The 2010 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 51st in the National Football League (NFL), their second playing home games at Cowboys Stadium and fourth and final under head coach Wade Phillips. After falling to the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round of the 2009–10 NFL playoffs, the Cowboys sought to defend their NFC East division title and contend for a Super Bowl title, particularly given that Super Bowl XLV would be played at Cowboys Stadium.
However, this did not happen and after a 1–7 start Wade Phillips became the first coach in Cowboys history to be fired during the season. He was replaced by assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The Cowboys finished the season 6–10, 3rd place in the NFC East, and failed to reach the playoffs. This was the Cowboys' first losing season since 2004. However, under Garrett the team's record was 5–3 as compared to the 1–7 start under Phillips.
Offseason Free agents RFA: Restricted free-agent, UFA: Unrestricted free-agent, ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent Position Player Free agencytag Date signed 2010 team OT Flozell Adams Released July 29, 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers WR Miles Austin RFA June 11, 2010 Dallas Cowboys CB/FS Alan Ball ERFA April 27, 2010 Dallas Cowboys DE Stephen Bowen RFA April 9, 2010 Dallas Cowboys CB Cletis Gordon RFA March 4, 2010 Dallas Cowboys FS Ken Hamlin Released June 17, 2010 Baltimore Ravens DE Jason Hatcher RFA April 8, 2010 Dallas Cowboys G Montrae Holland UFA April 27, 2010 Dallas Cowboys WR Sam Hurd RFA April 16, 2010 Dallas Cowboys OT Pat McQuistan RFA April 7, 2010 Dallas Cowboys OLB Steve Octavien ERFA April 6, 2010 Dallas Cowboys C/G Cory Procter RFA March 26, 2010 Dallas Cowboys SS Gerald Sensabaugh RFA May 27, 2010 Dallas Cowboys NT Junior Siavii RFA April 8, 2010 Dallas Cowboys DE Marcus Spears RFA April 6, 2010 Dallas Cowboys K Shaun Suisham RFA November 16, 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers SS Pat Watkins RFA April 15, 2010 Dallas Cowboys
2010 draft class
Notes The Cowboys traded their original first (#27) and third-round (#90) selections for the New England Patriots first (#24) and fourth-round (#119) selections. The Cowboys traded their original second (#59) and fourth-round (#125) selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a second-round (#55) selection. The Cowboys traded their fourth-round (#119 acquired from New England) selection to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for fourth (#126) and sixth-round (#179) selections. The Cowboys traded their original fifth-round (#158) selection to the Denver Broncos in exchange for guard Montrae Holland.
Undrafted free agents Name Position College Dalbert Alvarado Punter/Kicker South Florida Junior Aumavae Defensive tackle Minnesota State Will Barker Tackle Virginia Barry Church Safety Toledo Phil Costa Center Maryland Chris Gronkowski Fullback Arizona Terrell Hudgins Wide receiver Elon Bryan McCann Cornerback SMU Danny McCray Safety LSU Lonyae Miller Running back Fresno State Matt Nichols Quarterback Eastern Washington Scott Sicko Tight end New Hampshire Mike Tepper Tackle California Verran Tucker Wide receiver California Lorenzo Washington Defensive end Alabama
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Rosters
Opening training camp roster
Dallas Cowboys 2010 opening training camp roster Quarterbacks Jon Kitna Stephen McGee Matt Nichols Tony Romo
Running backs Deon Anderson FB Marion Barber III Tashard Choice Herb Donaldson Chris Gronkowski FB Felix Jones Lonyae Miller
Wide receivers Miles Austin Dez Bryant Patrick Crayton Jesse Holley Terrell Hudgins Sam Hurd Manuel Johnson Kevin Ogletree Titus Ryan Roy Williams
Tight ends Kevin Brock John Phillips Scott Sicko Jason Witten Offensive linemen Will Barker T Alex Barron T Robert Brewster T Travis Bright C/G Marc Colombo T Phil Costa C/G Leonard Davis G Doug Free T Andre Gurode C Montrae Holland G Kyle Kosier G/C Pat McQuistan G/T Mike Tepper G/T Sam Young T
Defensive linemen Stephen Bowen DE Josh Brent NT Marcus Dixon DE Jason Hatcher DE Sean Lissemore DE/NT Igor Olshansky DE Jay Ratliff NT Junior Siavii NT Marcus Spears DELinebackers Keith Brooking ILB Victor Butler OLB/DE Bradie James ILB Curtis Johnson OLB/DE Sean Lee ILB Steve Octavien OLB/ILB Brandon Sharpe ILB/OLB Anthony Spencer OLB/DE DeMarcus Ware OLB/DE Brandon Williams OLB/DE Jason Williams ILB Leon Williams ILB
Defensive backs Alan Ball FS/CB Barry Church SS Cletis Gordon CB Michael Hamlin FS Mike Jenkins CB Bryan McCann CB Danny McCray FS Terence Newman CB Orlando Scandrick CB Gerald Sensabaugh SS Jamar Wall CB Pat Watkins SS
Special teams Delbert Alvarado P/K David Buehler K L. P. Ladouceur LS Mat McBriar P Reserve lists Martellus Bennett TE (Active/NF-Inj.) Stephen Hodge ILB (Active/PUP) Akwasi Owusu-Ansah FS (Active/NF-Inj.) Lorenzo Washington DE (Active/PUP)
80 active, 0 inactive
Week 1 roster
Dallas Cowboys 2010 week one roster Quarterbacks Jon Kitna Stephen McGee Tony Romo
Running backs Deon Anderson FB Marion Barber III Tashard Choice Chris Gronkowski FB Felix Jones
Wide receivers Miles Austin Dez Bryant PR Sam Hurd Kevin Ogletree Roy Williams
Tight ends Martellus Bennett Jason Witten Offensive linemen Alex Barron T Robert Brewster T Marc Colombo T Phil Costa C/G Leonard Davis G Doug Free T Andre Gurode C/G Montrae Holland G Kyle Kosier G/C Sam Young T
Defensive linemen Stephen Bowen DE Josh Brent NT Jason Hatcher DE Sean Lissemore NT/DE Igor Olshansky DE Jay Ratliff NT Marcus Spears DELinebackers Keith Brooking ILB Victor Butler OLB/DE Bradie James ILB Sean Lee ILB Anthony Spencer OLB/DE DeMarcus Ware OLB/DE Brandon Williams OLB/DE Jason Williams ILB Leon Williams ILB
Defensive backs Alan Ball FS/CB Barry Church SS Michael Hamlin SS/FS Mike Jenkins CB Danny McCray FS Terence Newman CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah FS/CB/KR Orlando Scandrick CB Gerald Sensabaugh SS
Special teams David Buehler K L. P. Ladouceur LS Mat McBriar P Reserve lists Stephen Hodge ILB (PUP) John Phillips (IR)
Practice Squad Travis Bright G Scott Chandler TE Jesse Holley WR Manuel Johnson WR Cliff Louis OT Lonyae Miller RB Martin Rucker TE Teddy Williams CB/WR
53 active, 2 inactive, 8 PS
Final roster Dallas Cowboys 2010 final roster Quarterbacks Chris Greisen Jon Kitna Stephen McGee
Running backs Marion Barber Tashard Choice Chris Gronkowski FB Felix Jones Lonyae Miller
Wide receivers Miles Austin Jesse Holley Manuel Johnson Roy Williams Teddy Williams
Tight ends Martellus Bennett Martin Rucker Jason Witten Offensive linemen Alex Barron T Marc Colombo T Phil Costa C/G Leonard Davis G Doug Free T Andre Gurode C Montrae Holland G Kyle Kosier G Jermey Parnell T Sam Young T/G
Defensive linemen Stephen Bowen DE Josh Brent NT Clifton Geathers DE Jason Hatcher DE Igor Olshansky DE Jay Ratliff NTLinebackers Keith Brooking ILB Victor Butler OLB Kenwin Cummings ILB Bradie James ILB Sean Lee ILB Anthony Spencer OLB DeMarcus Ware OLB Brandon Williams OLB
Defensive backs Alan Ball FS Barry Church SS Mike Jenkins CB Bryan McCann CB/RS Danny McCray FS Terence Newman CB Orlando Scandrick CB/SS Andrew Sendejo SS Gerald Sensabaugh SS
Special teams Kris Brown K David Buehler K L. P. Ladouceur LS Mat McBriar P Reserve lists Dez Bryant WR (IR) Sam Hurd WR (IR) Sean Lissemore DE (IR) Kevin Ogletree WR (IR) Akwasi Owusu-Ansah SS (IR) John Phillips TE (IR) Tony Romo QB (IR) Marcus Spears DE (IR) Leon Williams ILB (IR)
Practice Squad Troy Bergeron WR Robert Brewster T Travis Bright G Jeff Moturi WR Jason Pociask TE Kelvin Smith LB Ross Weaver CB
53 active, 9 inactive, 7 Practice Squad
Schedule
Preseason On February 24, 2010, the NFL announced that the Cowboys will face the Cincinnati Bengals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game occurred on Sunday, August 8, 2010, and was aired by NBC.Cowboys to face Bengals in Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 8
The remainder of the Cowboys' preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010.http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=B653C979-E89D-0A47-02D9814FFB00ABF1 Becoming Clearer Preseason Games Give Better Outlook For Training Camp
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF August 8 Cincinnati Bengals W 16–7 1–0 Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio) Recap 1 August 12 Oakland Raiders L 9–17 1–1 Cowboys Stadium Recap 2 August 21 at San Diego Chargers W 16–14 2–1 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 3 August 28 at Houston Texans L 7–23 2–2 Reliant Stadium Recap 4 September 2 Miami Dolphins W 27–25 3–2 Cowboys Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 12 at Washington Redskins L 7–13 0–1 FedExField Recap 2 September 19 Chicago Bears L 20–27 0–2 Cowboys Stadium Recap 3 September 26 at Houston TexansW 27–13 1–2 Reliant Stadium Recap 4 Bye 5 October 10 Tennessee Titans L 27–34 1–3 Cowboys Stadium Recap 6 October 17 at Minnesota Vikings L 21–24 1–4 Mall of America Field Recap 7 October 25 New York Giants L 35–41 1–5 Cowboys Stadium Recap 8 October 31 Jacksonville Jaguars L 17–35 1–6 Cowboys Stadium Recap 9 November 7 at Green Bay Packers L 7–45 1–7 Lambeau Field Recap 10 November 14 at New York Giants W 33–20 2–7 New Meadowlands Stadium Recap 11 November 21 Detroit Lions W 35–19 3–7 Cowboys Stadium Recap 12 November 25 New Orleans Saints L 27–30 3–8 Cowboys Stadium Recap 13 December 5 at Indianapolis Colts W 38–35 4–8Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 14 December 12 Philadelphia Eagles L 27–30 4–9 Cowboys Stadium Recap 15 December 19 Washington Redskins W 33–30 5–9 Cowboys Stadium Recap 16 December 25 at Arizona Cardinals L 26–27 5–10 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 17 January 2 at Philadelphia Eagles W 14–13 6–10 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
Standings Division
Conference
Preseason results Pro Football Hall of Fame Game – vs Cincinnati Bengals
Preseason Week 1 – vs Oakland Raiders
Preseason Week 2 – at San Diego Chargers
Preseason Week 3 – at Houston Texans
Preseason Week 4 – vs Miami Dolphins
Regular season results
Week 1: at Washington Redskins
The Dallas Cowboys began their season at FedExField on Sunday night against their NFC East rival, the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys trailed early in the first quarter as Redskins kicker Graham Gano got a 29-yard field goal. Dallas would then trail in the second quarter as cornerback DeAngelo Hall returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown.
In the third quarter, Dallas would finally get on the board as quarterback Tony Romo completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Miles Austin. Washington would respond in the fourth quarter as Gano made a 49-yard field goal. Afterwards, Romo threw what would have been the game-winning 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Roy Williams, but a holding call on offensive tackle Alex Barron effectively ended the game.
With the loss, the Cowboys began their season at 0–1.
Week 2: vs. Chicago Bears