The Cowboys opened its 2012 campaign at MetLife Stadium in the Annual Kickoff Game against their NFC East foe, the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Dallas would close out the half with quarterback Tony Romo finding wide receiver Kevin Ogletree on a 10-yard touchdown pass.

The Cowboys pulled away for good in the fourth quarter with Romo connecting with wide receiver Miles Austin on a 34-yard touchdown pass.

The Giants closed out the game with quarterback Eli Manning completing a 9-yard touchdown pass to former Dallas tight end Martellus Bennett.

Hoping to rebound from their tough road loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Cowboys returned to Arlington to host their home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that they had blown out a year before.

In the first quarter, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo tossed an interception to Aqib Talib, which set up for a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman to tight end Luke Stocker for Tampa Bay to take the first lead.

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo had a forgettable game, tossing 5 interceptions, including 2 that were run back for touchdowns.

Horrible clock management by head coach Jason Garrett on the final drive left Dallas' kicker with a 50+ yard field goal attempt that he pushed wide as time expired.

The Cowboys kicked the game-winning field goal and improved to 5–5 on the season and 2nd place in the NFC East.

Cornerback Orlando Scandrick broke his left hand, but the team was still hopeful that he would be able to return before the end of the season.

At that point, the Cowboys had lost 4 starters on defense due to injuries, and were on their 3rd and 4th string middle linebackers after losing both Carter and Sean Lee for the season.

Also the Cowboys lost starting receiver Miles Austin to a hip strain caused by linebacker London Fletcher in the back of the end zone.

The Cowboys started the season on September 5, playing a Wednesday game for the first time in franchise history.