The 2024 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 65th in the National Football League (NFL) and their fifth and final season under head coach Mike McCarthy. This was their first season since 2020 without Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator, as the Washington Commanders hired him to be their head coach. He was replaced in that role by former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, who returned to the Cowboys after eighteen years. The Cowboys failed to improve upon their 12–5 record from the past three seasons following a loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, and failed to match it after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10. After the Eagles defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 14, the Cowboys were knocked out of NFC East contention, marking the 20th straight season the division would not have a repeat champion. With the Commanders' 36–33 win over the Eagles in Week 16, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2020. After their 41–7 loss at Philadelphia in Week 17, the Cowboys suffered a losing season for the first time since that same year, and were also swept by the Eagles for the first time since 2011.
For the first time since 2010, offensive tackle Tyron Smith was not on the roster, as he signed with the New York Jets during free agency. On April 29, running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a one-year contract to return to the team after a year away.
The Cowboys notably struggled at home, going 2–7 at home. Conversely, they performed moderately well on the road with a 5–3 road record. The 2–7 home record notably came after a year in which the Cowboys went undefeated at home in the regular season at 8–0.
After the season, head coach Mike McCarthy's contract expired. It was announced McCarthy would not return to the Cowboys, as the two sides failed to reach an extension, ending McCarthy's tenure in Dallas. Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was promoted to head to coach on January 24, 2025.
Offseason
Signings
Position Player Age 2023 team Contract RB Ezekiel Elliott 29 New England Patriots 1 year, $3 million RB Royce Freeman 28 Los Angeles Rams 1 year, $1.25 million LB Eric Kendricks 32 Los Angeles Chargers 1 year, $3 million
Re-signings Position Player Age Contract RB Rico Dowdle 25 1 year, $1.25 million G Chuma Edoga 27 1 year, $1.3 million CB C. J. Goodwin 34 1 year, $3.7 million CB Jourdan Lewis 29 1 year, $2.8 million LS Trent Sieg 29 1 year, $1.3 million
Trade acquisitions Position Player Age 2023 team Contract Traded away CB Andrew Booth Jr. 24 Minnesota Vikings 2 years, $3.3 million CB Nahshon Wright
Departures Position Player Age 2024 team RB Tony Pollard 27 Tennessee Titans WR Michael Gallup 28 Retired TE Sean McKeon 27 Detroit Lions OT Tyron Smith 34 New York Jets C Tyler Biadasz 27 Washington Commanders DE Dorance Armstrong 27 Washington Commanders DE Dante Fowler 30 Washington Commanders DT Neville Gallimore 27 Miami Dolphins DT Johnathan Hankins 32 Seattle Seahawks LB Leighton Vander Esch 28 Retired CB Stephon Gilmore 34 Minnesota Vikings CB Noah Igbinoghene 25 Washington Commanders CB Nahshon Wright 26 Minnesota Vikings SS Jayron Kearse 30 Unsigned
Draft
+ 2024 Dallas Cowboys draft selections Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 24 Traded to the Detroit Lions 29 Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma From Lions 2 56 Marshawn Kneeland DE Western Michigan 3 73 Cooper Beebe G Kansas State From Vikings via Lions 87 Marist Liufau LB Notre Dame 4 124Traded to the San Francisco 49ers 5 159 Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs 174 Caelen Carson CB Wake Forest 6 200 Traded to the Houston Texans 216 Ryan Flournoy WR Southeast Missouri State 7 233 Nate Thomas OT Louisiana From Raiders 244 Justin Rogers DT Auburn
+ 2024 Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agents Name Position College Ref. Corey Crooms WR Minnesota Denzel Daxon DT Illinois Josh DeBerry CB Texas A&M Alec Holler TE UCF Cam Johnson WR Northwestern Emany Johnson S Nevada Jason Johnson LB UCF Brock Mogensen LB South Dakota Nathaniel Peat RB Missouri Brevyn Spann-Ford TE Minnesota Byron Vaughns DE Baylor Julius Wood S East Carolina
Draft trades
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 11 at Los Angeles Rams L 12–13 0–1 SoFi Stadium Recap 2 at Las Vegas Raiders W 27–12 1–1 Allegiant Stadium Recap 3 Los Angeles Chargers L 19–26 1–2 AT&T Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 at Cleveland Browns W 33–17 1–0 Huntington Bank Field Recap 2 September 15 New Orleans Saints L 19–44 1–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 3 September 22 Baltimore Ravens L 25–28 1–2 AT&T Stadium Recap 4 at New York Giants W 20–15 2–2 MetLife Stadium Recap 5 October 6 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–17 3–2 Acrisure Stadium Recap 6 October 13 Detroit Lions L 9–47 3–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 7Bye 8 October 27 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–30 3–4 Levi's Stadium Recap 9 November 3 at Atlanta Falcons L 21–27 3–5 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 10 November 10 Philadelphia Eagles L 6–34 3–6 AT&T Stadium Recap 11 Houston Texans L 10–34 3–7 AT&T Stadium Recap 12 November 24 at Washington Commanders W 34–26 4–7 Northwest Stadium Recap 13 November 28 New York Giants W 27–20 5–7 AT&T Stadium Recap 14 Cincinnati Bengals L 20–27 5–8 AT&T Stadium Recap 15 December 15 at Carolina Panthers W 30–14 6–8 Bank of America Stadium Recap 16 December 22 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 26–24 7–8 AT&T Stadium Recap 17 December 29 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–41 7–9 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 18 January 5 Washington Commanders L 19–23 7–10 AT&T Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Cleveland Browns
With the win, the Cowboys started 1–0 for the second consecutive year.
Week 2: vs. New Orleans Saints
With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 1–1, and this was their first home loss to the Saints since 2012.
Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Despite a late comeback, the Cowboys were outclassed by the Ravens, as the Cowboys trailed the entire game, and at some point fell behind 28–6. Following a Ravens missed field goal, the Cowboys were able to score a touchdown to cut the score to 28–12. The Cowboys then proceeded to recover an onside kick and score another touchdown to cut down the lead to 28–18. Despite the subsequent onside kick attempt being unsuccessful, the Cowboys defense forced a stop and got the ball back with over five and a half minutes remaining, and the Cowboys were able to score another touchdown to cut the lead down to 28–25. However, the Cowboys were unable to get a defensive stop and proceeded to lose by that score. This was the first time since 2010 the Cowboys started 0–2 at home.
Week 4: at New York Giants
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 2–2, and Dak Prescott recorded his 13th consecutive win as a starter against the Giants.
Week 5: at Pittsburgh Steelers
A thunderstorm delayed the game, pushing the original start time from 8:20 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. EDT. The game ended with a Dallas victory at 12:59 a.m. EDT, marking the longest day in NFL history since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger at 15 hours and 37 minutes (the game between the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings had kicked off in London at 9:30 a.m. EDT). The Cowboys improved to 3–2 with the win.
Week 6: vs. Detroit Lions
This was the Cowboys' worst loss at AT&T Stadium in franchise history, dropping them to 3–3 (and 0–3 at home) and their first loss to Detroit since 2013.
Week 8: at San Francisco 49ers
With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 3–4, and lost to the 49ers for the fourth straight season (including playoffs).
Week 9: at Atlanta Falcons
During the game, quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury and missed the remainder of the game. Prescott would later undergo surgery for what was revealed as a partial tendon avulsion, which forced him to miss the rest of the season.
With their third straight loss (their longest losing streak since 2020), the Cowboys fell to 3–5.
Week 10: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
This was the Cowboys' first home loss to the Eagles since 2017, and also dropped them to 3–6, and 0–4 at home for the season.
Week 11: vs. Houston Texans
The Cowboys set an NFL record by trailing by over 20 points in six straight home games, dating back to last season's wild-card loss to the Packers, and fell to 3–7. This was also their first-ever home loss to the Texans and their first home loss to Houston since 1988 when it was called the Houston Oilers.
Week 12: at Washington Commanders
Despite entering as heavy underdogs, the Cowboys shocked their division rivals, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns in the game, and snapped their five-game losing streak, improving to 4–7.
Week 13: vs. New York Giants Thanksgiving Day games
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 5–7 and won at home for the first time this season. They also swept the Giants for the fourth consecutive season.
Week 14: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Cowboys continued their homestand with a matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Dallas entered this game having been eliminated from contention for the NFC East title due to the Philadelphia Eagles' win over the Carolina Panthers the day before. In addition, the retractable roof of AT&T Stadium was opened for the first time since 2022. While the Cowboys played the Bengals close for most of the game, a devastating special teams blunder would ultimately cost them the game — after the Cowboys blocked a Bengals punt late in the fourth quarter, Amani Oruwariye would inadvertently touch the ball past the line of scrimmage, which the Bengals recovered. The play was ruled as a muffed catch, giving Cincinnati a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, Joe Burrow threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Ja'Marr Chase with 1:09 remaining. The Cowboys failed to respond on their final drive, and dropped to 5–8 on the season. This was the Cowboys' first loss to the Bengals since the 2004 season, as well as their first home loss to Cincinnati since 1988.
Week 15: at Carolina Panthers
Week 16: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Before the Cowboys took the field, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention after the Washington Commanders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles earlier that day.
Week 17: at Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia seeking to avenge their Week 10 loss. A promising opening drive for the Cowboys ended in disaster when Cooper Rush threw a 69-yard pick six to C. J. Gardner-Johnson to give the Eagles a 7–0 lead. The Cowboys responded with a twelve-play, 70-yard drive culminating in a game-tying Jalen Tolbert touchdown reception for what ultimately would be Dallas's only points of the afternoon. After the teams traded punts twice, the Eagles reclaimed a 14–7 lead with a DeVonta Smith touchdown and never looked back. The Cowboys turned the ball over twice before halftime, leading to 10 more Eagles points and a 24–7 deficit. Philadelphia then scored 17 points in the second half to put the game out of reach for Dallas. With the crushing 41–7 loss, the Cowboys dropped to 7–9 on the year, thus sealing their first losing season since 2020. It was also the first time since 2011 that the Cowboys were swept by the Eagles.
Week 18: vs. Washington Commanders With this loss, the Cowboys finished the season at 7–10. They also finished the year 2–7 at home, their worst home record since 2015. Eight days after the loss, on January 13, the Cowboys announced that head coach Mike McCarthy's contract would not be renewed as the team could not reach an agreement with him on an extension, thus ending his tenure in Dallas. It marked the first time since 2020 that the Cowboys would miss the playoffs.
Standings Division
Conference
Notes
References
External links