The 2023 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 64th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 35th under the ownership of Jerry Jones, their 15th playing home games at AT&T Stadium, and their fourth under head coach Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys matched their 12–5 record from the previous two seasons and won the NFC East division for the first time since the 2021 season and the second time in three seasons. They ended up in a three-way tie with the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC at 12–5. However, they lost both the conference and head-to-head tiebreakers to the 49ers but won the latter tiebreaker over the Lions, giving them the second seed in the playoffs. Although the Cowboys lost to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, they clinched their third straight playoff berth before taking the field when the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, respectively. This marked the Cowboys' first run of three consecutive postseason appearances since appearing in six straight from 1991 to 1996.
However, the Cowboys collapsed yet again in the playoffs, and despite having one of the best-ranked offenses and defenses of the league, were beaten in a shocking upset by a final score of 48–32 by their rival, seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round, at one point trailing 48–16 during the fourth quarter. With the loss, the Cowboys became the first team to lose a playoff game against a seventh-seeded playoff team since the playoff bracket expanded for the 2020–21 NFL playoffs.
This also marked the first time in NFL history where a team won 12 or more games in three straight seasons, without reaching a conference championship game.
This was the first season since 2015 without running back Ezekiel Elliott on the roster, as he was released on March 15 and signed with the New England Patriots on August 14. As of 2025, this is the most recent season that the Cowboys have made the playoffs, finished the season in first place in the NFC East and finished the season with a winning record.
Offseason
Signings
Position Player Age 2022 team Contract RB Ronald Jones II 26 Kansas City Chiefs 1 year, $1.232 million G Chuma Edoga 26 New York Jets 1 year, $1.232 million LS Trent Sieg 28 Las Vegas Raiders 1 year, $1.232 million K Brandon Aubrey 28 Birmingham Stallions 3 year, $2.695 million
Re-signings Position Player Age Contract QB Cooper Rush 30 2 years, $6 million RB Rico Dowdle 25 1 year, $1 million DE Dante Fowler 28 1 year, $3 million DT Johnathan Hankins 31 1 year, $1.5 million MLB Leighton Vander Esch 27 2 years, $8 million CB C. J. Goodwin 33 1 year, $1.3 million SS Donovan Wilson 28 3 years, $21 million
Trade acquisitions Position Player Age 2022 team Contract Traded away QB Trey Lance 23 San Francisco 49ers 2 years, $16 million 2024 fourth-round selection (Malik Mustapha) WR Brandin Cooks 29 Houston Texans 2 years, $40 million 2023 fifth-round selection (Nick Hampton) and 2024 sixth-round selection (Jaden Crumedy) CB Stephon Gilmore 32 Indianapolis Colts 1 year, $10 million 2023 fifth-round selection (Evan Hull) CB Noah Igbinoghene 24 Miami Dolphins 1 year, $2.1 million CB Kelvin Joseph
Departures Position Player Age 2023 team QB Will Grier 28 New England Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott 28 New England Patriots WR Noah Brown 27 Houston Texans WR Simi Fehoko 25 Los Angeles Chargers WR T. Y. Hilton 33 Unsigned TE Dalton Schultz 26 Houston Texans OT Aviante Collins 29 Chicago Bears OT Jason Peters 41 Seattle Seahawks C Matt Farniok 25 Detroit Lions C Connor McGovern 26 Buffalo Bills DT Quinton Bohanna 24 Tennessee Titans DT Carlos Watkins 29 Arizona Cardinals LB Devin Harper 25 Cincinnati Bengals MLB Jabril Cox 25 Washington Commanders OLB Anthony Barr 30 Minnesota Vikings OLB Luke Gifford 28 Tennessee Titans CB Anthony Brown 29 New York Jets CB Kelvin Joseph 24 Seattle Seahawks K Brett Maher 33 Los Angeles Rams LS Jake McQuaide 35 Detroit Lions LS Matt Overton 37 Chicago Bears
Draft
+ 2023 Dallas Cowboys draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 26 Mazi Smith DT Michigan 2 58 Luke Schoonmaker TE Michigan 3 90 DeMarvion Overshown LB Texas 4 129 Viliami Fehoko DE San Jose State 5 161 Traded to the Houston Texans 169 Asim Richards OT North Carolina Compensatory pick 176 Traded to the Indianapolis Colts 6 178 Eric Scott Jr. CB Southern Miss From Bears via Dolphins and Chiefs 204 Traded to the Las Vegas Raiders 212 Deuce Vaughn RB Kansas State Compensatory pick 7 244 Jalen Brooks WR South Carolina
+ 2023 Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Jose Barbon WR Temple T. J. Bass OT Oregon Earl Bostick Jr. Kansas David Durden WR West Florida Princeton Fant TE Tennessee Durrell Johnson LB Liberty Isaiah Land DE Florida A&M Hunter Luepke FB North Dakota State De'Angelo Mandell CB BYU Jalen Cropper WR Fresno State John Stephens Jr. TE Louisiana Tyrus Wheat OLB Mississippi State
Draft trades
Staff
Rosters Opening preseason roster Dallas Cowboys 2023 opening preseason roster Quarterbacks Will Grier Dak Prescott Cooper Rush
Running backs Malik Davis Rico Dowdle Ronald Jones II Hunter Luepke FB Tony Pollard Deuce Vaughn
Wide receivers Jose Barbon Jalen Brooks Brandin Cooks Dontario Drummond David Durden Simi Fehoko Michael Gallup Dennis Houston Tyron Johnson CeeDee Lamb Jalen Cropper Jalen Tolbert KaVontae Turpin
Tight ends Princeton Fant Jake Ferguson Seth Green Peyton Hendershot Sean McKeon Luke Schoonmaker John Stephens Jr. Offensive linemen Josh Ball T T. J. Bass G Tyler Biadasz C Earl Bostick Jr. T Chuma Edoga T Matt Farniok G/C Brock Hoffman C Alec Lindstrom C Zack Martin G Asim Richards T Tyler Smith G/T Tyron Smith T Terence Steele T Alex Taylor T Matt Waletzko T
Defensive linemen Isaac Alarcón DT Dorance Armstrong DE Ben Banogu DE Quinton Bohanna DT Viliami Fehoko DE Dante Fowler Neville Gallimore DT Chauncey Golston DE Johnathan Hankins DT Isaiah Land DE DeMarcus Lawrence DE Osa Odighizuwa DT Micah Parsons DE/OLB Mazi Smith DT Tyrus Wheat DE Sam Williams DELinebackers Damone Clark MLB Jabril Cox OLB/MLB Devin Harper MLB Malik Jefferson OLB Durrell Johnson OLB/DE DeMarvion Overshown OLB/MLB Leighton Vander Esch MLB
Defensive backs Markquese Bell SS/OLB DaRon Bland CB Myles Brooks CB Josh Butler CB Tyler Coyle FS Trevon Diggs CB Stephon Gilmore CB C. J. Goodwin CB Malik Hooker FS Kelvin Joseph CB Jayron Kearse SS Jourdan Lewis CB D'Angelo Mandell CB Israel Mukuamu FS/CB Sheldrick Redwine SS/FS Eric Scott Jr. CB Juanyeh Thomas FS/SS Donovan Wilson SS Nahshon Wright CB
Special teams Bryan Anger P Brandon Aubrey K Trent Sieg LS Reserve lists Vacant
Week one roster Dallas Cowboys 2023 week one roster Quarterbacks Trey Lance Dak Prescott Cooper Rush
Running backs Rico Dowdle Hunter Luepke FB Tony Pollard Deuce Vaughn
Wide receivers Jalen Brooks Brandin Cooks Michael Gallup CeeDee Lamb Jalen Tolbert KaVontae Turpin
Tight ends Jake Ferguson Peyton Hendershot Luke Schoonmaker Offensive linemen T. J. Bass G Tyler Biadasz C Chuma Edoga T/G Zack Martin G Asim Richards T Tyler Smith G/T Tyron Smith T Terence Steele T
Defensive linemen Dorance Armstrong DE Viliami Fehoko DE Dante Fowler DE Neville Gallimore DT Chauncey Golston DT/DE Johnathan Hankins DT DeMarcus Lawrence DE Osa Odighizuwa DT Micah Parsons DE/OLB Mazi Smith DT Sam Williams DELinebackers Markquese Bell OLB/SS Damone Clark MLB Devin Harper OLB/MLB Leighton Vander Esch MLB
Defensive backs DaRon Bland CB Trevon Diggs CB Stephon Gilmore CB Malik Hooker FS Noah Igbinoghene CB Jayron Kearse SS Jourdan Lewis CB Israel Mukuamu SS/FS Eric Scott Jr. CB Juanyeh Thomas FS/SS Donovan Wilson SS
Special teams Bryan Anger P Brandon Aubrey K Trent Sieg LS Reserve lists Josh Ball T David Durden WR Ronald Jones II RB DeMarvion Overshown MLB John Stephens Jr. TE Matt Waletzko T Nahshon Wright CB
Practice squad Earl Bostick Jr. T Josh Butler CB Malik Davis RB Princeton Fant TE C. J. Goodwin CB Sean Harlow C Brock Hoffman C Malik Jefferson OLB Durrell Johnson OLB/DE Tyron Johnson WR Sean McKeon TE Jalen Cropper WR Willington Previlon DT Sheldrick Redwine SS/FS Alex Taylor T Tyrus Wheat DE
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Jacksonville Jaguars L 23–28 0–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 2 at Seattle Seahawks L 14–22 0–2 Lumen Field Recap 3 Las Vegas Raiders W 31–16 1–2 AT&T Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at New York Giants W 40–0 1–0 MetLife Stadium Recap 2 September 17 New York Jets W 30–10 2–0 AT&T Stadium Recap 3 September 24 at Arizona Cardinals L 16–28 2–1 State Farm Stadium Recap 4 October 1 New England Patriots W 38–3 3–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 5 October 8 at San Francisco 49ers L 10–42 3–2 Levi's Stadium Recap 6 at Los Angeles Chargers W 20–17 4–2 SoFi Stadium Recap 7 Bye 8 October 29 Los Angeles Rams W 43–20 5–2 AT&T Stadium Recap 9 November 5 at Philadelphia Eagles L 23–28 5–3 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 10 November 12 New York Giants W 49–17 6–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 11 November 19 at Carolina Panthers W 33–10 7–3 Bank of America Stadium Recap 12 November 23 Washington Commanders W 45–10 8–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 13 Seattle Seahawks W 41–35 9–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 14 December 10 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–13 10–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 15 December 17 at Buffalo Bills L 10–31 10–4 Highmark Stadium Recap 16 December 24 at Miami Dolphins L 20–22 10–5 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 17 Detroit Lions W 20–19 11–5 AT&T Stadium Recap 18 January 7 at Washington Commanders W 38–10 12–5 FedExField Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at New York Giants
The Cowboys started the season by traveling to MetLife Stadium to face one of their longtime NFC East rivals: the New York Giants.
In rain-soaked conditions, they demolished the Giants 40–0, on the back of a stellar defensive performance and two touchdowns from Tony Pollard. The Cowboys defense returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the first quarter, had two interceptions (returning one for a touchdown), and recorded a total of seven sacks during the game on the Giants quarterback Daniel Jones as they posted their first shutout win since 2017.
With the shutout win, the Cowboys started the season 1–0 for the first time since 2019.
Week 2: vs. New York Jets
After a raging shutout win over the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys went back home to face New York's other NFL team, the New York Jets. The Cowboys benefitted from the Jets having to start Zach Wilson because of Aaron Rodgers injuring his Achilles' tendon the week before. Dallas scored the only points of the first quarter, with Dak Prescott hitting Jake Ferguson with a 4-yard touchdown pass to put the Cowboys up, 7–0.
In the second quarter, Brandon Aubrey extended the Cowboys' lead to 10–0 upon booting a 35-yard field goal. However, they allowed Zach Wilson to pass for his only touchdown of the game by hitting Garrett Wilson with a 68-yard touchdown pass to drop the Cowboys' lead to three points. But the Cowboys wouldn't go away, as Dak Prescott hit Luke Schoonmaker with a 1-yard touchdown pass with the two-point conversion to put Dallas up by 11. With 4 seconds until halftime, the Jets scored their final points, with Austin Seibert booting a 34-yard field goal to bring New York within eight.
The second half belonged to Brandon Aubrey, as he booted 4 field goals, with 2 coming in the 3rd quarter, and the other two coming in the 4th, to reach the final score of 30–10.
The Cowboys' defense thoroughly harassed Zach Wilson, intercepting him 3 times and sacking him 3 times for 19 yards.
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 2–0, and won their first game against the Jets since 2007.