2021 Dallas Cowboys
The 2021 Dallas Cowboys went 12–5, finishing 1st in the NFC East, and lost in the Wild Card round. They scored 530 points and allowed 358.
- Record
- 12–5
- Home
- 5–3
- Road & neutral
- 7–2
- Points
- 530–358
- NFC East
- Place 1 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost Wild Card
Where the season ranked
They scored 530 points, the most among the 32 teams, and allowed 358, the seventh-fewest. Their point differential was +172.
How the season unfolded
The Cowboys started 3–1 and were 6–2 after eight games. They went 3–1 over the final four weeks to finish 12–5.
Their longest winning streak was six games, from Week 2 to Week 8.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 56–14 over Washington in Week 16 (December 26, 2021).
Their heaviest loss was 30–16 to the Denver Broncos in Week 9 (November 7, 2021).
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 5–3.
They played one overtime game and won it.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 6–0 against the NFC East, sweeping the Eagles, the Giants, and Washington.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 3–4 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Wild Card round, they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 23–17 at home.
Before and after
That was a six-win improvement on 2020, when they went 6–10.
It was the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2018.
In 2022, they went 12–5 and returned to the playoffs.
2021 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 9, 2021 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 29–31 |
| Week 2 | Sep 19, 2021 | at Los Angeles Chargers | W 20–17 |
| Week 3 | Sep 27, 2021 | vs Philadelphia Eagles | W 41–21 |
| Week 4 | Oct 3, 2021 | vs Carolina Panthers | W 36–28 |
| Week 5 | Oct 10, 2021 | vs New York Giants | W 44–20 |
| Week 6 | Oct 17, 2021 | at New England Patriots | W 35–29 (OT) |
| Week 8 | Oct 31, 2021 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 20–16 |
| Week 9 | Nov 7, 2021 | vs Denver Broncos | L 16–30 |
| Week 10 | Nov 14, 2021 | vs Atlanta Falcons | W 43–3 |
| Week 11 | Nov 21, 2021 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 9–19 |
| Week 12 | Nov 25, 2021 | vs Las Vegas Raiders | L 33–36 |
| Week 13 | Dec 2, 2021 | at New Orleans Saints | W 27–17 |
| Week 14 | Dec 12, 2021 | at Washington | W 27–20 |
| Week 15 | Dec 19, 2021 | at New York Giants | W 21–6 |
| Week 16 | Dec 26, 2021 | vs Washington | W 56–14 |
| Week 17 | Jan 2, 2022 | vs Arizona Cardinals | L 22–25 |
| Week 18 | Jan 8, 2022 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 51–26 |
| Wild Card | Jan 16, 2022 | vs San Francisco 49ers | L 17–23 |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2021 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.