The 2005 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 46th in the National Football League (NFL), their 17th under the ownership of Jerry Jones, their 34th playing their home games at Texas Stadium, and their third season under head coach Bill Parcells. Despite the Cowboys being 7–3 by Week 11 and tying the Giants for first in the NFC East, the Cowboys suffered a season collapse going 2–4 during the last six games. The Cowboys missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season after the Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Cowboys were able to improve on their 6–10 record from last season and finished the season at 9–7.
Offseason During the 2005 offseason, the team found a temporary solution to the quarterback situation by signing former Buffalo Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Earlier in his career, Bledsoe played for Bill Parcells while he was the coach for the New England Patriots. The Cowboys also signed cornerbacks Aaron Glenn and Anthony Henry.
Also, during free agency, the Cowboys signed former Green Bay Packers guard Marco Rivera, Wide Receiver Peerless Price from the Atlanta Falcons eventually being released late in the season, and former New York Jets defensive tackle Jason Ferguson.
The Cowboys also lost their last remaining three-time Super Bowl champion when Darren Woodson announced his retirement just before the offseason began.
The Cowboys installed a 3–4 defensive scheme, marking the first departure from the 4–3 defense since the club was founded in 1960. In their first year in the new system the team finished tenth in the NFL in total defense and opponents completed just 54.7 percent of their passes against the Cowboys’ secondary, the second-lowest number in the NFL that year.
Additions SubtractionsQB Drew Bledsoe (Bills) QB Vinny Testaverde (Jets)G Marco Rivera (Packers) LB Dexter Coakley (Rams)CB Aaron Glenn (Texans) DE Marcellus Wiley (Jaguars)CB Anthony Henry (Browns) LS Jeff Robinson (Rams)DT Jason Ferguson (Jets) WR Quincy Morgan (Steelers)WR Peerless Price (Falcons)
Draft class
Notes The Cowboys traded their 2004 first-round (No. 22 overall) selection to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for 2004 second (No. 43 overall) and fifth-round (No. 144 overall) selections, and a 2005 first-round (No. 20 overall) selection. The Cowboys traded their 2005 third-round (No. 73 overall) selection to the Houston Texans in exchange for rights to quarterback Drew Henson. The Cowboys traded their 2005 fifth-round (No. 146 overall) and 2006 fourth-round (No. 116 overall) selections to the Philadelphia Eagles for 2005 fourth-round (No. 132 overall) selection and 2006 sixth-round (No. 182 overall) selections. The Cowboys traded their 2004 seventh-round (No. 223 overall) and 2005 sixth-round (No. 185 overall) selections to the Oakland Raiders for defensive tackle Kenyon Coleman.
Staff Dallas Cowboys 2005 staff Front office Owner/general manager – Jerry Jones Executive vp – Stephen Jones
Head coaches Head coach – Bill Parcells Assistant head coach/passing game coordinator – Sean Payton
Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – David Lee Running backs – Anthony Lynn Wide receivers – Todd Haley Tight ends – Paul Pasqualoni Offensive line/running game coordinator – Tony Sparano Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Zimmer Defensive line – Kacy Rodgers Linebackers – Gary Gibbs Secondary – Todd Bowles Assistant secondary – Mike MacIntyre
Special teams coaches Special teams – Bruce DeHaven
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Joe Juraszek
Roster
Dallas Cowboys 2005 roster Quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe Drew Henson Tony Romo
Running backs Marion Barber Julius Jones Lousaka Polite FB Tyson Thompson KR
Wide receivers Terrance Copper Patrick Crayton PR Terry Glenn Keyshawn Johnson
Tight ends Dan Campbell Sean Ryan Jason WittenOffensive linemen Larry Allen G Marc Colombo T Andre Gurode C/G Al Johnson C Stephen Peterman G Rob Petitti T Marcus Price G/T Cory Procter C/G Marco Rivera G Torrin Tucker T
Defensive linemen Chris Canty DE Kenyon Coleman DE Greg Ellis DE Jason Ferguson DE/NT La'Roi Glover NT Junior Glymph DE Vontrell Jamison DE Thomas Johnson NT Eric Ogbogu DE Marcus Spears DE Linebackers Quinton Caver OLB Ryan Fowler ILB Scott Fujita OLB Bradie James ILB Scott Shanle ILB DeMarcus Ware OLB
Defensive backs Keith Davis FS Tony Dixon SS Aaron Glenn CB Anthony Henry CB Nate Jones CB Terence Newman CB/PR Willie Pile FS Jacques Reeves CB Lynn Scott SS Roy Williams SS
Special teams Shaun Suisham K L. P. Ladouceur LS Mat McBriar P Reserve lists Flozell Adams T (IR) Micheal Barrow LB (IR) Justin Beriault S (IR) Kevin Burnett LB (IR) Dat Nguyen LB (IR) Derek Pagel S (IR) Brett Pierce TE (IR) Jay Ratliff NT (IR) Jacob Rogers T (IR) Al Singleton LB (IR) Kalen Thornton LB (IR) Brett Visintainer K (IR)
Practice squad Tom Crowder S Tony Curtis TE Keylon Kincade RB Jamaica Rector WR Shannon Snell G Matt Tarullo C J. R. Tolver WR Lenny Williams CB
rookies in italics 53 active, 12 inactive, 8 practice squad
Preseason Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Arizona Cardinals L 11–13 0–1 Sun Devil Stadium Recap 2 at Seattle Seahawks W 18–10 1–1 Qwest Field Recap 3 Houston Texans W 21–9 2–1 Texas Stadium Recap 4 Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–20 3–1 Texas Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at San Diego ChargersW 28–24 1–0 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 2 Washington RedskinsL 13–14 1–1 Texas Stadium Recap 3 September 25 at San Francisco 49ers W 34–31 2–1 Monster Park Recap 4 October 2 at Oakland Raiders L 13–19 2–2 McAfee Coliseum Recap 5 October 9 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–10 3–2 Texas Stadium Recap 6 October 16 New York GiantsW 16–13 4–2 Texas Stadium Recap 7 October 23 at Seattle Seahawks L 10–13 4–3 Qwest Field Recap 8 October 30 Arizona Cardinals W 34–13 5–3 Texas Stadium Recap 9 Bye 10 at Philadelphia EaglesW 21–20 6–3 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 11 November 20 Detroit LionsW 20–7 7–3 Texas Stadium Recap 12 Denver BroncosL 21–24 7–4 Texas Stadium Recap 13 December 4 at New York Giants L 10–17 7–5 Giants Stadium Recap 14 December 11 Kansas City Chiefs W 31–28 8–5 Texas Stadium Recap 15 December 18 at Washington Redskins L 7–35 8–6 FedExField Recap 16 at Carolina Panthers W 24–20 9–6 Bank of America Stadium Recap 17 January 1 St. Louis RamsL 10–20 9–7 Texas Stadium Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Diego Chargers
After losing on opening weekend for five straight years, the Cowboys looked to end the streak on opening weekend against the San Diego Chargers. The defending AFC West Champion Chargers just had a 12–4 season and they were at home. The game was not decided until the final 30 seconds, when looking to score the game-winning touchdown on the Dallas 7-yard line, San Diego Quarterback Drew Brees threw an interception to Aaron Glenn. Both teams would go on to finish with 9–7 record. This was the Cowboys' last win against the Chargers until 2021.
Week 2: vs. Washington Redskins
Going into the game, the Dallas Cowboys had won 14 of the last 15 meetings between the two teams. After holding a 13–0 lead with 3:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Redskins came out with an extremely improbable rally late in the fourth quarter to stun the Cowboys 14–13 when Mark Brunell threw two touchdown passes to Santana Moss. It was the first time (after 77 times) that Coach Parcells lost after going into the fourth quarter with at least a 13-point lead. The Redskins had won in Texas Stadium for the first time in a decade.
Week 3: at San Francisco 49ers
The Dallas Cowboys did the exact opposite of what they did a week earlier by scoring 15 unanswered point in the fourth quarter to shock the 49ers 34–31, in a game that was decided with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Week 4: at Oakland Raiders
Despite staying in the Bay area over the week to prepare for the game against the Raiders game, the Cowboys were unable to take advantage of the winless Oakland Raiders, and failed to score on a potential game saving drive late in the fourth quarter.
Week 5: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys exploded offensively in what Parcells said was the best performance he has seen since coming to Dallas. The Cowboys would not let the Eagles offense score a single touchdown (they had one defensive touchdown), and the Cowboys outscored the Eagles 27–3 in the first half to put the game out of reach.
Week 6: vs. New York Giants
Dallas hoped to continue playing great offensively as they did in the previous week by beating the New York Giants at home. Instead, they played very sloppily and Coach Parcells said his team was "fortunate" to win. The Cowboys were sacked 4 times for a loss of 36 yards and turned over the ball 4 times.
The Cowboys lost left tackle Flozell Adams for the remainder of the season when he tore an ACL in his knee. With an immobile quarterback like Drew Bledsoe, this would be devastating for the Dallas Cowboys later in the Season because Bledsoe would be sacked 36 more times over the course of ten games (3.6 sacks per game), compared to having been sacked 13 times during the first six games (2.17 sacks per game). Bledsoe would also throw 13 more interceptions after this game (while throwing only 4 picks during the first six games).
Week 7: at Seattle Seahawks
The Cowboys came to Seattle for a defensive showdown. After scoring a touchdown early in the first quarter, the Cowboys had the lead until 59 minutes and 20 second into the game when Seattle tied the game at 10–10. Trying to win with 14 seconds left in regulation, Drew Bledsoe threw an interception and Seahawks kicker Josh Brown kicked the game-winning field goal, taking their first lead of the game as time expired.
Jose Cortez missed a field goal which cost Dallas the game, and he was fired after the game. Ryan Hannam, who scored a game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent the following season.
Week 8: vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Dallas Cowboys bounced back from a loss a week earlier and routed the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys had a new kicker on their roster, rookie Shaun Suisham, and another rookie making his first start was Marion Barber, who was starting in place of injured Julius Jones. He ran for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns in his breakout game.
Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys came to Philadelphia hoping to sweep the Eagles for the first time since 1998 and beat them at Philadelphia for the first time since 1998. After trailing by 13 points late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys stunned the Eagles by scoring two touchdowns (one of which was an interception return) to win the game 21–20. Also, Donovan McNabb injured his knee, and he would leave for the remainder of the season.
This was the last Cowboys game to air on ABC as the network's relationship with the NFL ended after the 2005 season.
Week 11: vs. Detroit Lions
Earlier in the week, Coach Parcells hung mousetraps in the locker room to warn his players that this game was a "trap game". Dallas rushed for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns, and kicker Billy Cundiff kicked a franchise record 56-yard field goal. After the game, the Cowboys were 7–3 and tied for second place in the NFC. The Cowboys had already won more games than they did in the previous season.
Week 12: vs. Denver Broncos
In the annual Thanksgiving Day Game, the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Denver Broncos. The Cowboys offense had 314 yards, greater than Denver's 293 yards, but Cowboys kicker Billy Cundiff a missed field goal in the fourth quarter and so the game went into overtime. Denver won the coin toss and Broncos backup running back Ron Dayne ran 55 yards on the second play in overtime and Jason Elam kicked the game-winning field goal.
Week 13: at New York Giants