Dallas City News

We are three months away from the start of the 2024 season. The Dallas Cowboys are coming off three straight 12-win seasons and would love to keep that streak going. Winning is fun and throughout the season it brings about several great moments. Before moving forward to what lies ahead, let’s stroll down memory lane and re-live some of the exciting moments from last season. These moments may include a specific play or a sequence of plays in a big game. Whatever brought forth those warm and fuzzy feelings for Cowboys fans is up for nomination. Here are the top five moments of the 2023 season for the Cowboys.

5. No points for you!

You can’t script a better start to the season than a 40-0 romping of the New York Giants in their own stadium. Right out of the gate, the Cowboys broke the spirits of the G-men when they blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive. The Cowboys had a 19-0 lead without their offense ever scoring a touchdown. And when the offense did get rolling, it was goodnight Irene. It was an utterly dominant performance in all three phases. The Cowboys put up 40 points despite Dak Prescott never throwing a touchdown. Daniel Jones wasn’t so fortunate. He was sacked seven times and the Giants put the ball on the turf five times as the Cowboys preserved the shutout.

4. The New England Shellacking

Did you know the Cowboys went 25 years without beating the New England Patriots? Before their overtime victory against them in 2021, their last win against the Patriots came during the 1996 season. A new winning streak has formed as the Cowboys have now beaten them in two straight games after a 38-3 blowout victory last year. This was a fun game to watch as it featured two defensive touchdowns, first a fumble recovery by Leighton Vander Esch and then later with a pick-six by Daron Bland (more on that in a bit). The game also featured a fake extra point when Bryan Anger threw the ball to Chauncey Golston. At the time, we didn’t know the Cowboys would beat up so many teams (9 of their 12 wins were by 20 or more points) that season, nor did we know that the Patriots would finish as one of the weaker teams in the league. Regardless, it felt good at that moment as the Cowboys have now sent both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick out of the league with convincing losses.

3. Bland’s record-breaker

One of the exciting things about last year was the breakout performance of DaRond Bland. After Trevon Diggs got hurt, the second-year cornerback was asked to handle outside cornerback responsibilities, and boy did he deliver. The young corner followed up a five-pick rookie season with a league-leading nine interceptions in year two. But even more impressive was that five picks were returned for touchdowns. It set a new single-season record for pick-sixes as the previous record of four stood for over 50 years. When Bland jumped a route late in the Thanksgiving game against Washington, it was a thing of beauty. Jim Nanz’s voice never sounded so good.

2. Fergy’s revenge

The Cowboys were coming off three-straight wins in November when the Seattle Seahawks strolled into AT&T Stadium and put up a fight. They went back and forth with Seattle, exchanging blows. Seattle jumped ahead with an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys kept plugging away. The defense tightened up and made several great stops late and Prescott hit Jake Ferguson for the go-ahead touchdown. It was fitting to see Fergy haul in the game-winner considering the Seahawks defenders were jawing at him all game.

Honorable Mention – Eagles lose control

Before we reveal the top moment, we should also acknowledge an event that brought happiness even though it wasn’t from a Cowboys game. Down the stretch, the Cowboys found themselves in a tough situation where catching the Eagles for the divisional crown seemed insurmountable. Fortunately, Cowboys fans were treated to an Eagles collapse where they lost five of their last six regular season games. After the Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions in a close game on Saturday, they just sat back and enjoyed Sunday’s action which included an upset of epic proportions. The Arizona Cardinals put together a late-game comeback that was capped off by a James Conner touchdown with just 30 seconds left. Just like that Dallas finally controlled their own destiny and was on a clear path to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

1. Cowboys run the East!

A week later, the Philadelphia Eagles came into town with a chance to put the division away. The Eagles had gotten off to such a great start (10-1) and even though the Cowboys were winning, they couldn’t make up any ground. This was their chance. After getting the better of Dallas five weeks earlier, this was a moment for the Cowboys to prove who was the best team in the division. In a game that was supposed to be a close divisional battle, the Cowboys took control early and never looked back. Dallas delivered a back-breaking blow late in the second quarter when a two-minute drill resulted in a 24-6 halftime lead. The Eagles tried to get back in the game with a nice opening drive in the second half, but it was thwarted when Stephon Gilmore stripped the ball from A.J. Brown. In a game that was supposed to be close, it ended up being a 20-point blowout and was the first piece of the puzzle that ultimately ended in the Cowboys taking down the NFC East.

What is your favorite moment from the 2023 season?