The Cowboys won 12 games in 2023… which one was your favorite?
It is starting to feel like the dust has finally settled on the season for the Dallas Cowboys, and while that is incredibly disappointing, it has been the way that things go for the better part of three decades now.
Looking back on the season as a whole there were 12 moments of victory. The Cowboys won 12 games and did so for the third year in a row. Nobody wants to hear this right now, but there are many fan bases who have it worse than that.
As you can see optimism is sort of the flavor of the day and we have plenty of it to go around. Today’s prompt is a simple one that requires that optimistic slant on things.
What was the best win of the season for the Dallas Cowboys?
Week 1: Demolition of the New York Giants
The season started off on a strong note for the Cowboys as they vanquished their division rivals in shutout fashion with the whole world watching. In hindsight, 40-0 was perfect in just about every way, and this game was the beginning of a few things that would play different sorts of roles throughout the season:
- Brandon Aubrey struggled with extra points (but was perfect everywhere else)
- DaRon Bland and pick six interceptions
- Tony Pollard reaching the endzone
Of course Pollard would go an incredibly long time without scoring another touchdown after this game, but how could we have known that then?
Week 2: Continued form against the New York Jets
The Monday before this game we were all anxious to see Dallas take on Aaron Rodgers, but he suffered his injury that night and nobody really saw him across the entire season. Dallas did allow a big play from his backup Zach Wilson to Garrett Wilson, but other than that it was par for the course. At this point in time we thought that the Cowboys would have one of the greatest defenses in NFL history.
Week 4: No sweat against the New England Patriots
One week after being humbled by the Arizona Cardinals, the Cowboys returned home to host the Patriots and a former friend in Ezekiel Elliott. This was not a game. The Cowboys handed Bill Belichick the worst loss that he had ever taken as a head coach and DaRon Bland with another pick-six was a huge reason why.
Life was good again. The blowouts were becoming quite normal.
Week 6: Surviving on Monday Night Football against Kellen Moore’s Chargers
This game came before the Chargers really and totally fell off, and in all honesty it was a really close game from start to finish. Perhaps the most infamous moment in this game was Mike McCarthy folding at the opportunity to get a touchdown near the end of the first half.
Nevertheless the Cowboys managed to survive and prove to the whole world that they knew a thing or two relative to moving on from Kellen Moore. CeeDee Lamb was really involved, and that would not change.
Week 8: Easy work against the Los Angeles Rams
Looking back this might (maybe?) be the most impressive win that Dallas had in 2023, especially considering the form that Los Angeles found right after. Matthew Stafford ultimately got hurt in the game which complicates how we can evaluate it, but it was a beatdown at AT&T Stadium and that continued to feed the idea that this was an inevitability in life.
Week 10: Party at home against the G-Men
It was at this point in the season that things really started to click for the Cowboys offense. CeeDee Lamb was really beginning his ascension to superstar status thanks to the incredible amount of targets he was being fed. Tommy DeVito was no match for the Cowboys as Dallas made quick work of their rivals.
Week 11: DaRon Bland’s finest interception against the Carolina Panthers
At this point we were all afraid of Dallas dropping a game to a much more inferior opponent and going up against the worst team in the NFL opened the door of paranoia. Thankfully the Panthers were not able to march through.
What sticks out about this game is the DaRon Bland pick-six that tied the record for most in a season in NFL history. It was easily the best interception of Bland’s career as he made a break on the ball, threw his body to catch it and used his momentum to get up and scramble in for the score.
Week 12: Thanksgiving Day fun against the Washington Commanders
This might have been the truest party of the season for the Cowboys. On Thanksgiving Day the Cowboys had a closer-than-we-would-have-liked game going on against the Commanders until everything fell apart for Washington. Dak Prescott was marvelous and DaRon Bland broke the record by snatching a Sam Howell pass and taking it back to the house for a pick-six record that he now holds all by himself.
When we look back on this game we will always remember Dak hitting KaVontae Turpin and the team busting out some turkey legs from the Salvation Army kettle.
Week 13: Thursday night madness against the Seattle Seahawks
Ultimately this may have been Dak Prescott’s finest individual hour. On a night when Dan Quinn’s group continued to fold (the clouds began to feel ominous then) it was Prescott who went punch for punch and kept Dallas in the game, eventually winning it.
On this night it seemed truly possible that Prescott was going to win league MVP. It seemed.
Week 14: A humbling of the Philadelphia Eagles
It is never not enjoyable to destroy the Philadelphia Eagles so this game checked that very specific type of box and therefore did not disappoint. But it was clear on this Sunday night that Philly was taking on water. The Cowboys took advantage though and made sure that the Eagles felt utter humiliation from just about the very first whistle.
This may have been Stephon Gilmore’s finest game as a Cowboy.
Week 17: Controversy against the Detroit Lions
There is no doubt that it is difficult to feel good in the same way about this win as we do others. The Cowboys defeated the Lions and certainly played well enough to win; however, the controversy with the two-point conversion officiating near the end of the game was the only thing that anybody ever cared to talk about.
As fate would have it the Lions wound up in the NFC Championship Game after playing two games in their home building so it wound up rather inconsequential. Sigh.
Week 18: Positive momentum into the playoffs (lol) at FedEx
Things started a bit precariously for the Cowboys in the regular season finale which was sort of stressful given that they needed a win to take the NFC East and #2 seed in the conference. These things wound up not mattering, but we didn’t know that then!
Ultimately Dallas settled and ran away from Washington as the game wore on. It was a celebration of an afternoon where hats and t-shirts were handed out and even though we didn’t know it, it was the final win that this locker room would all taste together.
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