The 2025 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 66th in the National Football League (NFL), their 17th playing home games at AT&T Stadium, and their first under head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
This was the Cowboys' first season since 2013 without guard Zack Martin or defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. Martin announced his retirement on February 20, and Lawrence signed with the Seattle Seahawks during free agency. Also, this is the first season since 2020 without defensive end Micah Parsons, as the Cowboys traded him to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first round draft picks amid a contract holdout going back to last season and heading into the subsequent offseason and preseason.
The Cowboys improved upon their 7âÂÂ10 record from the previous season, but missed the playoffs for the second straight season, as they were eliminated from playoff contention after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders in Week 16 and clinched their second consecutive losing season after their upset loss to the New York Giants for the first time since the infamous Dave Campo era from 2000 to 2002.
Despite having one of the league's best offenses, led by George Pickens, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Javonte Williams, as well as one of the best special teams units led by Brandon Aubrey, the defense was ranked as the league's worst in many statistical categories, most notably points allowed per game, as well as yards allowed per game. The points allowed per game surpassed the 2020 mark of 29.6, at 30.1, setting a new franchise record. The Cowboys also allowed 511 points altogether, which also surpassed the 2020 mark of 473. These defensive problems ultimately cost the Cowboys a trip to the postseason. The Cowboys' Thanksgiving game against the Kansas City Chiefs became the most watched NFL regular season game on record, drawing 57.2 million viewers. The game was broadcast on CBS and streaming service Paramount+, and peaked with 61.4 million viewers by the game's conclusion.
Draft trades
On May 12, the NFL announced that the Cowboys would go on the road to face the defending Super Bowl LIX champion and division rival Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Kickoff Game on September 4.
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
The Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia to face the Eagles in the NFL Kickoff Game. Immediately following the opening kickoff, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott. The Cowboys took advantage of the subsequent 15-yard penalty and powered their way to a 7âÂÂ0 opening drive lead on a Javonte Williams touchdown run. The Eagles quickly answered with a touchdown of their own as quarterback Jalen Hurts scored on a 4-yard run to tie the game at 7. Williams would score his second touchdown on the Cowboys' second drive to put Dallas back on top 14âÂÂ7, but the defense again failed to slow the Eagles down, and Hurts scored another touchdown to tie the game at 14. The Cowboys' third drive stalled at the Eagles' 23, and they settled for a Brandon Aubrey field goal to reclaim a three-point lead. Less than two minutes later, however, Saquon Barkley scored Philadelphia's third touchdown on the ensuing Eagles drive to put the Eagles ahead 21âÂÂ17. Dallas would pull within one point before halftime on a 53-yard field goal by Aubrey, but would never get any closer. In the second half, the Cowboys defense held Philadelphia to a field goal on the opening drive, then the offense drove into the red zone, powered by a 49-yard run by former Eagle Miles Sanders. However, Sanders would fumble at the 10 yard line, giving the Eagles the ball back. The game was suspended immediately afterwards due to a thunderstorm in the area. After a weather delay of over an hour, the game resumed. From there, the teams' defenses stymied each other. Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb would have three crucial dropped passes after the weather delay, the last occurring on a fourth down with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter, effectively sealing the game for Philadelphia.
With the 24âÂÂ20 road loss, the Cowboys began the season 0âÂÂ1, and suffered their sixth road loss in their past seven visits to Philadelphia.
In a back-and-forth game that featured six lead changes, tying an NFL record, Giants quarterback Russell Wilson threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Malik Nabers to give the Giants the lead with 25 seconds remaining. Dak Prescott led the Cowboys to the New York 46-yard line, and kicker Brandon Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. In overtime, after both teams combined for five consecutive go-ahead touchdowns, Prescott led the Cowboys down the field again, and Aubrey kicked the game-winning 46-yard field goal as time expired, securing a 40âÂÂ37 victory for Dallas. With the win, the Cowboys extended their winning streak against the Giants to nine games, the longest active streak among division opponents in the NFL.
With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 1âÂÂ2 and 0âÂÂ1 against the NFC North.
This was the Cowboys' first tie game since a 24âÂÂ24 result against the San Francisco 49ers on in the 1969 season, and consequently their first tie game to be played with overtime rules. With the tie, the Cowboys improved to 1âÂÂ2âÂÂ1 while snapping their 5 game losing streak to Green Bay. Despite this, the Cowboys are now 0âÂÂ5âÂÂ1 against the Packers at AT&T Stadium since it opened in 2009.
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 2âÂÂ2âÂÂ1, and their record improved to .500. Dallas defeated New York on the road for the first time since 2003.
The Cowboys were severely outgained on the ground, 216âÂÂ31, with Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who played for Dallas from 2020 to 2024, rushing for 183 yards and totaling 239 yards from scrimmage. With their first loss to Carolina since 2018, the Cowboys fell to 2âÂÂ3âÂÂ1.
In a rematch of last year's Week 18 game, the Cowboys destroyed the Commanders in a 44âÂÂ22 blowout win, which resulted in them improving to 3âÂÂ3âÂÂ1.
In a reversal of the previous week in the win over the Commanders, Cowboys went to Denver to take on the Broncos, a team whom Dallas has not beaten since 1995. Following a field goal on their opening drive following an interception thrown by Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, the Cowboys were dominated by the Broncos after that, which the Broncos scored 40+ points for the first time this season. With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 3âÂÂ4âÂÂ1, and fell to 0âÂÂ8 in their last eight games against the Broncos, including the last three games by a combined score of 116âÂÂ57.
The Cowboys had an extremely disappointing game against the Jacoby Brissett-led Arizona Cardinals, as they were defeated 27âÂÂ17. With their fourth consecutive loss to the Cardinals since 2020, and their seventh out of eight since 2008, the Cowboys dropped to 3âÂÂ5âÂÂ1 entering their bye week.
Sam Williams propelled the Cowboys to block a punt, which was recovered by Marshawn Kneeland who would score the teamâÂÂs first points of the game.
Tragedy later struck when defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died on November 6 as the result of an apparent suicide.
Both teams paid tribute to Marshawn Kneeland, who died by apparent suicide on November 6. Coach Brian Schottenheimer and players wore t-shirts in his honor, and everyone bowed their heads during a moment of silence prior to kickoff.
Despite an ugly first drive for the Cowboys, which led to Prescott throwing an interception, the Cowboys would control much of the game. They defeated the Raiders and improved to 4âÂÂ5âÂÂ1.
After trailing 21âÂÂ0 by the second quarter, the Cowboys marched back with 24 unanswered points to defeat the Eagles.
The 21-point comeback tied a Cowboys franchise record for their largest comeback, matching a 21-point rally against the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 season. Dak Prescott threw for 354 yards to become the Cowboysâ all-time leading passer, surpassing Tony RomoâÂÂs career total of 34,183 yards. Prescott also broke a tie with Romo by recording his 25th game-winning drive when tied or trailing in the fourth quarter or overtime.
The Cowboys defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in a close game by a score of 31âÂÂ28. Dak Prescott led his team to a critical victory to improve the Cowboys record to 6âÂÂ5âÂÂ1, their first winning record since the 2023 season. With this victory, the Cowboys became the first team in NFL history to beat the previous year's Super Bowl teams in the same week.
This game was watched by 57.2 million viewers, becoming the most watched NFL regular season game ever, shattering the previous record by more than 15 million.
With their second straight loss to the Lions, the Cowboys fell to 6âÂÂ6âÂÂ1 and 0âÂÂ2âÂÂ1 against the NFC North. Ceedee Lamb was also concussed in the third quarter and out the rest of the game.
With their first loss to Minnesota since 2019, the Cowboys fell to 6âÂÂ7âÂÂ1 and finished 0âÂÂ3âÂÂ1 against the NFC North, marking the first time they failed to defeat a single NFC North opponent since 2001 when it was called the NFC Central division. Dallas also failed to reach the 10-win mark for the second year in a row, their first time posting consecutive seasons with 9 or fewer wins since following up the aforementioned 2019 season's 8âÂÂ8 record with a 6âÂÂ10 record in 2020.
Following the Eaglesâ win over the Commanders from the previous day, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention.
Despite a solid start, the Cowboys could not keep pace with the Chargers, and lost 34âÂÂ17. It marked the Cowboys' first loss to the Chargers since 2017, and marked the Cowboys' third straight loss. They finished 2âÂÂ2 against the AFC West (3âÂÂ2 against the AFC) and 4âÂÂ3âÂÂ1 at home.
With the win, the Cowboys improved to 7âÂÂ8âÂÂ1 and 4âÂÂ1 against the NFC East. This was the third time since 2021, the Cowboys had swept the Commanders.
With their first loss to the Giants since 2020, the Cowboys finished their season at 7âÂÂ9âÂÂ1, 4âÂÂ2 against the NFC East, and 3âÂÂ6 on the road. The Cowboys allowed 511 points (30.1 per game) on the season, which was both a team-worst and an NFL-worst.