncos’ linebacker
Danny Trevathan
Danny Eugene Trevathan (born March 24, 1990) is an American football inside linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kentucky, where in 2010, he ...
at the Cowboys' 24-yard line just before the two-minute warning. On the fourth play of the Broncos' final possession, the Broncos were facing a 3rd-and-1 at the Cowboys' 2-yard line, after the Cowboys had exhausted two of their three team timeouts. Moreno earned a crucial first down after Manning implored him to go down before reaching the goal line instead of scoring a touchdown, which forced the Cowboys to burn their final timeout with 1:35 remaining in the fourth quarter. After three kneel-downs by Manning, Prater nailed the game-winning 28-yard field goal as time expired.
With the loss, the Cowboys moved to 2–3, and dropped to second place in the division. Romo passed for 506 yards in this shootout, and his 36 attempted passes is the fewest by any quarterback who managed to
pass for 500 yards in one game.
Week 6: vs. Washington Redskins
Week 7: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 8: at Detroit Lions
Dez Bryant was the topic of the close loss as he was engaged in several sideline rants throughout the second half.
Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 10: at New Orleans Saints
Week 12: at New York Giants
Dan Bailey's 34 yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the game gave the Cowboys their sixth win of the season. With the win, the Giants' four game winning streak was snapped and the Cowboys regained the top spot of the NFC East, remaining undefeated in the division.
Week 13: vs. Oakland Raiders
;
Thanksgiving Day game
Week 14: at Chicago Bears
Week 15: vs. Green Bay Packers
With the Packers coming off of their first win since the injury of
Aaron Rodgers, the Cowboys lead 26–3 at halftime. In the second half of the game, the Packers managed a dramatic comeback that was helped by the mistake-prone Cowboys. The Packers scored the game-winning touchdown with almost a minute left in the game. Tony Romo tried to rally back and give the Cowboys a win, but threw an interception near the 50-yard line that sealed their fate. Controversy followed the game for the Cowboys giving up a 23-point halftime lead and the play-calling of the coaching staff.
Week 16: at Washington Redskins
After the loss to the Packers the week before, the Cowboys managed to hold the Redskins to only two field goals to lead 14–6 at halftime. In the third quarter,
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washington ...
threw two touchdown passes to give the Redskins a 20–14 lead at the end of the 3rd. The Redskins extended their lead to 23–14 after another field goal. The Cowboys, in an attempt to not repeat the mistakes of the previous week, sent Dan Bailey out to kick a field goal to trail 23–17 in the 4th. At the 3:29 mark, the Cowboys went back to work to start at their own 13 yard line. Romo led the Cowboys downfield thanks in large part to a Terrance Williams 51 yard catch and then a Dez Bryant catch and run for 17 yards to set up first and goal at the Redskins' 4 yard line. DeMarco Murray carried the ball for all three plays (+3, no gain, −9). Facing 4th and goal at the Washington 10 yard line, Romo climbed the pocket and fired a pass to DeMarco Murray in the end zone to tie the game 23–23. With the extra point good, the Cowboys led 24–23 with 1:01 remaining in the game. Washington started their drive on their own 13 yard line after a 10-yard illegal block penalty negated what would have been a 21-yard return (to the Washington 23). Kirk Cousins and co. could not sustain their drive, totaling 4 yards on four passing attempts. The Redskins turned the ball over on downs with 40 seconds remaining in the game. Lining up in the victory formation, Tony Romo was able to kneel the ball down and run the clock out. With the win, the Cowboys advanced to 5-0 in the NFC East and kept their playoff hopes alive to set up a do-or-die at home versus the Eagles.
Romo was seen limping through most of the fourth quarter after rolling out of what would have been a sack by Redskins linebacker Rob Jackson. The Cowboys later confirmed injury reports of Romo suffering a herniated disc in his lower back. Despite statements that he would be ready to face
Nick Foles
Nicholas Edward Foles (born January 20, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona and was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL D ...
and the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East Championship, Romo was placed on injured reserve. The Cowboys tried to delay surgery by administering an epidural injection two days prior to the anticipated game, but it was decided Romo needed the surgery and ended his season.
Week 17: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The loss caused the Cowboys once again to miss out on the playoffs and gave them a 2–12 record in Week 17 games since 2000.
Standings
Division
Conference
References
External links
*
*
{{2013 NFL season by team
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
Dallas Cowboys seasons
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
2010s in Dallas
2013 in Texas