On October 17, 2021, the Dallas Cowboys walked into New England and beat the Patriots behind a record-breaking performance from quarterback Dak Prescott. The win improved the team’s record to 5-1, a streak of five straight victories that included two blowout victories over division opponents. Headed into their bye week, Dallas was flying high, however Prescott suffered a calf injury on the game-winning play, and the Cowboys’ season went downhill from there.
The Cowboys went on to go 7-4, but only 3-4 against non-division opponents. The better teams figured out they could stifle the Cowboys’ offense by playing a coverage shell and forcing Dallas to try and run the ball against lighter boxes. Dallas was unable to run efficiently though, and they struggled blocking four-man rush concepts. This spiral culminated with a disappointing home playoff lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and led to another offseason of decisions for the Joneses-led front offense.