The 2021 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 62nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 33rd under the ownership of Jerry Jones, and their 13th playing home games at AT&T Stadium.

For the first time since 2004, long-time long snapper L. P. Ladouceur was not on the opening day roster, as he was not re-signed during free agency. This was also the first time since 2010 that long-time punter Chris Jones was not on the opening day roster, as he was released on March 17, 2021. To further add to the notable departures, for the first time since 2011, defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement on March 25, 2021. Additionally, for the first time since 2009, linebacker Sean Lee was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement on April 26, 2021.

With their Week 10 win against the Atlanta Falcons, the Cowboys improved on their 6–10 record from the previous season. With their Week 14 win against the Washington Football Team, the Cowboys clinched their first winning season since 2018, and with the San Francisco 49ers' Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys clinched their first playoff berth also since 2018. Following a Denver Broncos' loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Cowboys clinched the NFC East, based on strength-of-victory tiebreakers; this was their first division title since 2018. They swept the NFC East for the first time since 1998. The Cowboys' strong offense finished the year with 530 points, the most in the league, and a team record. But despite high expectations, the Cowboys lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers 23–17.

On July 2, 2021, the Cowboys were announced to be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks for the third time in franchise history.

Offseason

Signings

Position Player Age 2020 team Contract RB Corey Clement 27 Philadelphia Eagles 1 year, $990,000 TE Jeremy Sprinkle 27 Washington Football Team 1 year, $987,500 OT Ty Nsekhe 36 Buffalo Bills 1 year, $1.75 million DE Brent Urban 30 Chicago Bears 1 year, $1.75 million DT Carlos Watkins 28 Houston Texans 1 year, $1.75 million LB Tarell Basham 27 New York Jets 2 years, $6.5 million FS Malik Hooker 25 Indianapolis Colts 1 year, $920,000 FS Damontae Kazee 28 Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $1.127 million SS Jayron Kearse 27 Detroit Lions 1 year, $1.127 million SS Keanu Neal 26 Atlanta Falcons 1 year, $5 million P Bryan Anger 33 Houston Texans 1 year, $987,500 LS Jake McQuaide 34 Los Angeles Rams 1 year, $1.2 million

Re-signings Position Player Age Contract QB Dak Prescott 28 4 years, $160 million WR Noah Brown 25 1 year, $1.127 million WR Malik Turner 25 1 year, $920,000 WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. 26 1 year, $2.1 million CB C. J. Goodwin 31 2 years, $3.5 million CB Jourdan Lewis 26 3 years, $16.5 million

Departures Position Player Age 2021 team QB Andy Dalton 33 Chicago Bears QB Garrett Gilbert 30 Washington Football Team FB Jamize Olawale 32 Unsigned WR Jon'Vea Johnson 26 Chicago Bears WR Chris Lacy 25 Chicago Bears TE Blake Bell 30 Kansas City Chiefs TE Cole Hikutini 27 New York Giants OT Cameron Erving 29 Carolina Panthers OT Brandon Knight 24 Baltimore Ravens OT Greg Senat 27 Indianapolis Colts C Marcus Henry 28 Arizona Cardinals C Joe Looney 31 Retired C Adam Redmond 28 Baltimore Ravens DE Ron'Dell Carter 24 Arizona Cardinals DE Tyrone Crawford 32 Retired DE Aldon Smith 32 Seattle Seahawks DT Eli Ankou 27 Buffalo Bills DT Antwaun Woods 28 Indianapolis Colts LB Sean Lee 35 Retired LB Justin March 28 Tennessee Titans LB Jaylon Smith 26 New York Giants LB Joe Thomas 30 Baltimore Ravens CB Chidobe Awuzie 26 Cincinnati Bengals FS Xavier Woods 26 Minnesota Vikings P Chris Jones 32 Unsigned LS L. P. Ladouceur 40 Unsigned

Draft

Notes The Cowboys were awarded one third-round, one fourth-round, one fifth-round and one sixth-round compensatory picks (99th, 138th, 178th and 227th overall). The Cowboys traded its first-round selection (10th overall) to Philadelphia in exchange for first- and third-round selections (12th and 84th overall).

Staff

Rosters Opening preseason roster Dallas Cowboys 2021 opening preseason roster Quarterbacks Ben DiNucci Garrett Gilbert Dak Prescott Cooper Rush

Running backs Rico Dowdle Ezekiel Elliott JaQuan Hardy Brenden Knox Sewo Olonilua FB Tony Pollard Nick Ralston FB

Wide receivers Noah Brown Reggie Davis Johnnie Dixon Brennan Eagles Simi Fehoko Michael Gallup CeeDee Lamb Osirus Mitchell Aaron Parker Brandon Smith Malik Turner Cedrick Wilson Jr.

Tight ends Nick Eubanks Blake Jarwin Artayvious Lynn Sean McKeon Dalton Schultz Jeremy Sprinkle Offensive linemen Isaac Alarcón T Josh Ball T Tyler Biadasz C La'el Collins T Matt Farniok C/G Braylon Jones C/G Brandon Knight G/T Zack Martin G Connor McGovern G Ty Nsekhe T Eric Smith T Tyron Smith T Terence Steele T Connor Williams G

Defensive linemen Bradlee Anae DE Dorance Armstrong DE Tarell Basham DE/OLB Quinton Bohanna DT Ron'Dell Carter DE Austin Faoliu DT Neville Gallimore DT Randy Gregory DE Justin Hamilton DT DeMarcus Lawrence DE Osa Odighizuwa DT Brent Urban DT Carlos Watkins DT/DELinebackers Francis Bernard MLB Jabril Cox OLB Luke Gifford MLB Anthony Hines III OLB Azur Kamara OLB/DE Keanu Neal OLB/SS Micah Parsons OLB/DE Jaylon Smith OLB Leighton Vander Esch MLB

Defensive backs Anthony Brown CB Kyron Brown CB Deante Burton CB Maurice Canady CB Tyler Coyle SS Trevon Diggs CB C. J. Goodwin CB Malik Hooker FS Kelvin Joseph CB Damontae Kazee FS Jayron Kearse SS Jourdan Lewis CB Israel Mukuamu FS/CB Steven Parker FS/SS Reggie Robinson CB/FS Darian Thompson SS Donovan Wilson SS Nahshon Wright CB

Special teams Bryan Anger P Jake McQuaide LS Hunter Niswander P/K Reserve lists Amari Cooper WR Chauncey Golston DE Trysten Hill DT Mitch Hyatt T T. J. Vasher WR Greg Zuerlein K

Week one roster

Dallas Cowboys 2021 week one roster Quarterbacks Will Grier Dak Prescott Cooper Rush

Running backs Corey Clement Ezekiel Elliott Tony Pollard

Wide receivers Noah Brown Amari Cooper Simi Fehoko Michael Gallup CeeDee Lamb Cedrick Wilson Jr.

Tight ends Blake Jarwin Dalton Schultz Offensive linemen Tyler Biadasz C La'el Collins T Matt Farniok C/G Connor McGovern G/C Ty Nsekhe T Tyron Smith T Terence Steele T Connor Williams G

Defensive linemen Bradlee Anae DE Dorance Armstrong DE Tarell Basham DE Quinton Bohanna DT Chauncey Golston DE Randy Gregory DE Azur Kamara DE/OLB DeMarcus Lawrence DE Osa Odighizuwa DT Brent Urban DT/DE Carlos Watkins DT/DELinebackers Jabril Cox OLB Luke Gifford OLB/MLB Keanu Neal MLB/OLB Micah Parsons OLB/DE Jaylon Smith MLB/OLB Leighton Vander Esch OLB/MLB

Defensive backs Anthony Brown CB Maurice Canady CB Trevon Diggs CB C. J. Goodwin CB Malik Hooker FS Damontae Kazee FS Jayron Kearse SS Jourdan Lewis CB Israel Mukuamu FS/CB Darian Thompson SS Donovan Wilson SS Nahshon Wright CB

Special teams Bryan Anger P Jake McQuaide LS Greg Zuerlein K Reserve lists Josh Ball T Francis Bernard MLB Rico Dowdle RB Neville Gallimore DT Trysten Hill DT Mitch Hyatt T Kelvin Joseph CB Brandon Knight G/T Zack Martin G Sean McKeon TE Hunter Niswander P/K Sewo Olonilua FB Reggie Robinson CB Malik Turner WR T. J. Vasher WR Practice squad Isaac Alarcón G/T Kyron Brown CB Ian Bunting TE Deante Burton CB Aviante Collins T Tyler Coyle FS Ben DiNucci QB Austin Faoliu DT Justin Hamilton DT JaQuan Hardy RB Braylon Jones G/C Osirus Mitchell WR Nick Ralston FB Brandon Smith WR Breeland Speaks DE Jeremy Sprinkle TE

Final roster

Preseason On February 15, the NFL announced that the Cowboys would face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 5, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game kicked off at 7:00 p.m. CDT, and was televised by Fox. The Cowboys were represented by head coach Jimmy Johnson and safety Cliff Harris. The Cowboys and Steelers were scheduled to play in the 2020 Hall of Fame game; however, the game, the annual Hall of Fame enshrinement, along with the entire 2020 preseason, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Hall of Fame game between the Cowboys and Steelers was rescheduled for 2021.

The remainder of the Cowboys' preseason opponents are listed below; the schedule was announced on May 13. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF vs. Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–16 0–1 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Recap 1 at Arizona Cardinals L 16–19 0–2 State Farm Stadium Recap 2 Houston Texans L 14–20 0–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 3 August 29 Jacksonville Jaguars L 14–34 0–4 AT&T Stadium Recap

Regular season Schedule The Cowboys' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 29–31 0–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 2 September 19 at Los Angeles Chargers W 20–17 1–1 SoFi Stadium Recap 3 Philadelphia Eagles W 41–21 2–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 4 October 3 Carolina Panthers W 36–28 3–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 5 October 10 New York Giants W 44–20 4–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 6 October 17 at New England Patriots W 35–29 5–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 7 Bye 8 October 31 at Minnesota Vikings W 20–16 6–1 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap 9 November 7 Denver Broncos L 16–30 6–2 AT&T Stadium Recap 10 November 14 Atlanta Falcons W 43–3 7–2 AT&T Stadium Recap 11 November 21 at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–19 7–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 12 November 25 Las Vegas Raiders L 33–36 ( 7–4 AT&T Stadium Recap 13 at New Orleans Saints W 27–17 8–4 Caesars Superdome Recap 14 December 12 at Washington Football Team W 27–20 9–4 FedExField Recap 15 December 19 at New York Giants W 21–6 10–4 MetLife Stadium Recap 16 December 26 Washington Football Team W 56–14 11–4 AT&T Stadium Recap 17 January 2 Arizona Cardinals L 22–25 11–5 AT&T Stadium Recap 18 at Philadelphia Eagles W 51–26 12–5 Lincoln Financial Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries Week 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dak Prescott played his first game since he suffered compound fracture and dislocation injuries to his right ankle during a Week 5 game against the Giants the previous season. The Cowboys defense forced four turnovers but Greg Zuerlein missed crucial field goals, including a 60-yarder and an extra point. The Cowboys would fall to 0–1. This was the only time this season that the Cowboys had a lead at one point but ended up losing the game.

Week 2: at Los Angeles Chargers

The Cowboys started the game with a 14–3 lead, from touchdown runs by Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott. The Chargers later tied the game. The Cowboys and Chargers each scored a field goal in their next scoring drives. In the last seconds of the game, the Cowboys marched down the field to the Chargers' 38-yard line. Greg Zuerlein kicked a 56-yard field goal as time expired to give Dallas a crucial win. The win improved the Cowboys to 1–1. This was the Cowboys' first win over the Chargers since 2005.

Week 3: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Cowboys continued their home streak against the Eagles. Despite Dak Prescott's early hiccup by fumbling to allow the Eagles to score, Prescott responded by leading his team to torch the Eagles defense. Trevon Diggs recorded a pick-six off Jalen Hurts to tighten the Cowboys' lead. It was the first time since Week 8 of 2017 that the Cowboys recorded a pick-six. With the win, the Cowboys improved to 2–1.

Week 4: vs. Carolina Panthers