2019 Dallas Cowboys season
The 2019 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 60th in the National Football League, their 11th playing home games at AT&T Stadium and their ninth and final season under head coach Jason Garrett. It also marked the return of tight end Jason Witten, who retired in 2018 and spent a year as the color analyst for Monday Night Football. Wide receiver Cole Beasley, who was the second-longest tenured player on the roster, left the team in the offseason and signed with the Bills.
Despite being 6–4 by Week 11 and leading the NFC East, they lost 4 of the last 6 games for a final record of 8-8. This was their first non-winning season since the 2015 season. A Week 16 loss to their division rival the Philadelphia Eagles was the turning point, with the Eagles winning in week 17 against the Giants ensuring that the Eagles would be the 2019 NFC East champion; a strong Week 17 win by the Cowboys against their division rivals of the Washington Redskins was insufficient to save their playoff hopes.
Head coach Jason Garrett's contract was not renewed by Jerry Jones after expiration.
Offseason
Signings
Re-signings
Trade acquisitions
Departures
NFL Draft
Notes- The Cowboys traded their 2019 first-round draft pick to the Raiders in exchange for WR Amari Cooper.
- The Cowboys traded a conditional 2019 sixth-round draft pick in September 2017 to the Bengals in exchange for CB Bene Benwikere.
- As a result of a negative differential of free agent signings and departures that the Cowboys experienced during the free agency period, the team received one compensatory selection in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
On March 21, the exhibition matchup between the Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams was officially announced for Saturday, August 17, at Aloha Stadium just outside of Honolulu, Hawaii, with the Rams serving as the home team.| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | NFL.com recap |
| 1 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 9–17 | 0–1 | Levi's Stadium | ||
| 2 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 14–10 | 1–1 | Aloha Stadium | ||
| 3 | Houston Texans | W 34–0 | 2–1 | AT&T Stadium | ||
| 4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 15–17 | 2–2 | AT&T Stadium |
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.Game summaries
Week 1: vs. New York Giants
In the season opener, the Cowboys scored in 5 consecutive drives, the longest streak in Cowboys history, despite Evan Engram scoring a touchdown first in this game. After that, it was all Dallas the rest of the way. The win allowed the Cowboys to start 1-0.Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones would end up playing the remainder of the game for Eli Manning when Manning was removed from the game due to a coaching decision made by head coach Pat Shurmur. This would be Manning’s last game he played against the Cowboys, as he did not play in their second game in Metlife Stadium due to Jones being the starter since week 3 of the season.
Week 2: at Washington Redskins
The game started with Montae Nicholson obtaining an interception, which would allow the Redskins to score. The Cowboys responded with a touchdown pass to Devin Smith to tie the game at 7-7. They would later score again with a touchdown pass to veteran tight end Jason Witten before halftime. The Redskins would respond back after another touchdown scored by the Cowboys. Ezekiel Elliott would run for a first down to clinch the game. The game ended with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott rushing for 180 combined yards. This win would improve the Cowboys to 2-0.Week 3: vs. Miami Dolphins
In a historical Vegas favorite, both Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard obtained 100+ rushing yards in one game. This would not repeat until Week 15. This win improved the Cowboys to 3-0.Week 4: at New Orleans Saints
The Cowboys obtained their first interception of the season. Despite a strong defense and allowing no touchdowns, they would drop to 3-1 with the loss. This game practically mimicked the previous year’s game between these two teams in Dallas where it was mainly a defensive battle.Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers
In a highly anticipated matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a testament of the Cowboys-Packers rivalry, the Cowboys struggled mightily. Looking to defeat the Packers whom they have not beaten at home since 2007, the first drive resulted in an interception, which the Packers returned the interception for 37 yards without scoring. The Cowboys proved they could not win and for the first time since the Divisional Round from 2018, they would allow 30+ points. This loss dropped the Cowboys to 3-2.Week 6: at New York Jets
The Cowboys traveled to Metlife Stadium to take on Sam Darnold, who had just recovered from mono and the Jets in one of their two trips to East Rutherford, New Jersey. They looked to defeat the Jets whom they have not beaten since 2007.The Jets would score a touchdown from 92 yards in one of the worst defensive plays by the Cowboys. The Cowboys attempted to rally, but while attempting a two-point conversion that would tie the game and send it to overtime, the pass was incomplete. The loss dropped them to 3-3, and their streak of losing three games against the Jets continued.
Week 7: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys played top-tier football and returned to their winning ways. One of the first plays was a forced fumble on Carson Wentz, which Dallas recovered. Tavon Austin would give the Cowboys the first scoring drive not long afterwards. Brett Maher kicked a 63-yard field goal to break his old record of 62, which was also during a game at home against the Eagles. The Cowboys would put their 3-game losing streak to an end as the Cowboys would improve to 4-3.Week 9: at New York Giants
Despite a first pass attempt being an interception and the Giants having a lead by 9 points, Ezekiel Elliott made his first appearance at MetLife Stadium since his rookie season and would run for 139 yards on 23 carries. The game is notable for a black cat appearing during the game. This would delay the game for several minutes. The Cowboys would not allow any more touchdowns once they claimed the lead at halftime. The Jourdan Lewis fumble recovery sealed the game as it was returned for a touchdown while the Cowboys led 30-18 to put them up 37-18 and improve to 5-3 with the win.Week 10: vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Cowboys were down by two touchdowns and attempted to rally, but it was not enough as the Cowboys dropped to 5-4.Week 11: at Detroit Lions
On the first handoff to Ezekiel Elliott, the fumble was recovered by the Lions, that way the Lions could score and take a 7-0 lead. The Cowboys would respond with a field goal by Brett Maher. Later on, the Cowboys would claim the lead and would not allow the Lions to lead again after Cowboys scored another touchdown. The game is most notable for a catch by Michael Gallup, who would scoop the ball up after nearly dropping the pass. This win would improve them to 6-4.Elliot’s touchdown celebration of the “Dak Dance” became a meme and a trend for the rest of the 2019 NFL season.
Week 12: at New England Patriots
Having attempted to upset reigning Super Bowl champions, one of their punts from Chris Jones was blocked so the Patriots could score in the next offensive drive. The Cowboys would only muster three field goals as they would fall to 6-5.Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills
Thanksgiving Day GamesComing off a close loss at New England, the Cowboys returned home to take on the Bills. The Cowboys would obtain the lead 7-0 when Dak Prescott threw a touchdown pass to Jason Witten. Afterwards, the Cowboys would struggle in nearly every other aspect as they would not respond again until the 4th quarter. Their second touchdown was not enough as the Bills would defeat the Cowboys, 26-15. This loss would not only drop the Cowboys to 6-6, but also raised concerns of whether or not if the team were still contenders. Furthermore, they could no longer exceed the win mark from the previous season.
Week 14: at Chicago Bears
This loss ensures that the Cowboys would lose 3 or more for a second time in a season for the first time since 2015. Additionally, they could no longer match their record of 10-6 from the previous season. This loss dropped them to 6-7.Week 15: vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Cowboys again achieved two rushers running for 100+ yards, which the rushers were coincidentally, also Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Sean Lee obtained his first interception since 2017 where they beat the Giants. The Rams wouldn't take the lead during the game as the Cowboys proved they would dominate despite the Rams having a top-tier defense. This win would again prevent a 4-game losing streak as well. With arguably the best win of their season, the Cowboys improved to 7-7.Week 16: at Philadelphia Eagles
In this de-facto NFC East showdown, the Cowboys travelled to Philadelphia to take on Carson Wentz and the Eagles, who, at the time, were 5-7 after their Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins. They were now rallying from two divisional wins against the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins in weeks 14 and 15 respectively.The game began with the Eagles converting two third-downs and eventually converting a 36 yard field goal from Jake Elliott. The Cowboys would not respond as the Eagles went down the field 63 yards on 7 plays. Dallas Goedert caught a 6 yard pass from Carson Wentz to put the Eagles up 10-0. The Cowboys attempted to put together a game tying drive when Eagles were leading 17-9, but on 4th down from the Eagles 23, A pass to Michael Gallup was incomplete, allowing the Eagles to run out the game clock. This loss dropped the Cowboys to 7-8.