The 2022 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their third under head coach Mike McCarthy.

[1][2] Despite losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15, the Cowboys clinched a playoff berth after a loss by the Washington Commanders later that day.

Despite a strong defensive effort, the Cowboys could not keep pace against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and failed to find the end zone in their season opener.

Worsening matters further, quarterback Dak Prescott injured his right hand late in the fourth quarter, which was revealed after the game to be a thumb fracture.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced immediately after the game that Prescott would undergo surgery the following day, sidelining him for several weeks.

In the final minutes of the game, the Cowboys forced the Bengals to punt, and drove the ball to field goal range.

In the fading seconds, Brett Maher kicked a game winning field goal to help the Cowboys stave off the Bengals comeback to improve to 1–1.

The Cowboys forced a three-and-out and started their next drive in field goal range to make it a two-score game after a big punt return.

The Giants responded with a field goal to cut the deficit and had a chance to tie the game, but Trevon Diggs sealed the win with his first interception of the season.

This time, the Cowboys finally rebounded, as KaVontae Turpin returned the kickoff after the second field goal to the Eagles' 41.

Dallas sprung to life in the second half, getting a defensive stop against the Eagles and following it up with a quick scoring drive culminating in a 14-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott.

The defense stopped Philadelphia again, and the offense again put together a scoring drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown reception by Jake Ferguson to pull within three points.

However, this was the closest the Cowboys would get to the Eagles, as Philadelphia answered with a long drive of their own, culminating in a 7-yard touchdown catch by DeVonta Smith, making the score 26–17 following a failed two-point conversion.

Rush threw his third interception of the night four plays later, allowing the Eagles to burn more time off the clock before punting back to the Cowboys.

Dallas dropped to 4–2 with the 26–17 loss, and fell to third place in the NFC East thanks to the New York Giants winning earlier that day.

The Cowboys blew the game open after a key fumble in the Lions' red zone, but forced another punt.

Despite a weak defensive performance and the absence of Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys were superior to the Bears, who were just coming off an upset win against the Patriots.

After several plays, Micah Parsons scored his first NFL touchdown after recovering a fumble untouched to give Dallas a 42–23 lead.

The win not only improved the Cowboys to 6–2, but also moved them up to second place in the NFC East following a Giants loss to the Seahawks later that day.

This was head coach Mike McCarthy's first return to Lambeau Field since his firing from the Packers late in the 2018 season.

In the final minutes of the game, the Cowboys forced a turnover on downs on 4th-and-goal on the 3-yard line via a combined tackle made by Neville Gallimore and Anthony Barr to get the ball back to get another chance to avoid embarrassment.

Fortunately for Dallas, they still clinched their second consecutive playoff berth thanks to the Washington Commanders' loss to the New York Giants later that night.

The Cowboys returned home to face the league-leading Philadelphia Eagles, seeking to keep their hopes of repeating as NFC East champions alive.

With the 40–34 win, Dallas improved to 11–4 on the season and kept their division title hopes alive, while simultaneously denying Philadelphia a chance to finish with a perfect away record.

The victory, coincidentally, was a reversal of the Cowboys' loss to Jacksonville the prior week, with the final score being 40–34 with the winner erasing a deficit of 10 or more points.

It also marked Dallas' first playoff win in their navy blue jerseys since the 1978 season, when they shut out the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game.