The Dallas Cowboys season ended in disappointment, and as much as everyone is going to concentrate on the negatives, the season did provide some exciting and joyous moments. There were some hopeful flashes and moments that would build optimism towards the future.
Let's look at the top five moments throughout the Cowboys' 2021 season.
1) Manhandling the Eagles in week three 41-21. It was about this time that Cowboys fans were uber-confident that Dallas would win the division convincingly. Dak Prescott shredded the Eagles' defense for three touchdowns and an 81% completion percentage.
Trevon Diggs had a pick-six on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and had Cowboys nation excited about the future of this defense.
It was a convincing win on Sunday Night Football, and humiliating Philadelphia on National TV is always exciting and memorable.
2) Greg Zuerlein's game-winning 56-yard field goal against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Cowboys headed into week two against the Los Angeles Chargers needing a win badly. In week one, they were coming off a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and needed to beat a good team with an elite quarterback to prove something.
They did precisely that. The Cowboys dominated on the ground, rushing for almost 200 yards, and Prescott completed 85% of his passes.
Prescott led a game-winning drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with a clutch third-down completion to Amari Cooper.
Greg Zuerlein finished it off with a bomb as time expired to give Dallas the win.
3) Dak Prescott returns from gruesome injury convincingly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So many media pundits gave Dallas zero chance of winning the opener against the Bucs. Many predicted a blowout. Although Dallas did lose, that was far from the case.
Prescott arguably had his best game of the season, throwing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns and distributing the ball to his elite weapons. Both Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb had over 100 yards receiving, something that wouldn't happen again in the same game with Prescott under the helm.
Prescott's performance at the time gave the fan base so much confidence in him. Prescott, by himself, propelled the Cowboys to a lead late in the game with under two minutes left.
Unfortunately, the defense couldn't get the job done, and Tom Brady carved up the defense on the last drive, getting into field goal range easily to win the game.
Nonetheless, the game gave Dallas fans across the country hope that the team could compete against anyone and that this season could be a great one.
4) Cooper Rush's game winning touchdown pass to Amari Cooper on Halloween night.
So many doubted Dallas heading into this matchup in which they would be without Dak Prescott. The game didn't start out that well, as Rush only led the team to only three points in the first half; however, after halftime, Rush delivered a clutch 73 yard touchdown to Cedrick Wilson to tie the game.
The Dallas defense came to play, too, holding the Vikings to 1/13 on third down. The lasting image of this game is Rush's game-winning touchdown to Amari Cooper in the back of the endzone.
The play that people may forget is a clutch third-down pass on third and 11 to Ezekiel Elliott for 15 yards. The very next play was the touchdown to Cooper to seal the game.
5) Dak Prescott finishes off the Patriots in overtime with a 35-yard touchdown in overtime.
This was by far the game of the year for Dallas. Prescott had his way with the New England defense passing for 445 yards and three touchdowns. It was how this game ended, though, that was so memorable. Prescott led a game-tying drive at the end of regulation.
He had a clutch 4th down completion to keep the drive alive to Cedrick Wilson and an equally impressive throw on third and 25 to CeeDee Lamb for 24 yards to put the Cowboys in field goal range. Zuerlein would convert on the attempt and send the game to overtime.
Prescott led a seven-play 78-yard touchdown drive to win the game in overtime. The game ended on perhaps the play of the season with a 35-yard touchdown to CeeDee Lamb.
Lamb appropriately waved goodbye to the Patriots and their fans.
Sadly, this was perhaps the last game of the entire regular season in which anyone felt confident about the Cowboys' offense. It was a hell of a game, though.
