COVID-19 has ushered America into one of the strangest times in the country’s history. People are self-quarantining and social-distancing, states are shutting down, and every-single scheduled sporting event has either been rescheduled or canceled.
The NBA suspended their season indefinitely, the Masters has been postponed, and March Madness has been canceled, effectively ruining the greatest time of the year for sports. If you are exclusively a football fan, you are used to the sad springtime sports drought, but for everybody else, this is new and sad. Fear not.
Both the NBA and the NFL have recognized your mourning and are now offering free subscriptions to their viewing platforms, NBA League Pass and NFL Game Pass.
This means you can watch any NFL game since 2009.
I am going to break down the best and most entertaining ten games to rewatch to satisfy your Dallas Cowboys football needs, assuming you don’t like playoff wins or Superbowl appearances.
10) 2018: Cowboys vs New Orleans Saints, 13-10
This Thursday Night Football game was labeled as one of the ugliest games of the 2018 season. It was a defensive slug-fest throughout. The Cowboys entered the game 6-5, on a three-game win streak, and the Saints entered as the league’s best team, sitting at 10-1. New Orleans’ offense had been unstoppable all season but was absolutely shut down by Dallas’ defense. After a Dak-to-Zeke touchdown connection through the air, the Cowboys held an impressive 13-0 lead at halftime.
At the end of the third quarter, Drew Brees connected with Keith Kirkwood for the final score of the game. The fourth quarter was a defensive battle, which ended with Jourdan Lewis intercepting Brees in crunch time. Dallas won the game and would only lose one more game, finishing with a very impressive 10-6 record, especially considering that at one point they were 3-5, and essentially securing the George Dunham Jubhawk.
9) 2014: Cowboys vs Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-17
Dez Bryant and the Cowboys put on quite a show for the London crowd in this one. The 6-3 Cowboys took a 3-0 lead over the 1-8 Jaguars on the opening drive after Tony Romo overthrew Jason Witten in the endzone. After a Jaguar touchdown, Romo would find Witten in the endzone for a touchdown to regain the lead.
At that point, it became the Dez Bryant show. Romo found Dez for a 35-yard catch and run, where Dez weaved his way through quite a few Jacksonville defenders, eventually scoring. Then right before the half ended Romo and Dez connected again, this time on a 68-yard bomb which put Dallas up 24-7 going into the half. The only Dallas touchdown of the second half came on a 40 yard rush from Joseph Randle.
This would be a great game to watch if you somehow forgot how great Dez Bryant was.
8) 2018: Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks, 24-22 (Wildcard Round)
After starting the season 3-5, the Cowboys went on a run after trading for Amari Cooper and earned a spot in the playoffs, finishing 10-6. Despite the exciting run, it would all be for nothing if the Cowboys couldn’t win a playoff game.
This game is another defensive showdown as both offenses had trouble finding the endzone for most of the game. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown leading the Cowboys offensive attack. Amari Cooper caught seven passes for 106 yards and Michael Gallup caught two passes including an eleven yard fade into the endzone. Despite that, Dak Prescott is the one who made the play of the game.
With the game on the line, Dak sacrificed his entire body, flipping himself to the one-yard line, leading to a QB sneak the very next play. This was Dak and Zeke’s first (and only) playoff victory.
7) 2013: Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos, 48-51
If you want to be entertained, this game is your pick. It was an epic shootout between Tony Romo, five touchdowns and Peyton Manning, four touchdowns. Demarco Murray only rushed twelve times for 43 yards and a score, while Romo threw 25/36 with 506 yards, five scores, and one untimely interception. Dez Bryant caught six passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns while rookie Terrance Williams caught four passes for 151 yards and one touchdown.
The Cowboys defense was nonexistent outside of one Morris Claiborne interception. Dallas ended up losing on a last-second field goal but this game still deserves to be admired.
6) 2014: Cowboys vs. Seattle Seahawks, 30-23
Despite entering the game with a 4-1 record, not many people expected the Cowboys to beat the Seahawks in Seattle. This was a back and forth game as the lead changed three times and the score was tied three times. After going down 20-23 in the fourth quarter, Tony Romo and the Cowboys had to score. The Seahawks forced a Cowboy fourth down and it started to look like the Seahawks would get the victory at home… and then Tony Romo happened.
On fourth and long, Romo displayed his magic, spinning away from a pass rusher, stepping up into the pocket and firing a sideline pass to Terrance Williams who just barely got his toes down. DeMarco Murray would later run it in on a fifteen-yard rush and put the Cowboys in front 27-23. The Cowboys would kick another field goal and win in the toughest place to play in the NFL.
5) 2016: Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers, 31-34 (Divisional Round)
The Cowboys entered this playoff game as arguably the best team in the NFL. They had already beaten the Packers earlier in the season. They were playing at home. Everything was lined up for Dallas to run through Green Bay and make a playoff run. That thought was short-lived as the Cowboys looked terrible to start the game. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers had a 28-13 lead in the third quarter and at that point, I was ready to turn the TV off. But Offensive Rookie of the Year, Dak Prescott threw back to back touchdowns to Jason Witten and Dez Bryant, and just like that, the game was tied 28-28.
The two teams traded field goals and it appeared that this game might go to overtime, which would have been a huge accomplishment for Dallas after trailing by so much. But of course, Aaron Rodgers had to ruin everything with his greatness. He took his team straight down the field, setting up a last-second 51-yard field goal for Mason Crosby. It looked like the kick would push wide, but it hooked right through the upright, the Packers won, and I sunk into a deep sports depression for months.
4) 2016: Cowboys vs Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-30
The winners of seven straight, the Cowboys appeared unbeatable, but Pittsburgh is a tough place to win and the Steelers had perhaps the best big three in the NFL. This was another entertaining game from start to finish, mostly in credit to Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott scored two times on the ground, including one touchdown to win the game, and he also scored on an 83-yard screen pass in the fourth quarter.
Antonio Brown and Leveon Bell were both great, but Ezekiel Elliott was clearly the best player in the game, going for 209 scrimmage yards and three total touchdowns. All around an awesome game that displays the greatness of the dangerous rookie combo of Dak and Zeke.
3) 2014: Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions, 24-20 (Wildcard Round)
The Lions looked like the better team for the majority of this game. Their defensive line dominated up-front all game long, but Tony Romo is too great. Of course, he was going to find a way to win this game.
Despite being sacked six times he was able to lead the Cowboys down the field at the end of the third quarter, and Demarco Murray punched in a fourth and goal run to pull the Cowboys within six points. Dan Bailey knocked in a field goal to make it 17-20, and then with two minutes left, Romo found Terrance Williams in the endzone for his second touchdown of the game.
Demarcus Lawrence sealed the game on a strip-sack and the Cowboys would advance to the divisional round. A great game to watch if you’re missing Clutch Tony Romo.
2) 2018: Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 29-23 (Week 14)
This was the second matchup between the division rivals, and a win would put Dallas in the driver’s seat in the division. The first half was defensive. It ended with the Cowboys leading 6-0 and the defense playing a near-perfect two quarters. Amari Cooper only caught one pass (remember this stat for later.) The third quarter saw Alshon Jeffrey scoring the first touchdown of the game but the Cowboys remained in front 9-6. The fourth quarter was a different story. It started with a Philadelphia field goal which tied the game at nine.
From this point on it was very back and forth. Amari Cooper scored, Dallas Goedert scored, Amari Cooper scored, and then Darren Sproles scored, sending the game to overtime. The Cowboys received the overtime kickoff and Dak took them swiftly down the field into the RedZone. At the Eagles’ fifteen Dak threw a pass which bounced off the defenders’ hands, into Cooper’s hands who walked into the endzone for the win. Amari Cooper finished with 217 yards and three touchdowns.
1) 2014: Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers, 21-26 (Divisional Round)
This one hurts. We all remember this game. There really is not very much to say. One of the most infamous replay reversals of all time came from this game when Dez Bryant’s CATCH has ruled a drop. The Cowboys were robbed of a touchdown and robbed of a chance to win the game and advance.
To this day, the explanation behind that call still makes very little sense to me. After this call, we did not get to see Tony Romo compete at his high level and Dez Bryant was never the same. It made Tony Romo’s prime season feel like a waste. We can just call this the “Dez Caught It” game.
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