NFL releases its Top 10 plays of 2021 for the Dallas Cowboys

We all know that the Dallas Cowboys season did not end the way fans, executives, coaches, and players would have liked it to end. The team had potential and they got knocked out of contention far too early. However, there are many positives that came from the 2021 season. The Dallas defense had an unbelievable turnaround. Players like Trevon Diggs, Micah Parsons, and Dalton Schultz had break-out seasons. The team went 12-5 and won the NFC East. There is a lot to celebrate there.

Last week, the NFL itself took a look back at the highlights of the Cowboys’ season. The league’s social media account released an almost five-minute video detailing the Top 10 plays of the Dallas season. Of course, this is just one outlet’s opinion, but there are certainly some firework moments in this video. Let us know in the comments which are your favorites or if some of your favorite moments were left out.

Typically, the defensive side of the ball gets a bit left out in highlight reels. But of the ten plays in this video, half of them are from the defense. And the squad deserves it. Those five plays include a monstrous Randy Gregory sack on Mac Jones that led to a Chauncey Golston fumble recovery, a Trevon Diggs pick-six off of Mac Jones, a Micah Parsons sack that led to a Dorance Armstrong touchdown, DeMarcus Lawrence’s tipped pick-six, and a Jayron Kearse interception.

The Kearse interception may seem like any old interception, given the Cowboys’ defense had so many this last season. However, there were multiple exciting elements in this play that landed at No. 9. For starters, Micah Parsons (a linebacker) was playing man coverage on New Orleans Saints WR Kenny Stills. Then, Parsons deflected the ball away and Kearse was able to see it, catch it, and display a beautiful toe drag to stay in bounds. Even Troy Aikman said “we’ll see that on Good Morning Football tomorrow,” during the broadcast.

Taking a deeper look at the NFL’s video of the Top 10 plays from the 2021 Dallas Cowboys season

The five offensive plays were also great. Something to notice is that Tony Pollard, who is technically a backup running back, had two appearances on this video and Ezekiel Elliott had none. Yet, Pollard still continued to get fewer snaps throughout the entire season. The first play is a Dak Prescott pitch to Pollard. After catching the ball, Pollard turned up the heat and speeds past the entire Saints defense straight into the end zone.

The play deemed No. 4 is Pollard’s 100-yard kickoff return from Thanksgiving day. Who could forget Pollard speeding past the entire Raiders team and literally making an official trip on a cone while trying to catch up with him? Good times.

While there were many plays deserving of the No. 1 spot, the selection is likely unsurprising. It was a picture-worthy moment. In the incredible Cowboys vs Patriots game, the hard-fought contest ended up in overtime. The game was won on a gorgeous pass to CeeDee Lamb. Prescott faked it to Elliott then threw it downfield to Lamb who made the catch and outran Jalen Mills to end the game. Lamb even looked back at Mills as he strolled into the end zone.

So, yes. The 2021 season ended in an incredibly frustrating manner, but there were a lot of jump-off-the-couch, throw-your-hands-in-the-air, hug-your-friend, stand-up-and-scream moments, too.