Rookies ride to the rescue in 2016

The Cowboys were more than happy to put the disastrous 2015 season in their rearview mirror. Their 4-12 record was the worst in the NFC that year.

Only Cleveland and Tennessee had worse records at 3-13. The Chargers — another AFC team — also finished 4-12.

Dallas had 18 players going into free agency that spring. They re-signed eight players, lost three to other teams, and the remaining seven were out of the NFL for good.

Given Tony Romo’s two collarbone injuries in 2015, the Cowboys wanted to either draft a quarterback or sign a veteran free agent.

Both the Rams and Eagles traded up and grabbed Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. With the fourth pick, Dallas decided against going after the last remaining projected first-round quarterback, Paxton Lynch.

Ezekiel Elliott looks for room to run against the Giants.

They dodged a bullet. Instead, the Cowboys took running back Ezekiel Elliott.

An attempt to move back into the first round failed, letting Denver take Lynch. Another bullet dodged.

In the second round Dallas took a chance on linebacker Jaylon Smith. The former Notre Dame linebacker had suffered a knee injury a few months earlier.

He would miss all of the 2016 season and would play a little over four seasons in Dallas.

Of note, in an alternate universe, the Cowboys took cornerback Jalen Ramsey in the first round and running back Derrick Henry in the second.

Both players were still on the board when Dallas made their picks in our reality. It’s hard to figure out which version would have turned out better.

But the pick of the draft turned out to be fourth-round selection Dak Prescott. The Mississippi State quarterback was expected to be a long-term project.

The future arrived faster than anyone expected.

Romo’s Third Strike

Tony Romo had recovered from his double injury year and looked to be ready to lead Dallas back to better days.

He looked good in what turned out to be his final game at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys dispatched Miami 41-14 in the second pre-season game.

Tony Romo was injured on the third play of a preseason game at Seattle in 2016. (Photo by USA Today)

But the next week in Seattle, the third play of the game changed the course of the franchise forever. Romo dropped back to pass and was flushed out of the pocket.

Cliff Avril sacked Romo on the play, driving him onto the turf. Romo’s back gave way once again. Romo would not see action in a game until the season finale.

The Rookies Rise

Romo’s injury thrust Prescott into the starting role years ahead of schedule.

The season opened with Prescott not making any mistakes in a 20-19 loss to the Giants. Eli Manning’s third touchdown pass with six minutes left sealed the victory.

But the Cowboys caught fire after the loss, reeling off 11 straight victories. Prescott would not throw his first interception until a Week 6 victory over the Packers.

Dak Prescott

The rookie quarterback would throw 23 touchdowns against only four interceptions for 3,667 yards. He would rush for 282 yards and six touchdowns.

Elliott meanwhile was terrorizing the defenses as well. The rookie rushed for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns in 15 games.

The one-two punch seemed unstoppable until a lackluster 10-7 loss to the Giants at New York ended the win streak.

The Cowboys rebounded with two straight wins before dropping the season finale at Philadelphia that was meaningless to the Cowboys’ playoff positioning.

Dallas would finish 13-3 on the season, becoming the first NFC team to go from dead last to the No. 1 seed the following year.

Romo’s Finale

Romo had watched from the sidelines as Prescott had taken the mantle of starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys away from him.

He would take the field in relief of Prescott in the final game. Going 3-for-4 for 29 yards on his only drive, Romo’s final NFL pass was a three-yard touchdown to Terrance Williams.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 01: Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo (9) passes in the first half during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles on January 1, 2017 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Romo’s final regular season pass attempt at AT&T Stadium had come on Nov. 22, 2015. It was a 14-yard pass to Cole Beasley in a 24-14 win over Miami.

His final regular season touchdown pass at home had been the game-winner over the Dolphins in 2015, a 16-yard pass to Dez Bryant.

For his career, Romo had started in 127 of his 156 games with a record of 78-49. He threw for 34,183 yards, 248 touchdowns and 117 interceptions.

He would lead Dallas to the playoffs four times and started six games. His 2-4 postseason record the only blemish on his career.

Romo would officially retire in the spring of 2017.

There’s That Man Again

With the No. 1 seed, Dallas had home field and a bye for the wild card round. They would host the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional round with vengeance on their mind.

But the Packers had Aaron Rodgers and he had his team up 28-13 late in the third quarter. While Green Bay was scoring touchdowns, Dallas was settling for field goals.

A Jeff Heath interception sparked the Cowboys late in the third quarter. A six-yard pass from Prescott to Jason Witten capped a drive that carried over into the fourth quarter and brought Dallas to 28-20.

After forcing a Packers’ punt, Prescott and Elliott moved the Cowboys downfield again.

This time Prescott hit Bryant for a seven-yard touchdown, then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at 28.

But they’d left Rodgers four minutes on the clock. The veteran moved his team into position for a go-ahead 56-yard field goal by Mason Crosby with 1:38 left.

Prescott answered with a five-play, 42-yard drive to set up Dan Bailey for the game-tying field goal with 40 seconds remaining.

The game seemed to be destined for overtime as Green Bay faced a third-and-20 from its own 32 with just 12 seconds remaining.

Rodgers found Jared Cook on a 36-yard connection to the Cowboys’ 32. Crosby nailed a 51-yard field goal and the Cowboys had lost yet another divisional round game to end the season.