Dallas Cowboys’ turnaround season came in a unique way

It wasn’t that long ago that the Dallas Cowboys were 4-12.

In fact, it was last season.

Today, they’re 13-3, NFC East champions and have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs as the top seed. They’ll host a divisional playoff game Jan. 15 at AT&T Stadium.

“The only thing that matters is what we do now. We have put ourselves in a great position, and it is time to get back to work,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.

Going from worst to first is hard to do in the NFL, but it’s not uncommon.

The Cowboys’ resurgence marks the 13th time in the past 14 seasons that one or more teams went from last or tied for last place to a division championship the following year.

This resurgence, however, has some uniqueness in that it was led by a pair of rookies in quarterback Dak Prescott, who replaced an injured Tony Romo (broken bone in back) in the preseason, and running back Ezekiel Elliott, the team’s fourth overall draft pick. Both were selected to the Pro Bowl.

Giants 20, Cowboys 19

Eli Manning threw a 3-yard touchdown to Victor Cruz midway in the fourth quarter to help the Giants hold off the Cowboys in front of a season-opening crowd of 92,867 at AT&T Stadium. Needing a field goal to win, the Cowboys had reached their 46. On third down with 12 seconds left, Terrance Williams caught a 14-yard pass. But instead of running out of bounds, he ran upfield and was tackled by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The clock expired before the Cowboys could take another snap.

Notable: Prescott and Elliott became the first rookies to start at quarterback and running back in Week 1 for the Cowboys since Roger Staubach and Calvin Hill in the 1969 season. Elliott is the fourth rookie running back in team history to start a season opener, joining Calvin Hill, (1969), Ron Springs (1979) and Derrick Lassic (1993). Prescott is the fourth rookie to start a season opener at quarterback in franchise history, joining Quincy Carter (2001), Troy Aikman (1989) and Roger Staubach (1969).

Cowboys 27, Redskins 23

The Cowboys scored on an 80-yard drive in the final 5 minutes and the defense held the rest of the way in a key, early NFC East showdown at FedEx Field. Prescott passed for 292 yards and scored his first touchdown on a 6-yard scramble. The defense recorded two sacks, and Barry Church had an end zone interception.

Notable: Prescott set an NFL record for passes thrown by a rookie without an interception to start the season. Prescott, who also directed a 94-yard scoring drive in the game, had thrown 75 passes without an interception. The 94-yard touchdown drive was the team’s longest since going 95 yards against Seattle in 2012.

Cowboys 31, Bears 17

The Cowboys built a 24-3 halftime lead and were never seriously challenged the rest of the way. Prescott threw his first NFL touchdown on a 17-yarder to Dez Bryant in the fourth quarter. Elliott rushed for 140 yards on 30 carries, his first 100-yard game in the NFL.

Notable: Cornerback Orlando Scandrick (hamstrings) and offensive tackle Tyron Smith (back) missed the game due to injuries. The win snapped an eight-game home losing streak.

Cowboys 24, 49ers 17

The Cowboys rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat San Francisco at Levi’s Stadium. Prescott threw two touchdowns and Elliott rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown. Cornerback Morris Claiborne had seven tackles and a crucial fourth-quarter interception.

Notable: The Cowboys played without Bryant, who was nursing a hairline fracture in his right knee, along with seven other starters due to injury or suspensions. Prescott had 131 passes without an interception.

Cowboys 28, Bengals 14

The Cowboys built a 28-0 lead and were never challenged the rest of the way. Prescott passed for 227 yards and one touchdown and ran for another. Elliott rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns as the Cowboys moved into first place in the NFC East at 4-1.

Notable: Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence played in his first game after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Offensive tackle Tyron Smith returned from injury to lead a dominating line that allowed 6.2 yards per rush.

Cowboys 30, Packers 16

Elliott rushed for 157 yards and Prescott threw three touchdowns as the Cowboys extended their winning streak to five games. The victory also ended a five-game losing streak to the Packers, including four at Lambeau Field. Church had a third-quarter interception, and David Irving had a club-record tying three forced fumbles.

Notable: Prescott’s NFL-record for passes without an interception to start a career ended at 176 passes. He set the record in the first quarter at 163 on a 15-yard completion to Terrance Williams. The Cowboys’ domination of the Packers drew rare boos from the Lambeau crowd of 78,481.

Cowboys 29, Eagles 23, OT

Prescott threw a 5-yard touchdown to Jason Witten in overtime as the Cowboys clipped Philadelphia in an NFC East thriller at AT&T Stadium in front of a crowd of 93,103. Regulation ended at 23-23. The Cowboys (6-1) won the toss and drove 75 yards in 12 plays for the game-winning score. The key play was a fourth-and-1 play at the Eagles’ 28. Prescott got the first down on a sneak up the middle.

Notable: Witten made his 204th consecutive start to surpass Ed “Too Tall” Jones for the most in team history. Bryant had 113 receiving yards to become the sixth player in team history with 6,000 or more career receiving yards. He had 6,088. The Cowboys won their sixth consecutive game.

Cowboys 35, Browns 10

The Cowboys (7-1) overpowered Cleveland at First Energy Stadium to win their seventh consecutive game. Prescott completed 21 of 27 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Elliott had 18 carries for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Witten, who made his club-record 155th consecutive start, led all receivers with eight catches for 134 yards and one touchdown.

Notable: The Cowboys had four sacks, two by rookie Maliek Collins. Cleveland was one of nine on third downs.

Cowboys 35, Steelers 30

The Cowboys scored twice in the final 2 minutes, both on Elliott runs, to escape Pittsburgh in front of a Heinz Field record crowd of 67,737. The Cowboys won their club-record tying eighth consecutive game. Elliott scored on a 32-yard run with 9 seconds left to clinch the win. He finished with 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns and also scored on an 83-yard screen play. Prescott passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns.

Notable: The Steelers pulled ahead 30-29 with 42 seconds left on Ben Roethleisberger’s fake spike-turned touchdown pass to Antonio Brown before Elliott’s game-winning run. Bryant, whose father passed away the day before the game, caught six passes for 116 yards and a 50-yard touchdown.

Cowboys 27, Ravens 17

Prescott passed for 301 yards and three touchdowns as the Cowboys won their ninth consecutive game in front of a crowd of 93,056 at AT&T Stadium. A day after attending his father’s funeral, Bryant had six catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

Notable: In a game that featured the No. 1 Dallas offense against the No. 1 Baltimore defense, the Cowboys finished with 417 total yards and 27 first downs.

Cowboys 31, Redskins 26

The Cowboys moved to 10-1 for the first time since 2007 with the Thanksgiving win over Washington. The most recent season the Cowboys won 10 consecutive games was in 1971. Prescott passed for one touchdown and ran for another. Elliott rushed for two touchdowns.

Notable: Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins passed for 449 yards and three touchdowns, but Washington did not have a 100-yard rusher or receiver.

Cowboys 17, Vikings 15

Playing out of sync for most of the game, the Cowboys outlasted Minnesota in a Thursday Night Football game. Kyle Wilber’s fumble recovery of an Adam Thielen punt return resulted in a Bryant touchdown catch that opened the way for the Dallas win. Minnesota failed on a 2-point try that could have tied the game with 25 seconds left.

Notable: Church returned to the lineup from injury and wore a carbon-fiber brace on his foreman. He finished with nine tackles. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer, a former Cowboys assistant, missed the game after surgery for a detached retina in his right eye.

Giants 10, Cowboys 7

Eli Manning threw a 61-yard touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr. as the New York Giants snapped the Cowboys’ 11-game winning streak. Dak Prescott struggled, finishing with a 45.4 passer rating and was intercepted twice at MetLife Stadium.

Notable: Terrance Williams had five catches for 76 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown. The win gave the Giants a regular-season sweep.

Cowboy 26, Buccaneers 20

Orlando Scandrick’s interception with 24 seconds left allowed the Cowboys to hold off Tampa Bay in a see-saw battle at AT&T Stadium. Scandrick’s interception was one of three for the Cowboys. Elliott rushed for 159 yards and one touchdown.

Notable: In a week full of debate on whether Tony Romo should replace Prescott after a loss against the Giants, Prescott passed for 279 yards and scored on a 2-yard run.

Cowboys 42, Lions 21

Prescott threw three touchdowns and Elliott ran for two as the Cowboys broke free from a 21-21 halftime tie to win their record-tying 13th game of the season in their first and only appearance on Monday Night Football. The 1992 (13-3) and 2007 (13-3) teams also won 13 games.

Notable: Bryant caught two touchdowns and threw his first NFL touchdown, a 10-yarder to Witten on a wide receiver reverse pass.

Eagles 27, Cowboys 13

Resting several starters and playing others on a limited basis, the Cowboys lost to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Romo played in his first regular-season game since Thanksgiving of 2015 and threw a 3-yard touchdown to Williams. He played one series in the second quarter. Prescott started and Mark Sanchez closed out the game after Romo’s brief appearance.

Notable: Elliott won the NFL rushing crown without playing a down. Elliott finished with 1,631 yards. Elliott is the fifth rookie since the 1970 merger to lead the NFL in rushing, joining Earl Campbell, George Rogers, Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Dallas Cowboys’ turnaround season came in a unique way."