Further Review: Best & Worst From 2020 Season

Best Win: 31-28 at Minnesota (Week 11)

There's no nice way to say this, but this may have been the Cowboys' only win against a decent team in 2020. No, the Vikings did not make the playoffs, but they were in the hunt up until Week 16 and their 7-9 record is the best mark among any of the Cowboys' six wins. It's not just that, but this Week 11 win may have been the best the team played all year. The running game got going with 150 total yards, and Andy Dalton got all of his weapons involved in the passing game. Led by Donovan Wilson and DeMarcus Lawrence, the defense forced two takeaways to spark arguably their best day of the year. It was a complete performance to snap a four-game losing streak, offering hope that perhaps this team wasn't as bad as it had shown earlier in the year.

Worst Loss: 41-16 vs. Washington (Thanksgiving)

It wasn't just the 25-point loss to a division rival. It was a horrific week for the team to begin with. Strength and conditioning coordinator Markus Paul, a beloved member of the organization, passed away the day before the game after suffering a medical emergency Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. The Cowboys set out to honor his memory the rest of the season. On Thanksgiving they hung tough for three and a half quarters before Washington pulled away, swept the season series and gained what ultimately was an insurmountable lead in the NFC East.

Best Play: CeeDee Lamb's TD vs. Vikings

When the Cowboys drafted CeeDee Lamb, his highlight reel at Oklahoma was filled with acrobatic catches, many of them covered by defenders. Without a doubt, his best catch of his young NFL career occurred in Minnesota, when he made a twisting, turning his body around to make a diving catch in the end zone. Lamb's touchdown provided an early spark as the Cowboys were able to rally to defeat the Vikings.

Worst Play: Fake Punt vs. Washington (Thanksgiving)

One of the more mystifying decisions in recent memory -- perhaps even in the storied history of the franchise. Trailing Washington, 21-16, early in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were faced with a fourth-and-10 from their own 24-yard line. Rather than lean on their defense, which had been playing well, they opted for a reverse fake punt to Cedrick Wilson. Upon further review, Wilson was supposed to throw a pass to Hunter Niswander, who had been well-covered by Washington's gunners. The pass wasn't there, which forced Wilson to try to pick up 10 yards with his feet -- though it was really more like 20 yards, as Wilson had gotten the ball a full 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Everyone loves aggressive play calling, but this felt more reckless than aggressive. The Cowboys' coaches were punished for it, as Washington ripped off a 23-yard touchdown run on the very next play to essentially put the game out of reach.

Offensive MVP: Amari Cooper

When it comes to true value, an argument can be made for Dak Prescott, or even Tyron Smith and Zack Martin. The offense wasn't the same without them. But as far the best offensive player from start to finish, it has to be Amari Cooper. He's just the fourth player in team history with 90 catches or more. His 92 receptions were a career high. And let's not forget that he did that with four different starting quarterbacks this season.

Defensive MVP: DeMarcus Lawrence

As the Cowboys' best and highest-paid defender, Lawrence will always be judged by sacks, fair or not. He had 6.5 this season, the second straight year he hasn't reached double digits. But he also does all the little things that help a defensive front. Pro Football Focus ranked him seventh among all edge rushers in 2020 – and he led the Cowboys in three other categories besides sacks: pressures (37), tackles for loss (7) and forced fumbles (4).

Special Teams MVP: Greg Zuerlein

This was a close race in the voting, with nearly half of the picks going to C.J. Goodwin, who had some huge plays on special teams. But Zuerlein likely gets the nod because for the first half of the season, the only two wins for the Cowboys came off of last-second field goals by Zuerlein. He also had the crazy "watermelon kick" that gave the Cowboys a chance to win that Week 2 game over the Falcons. Zuerlein was steady all year, making 34 of 41 field goals. Of his seven misses, six of them occurred over 50 yards out.

Most Surprising Rookie: Trevon Diggs

Diggs, a second-round pick last April, always figured to play quite a bit as a rookie. But he immediately earned a starting job in a veteran cornerback group and emerged as a foundational part of the secondary moving forward. Diggs gave up some plays, and he also missed four games with a foot injury. But he still managed to lead the team in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (15). The Cowboys are excited about his ball skills and competitive spirit.

Unsung Hero: Dalton Schultz

When training camp began, the Cowboys had high hopes for Blake Jarwin and Blake Bell. After that, it was Schultz and a few rookie free agents battling for the job. To think that Schultz would end up as the fourth tight end in Cowboys history to record 60 receptions is a big surprise. In fact, Schultz has arguably better numbers than the Giants' Evan Engram, who made the Pro Bowl. Schultz got better as the year went on and proved to be a reliable pass-catcher and a crafty runner after the catch.

Biggest Disappointment: Dak's Injury

Anytime you lose your starting quarterback for the majority of the season, this goes without saying. The record doesn't reflect it, but Dak Prescott was playing the best football of his life when he broke his ankle in Week 6 against the Giants. In just five games, he was setting a career high for completion percentage with nine touchdowns and an absurd 1,856 passing yards -- which put him on pace for a ridiculous 6,000 yards on the season. It says a lot that it took Andy Dalton until the final weeks of the season to pass the yardage total that Dak put up in just five games. We'll never know what it might have done for the win/loss record. After all, the Cowboys went just 2-3 in games Dak started. But we have a feeling it would have been better than 6-10 -- and undoubtedly a lot more fun to watch.