text: 2015 After their successful 2014 season, the Cowboys began the 2015 season with high expectations. During Week 1, Tony Romo led the team to a comeback against the New York Giants for a 27–26 win, despite the loss of Dez Bryant. The next week against the Philadelphia Eagles, Romo was taken out with a collarbone injury, but the Cowboys won 20–10 to give them a 2–0 start. Romo missed the next seven games, and the Cowboys lost all of those games to drop to 2–7. Romo finally returned in Week 11 to lead the Cowboys to a 24–14 victory against the Miami Dolphins, but in the Cowboys' next game on Thanksgiving Day, Romo injured his collarbone again and was ruled out for the rest of the season, and the team was slaughtered by the then-undefeated Carolina Panthers 33–14, dropping their record to 3–8.  In the next game on Monday Night Football, the Cowboys defeated the Washington Redskins 19–16, which proved to be their last win of the season and their only win without Romo as starter. In Week 14, the Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers 28–7. In Week 15, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention with a 19–16 loss to the New York Jets in a Saturday night edition of Thursday Night Football. After that, the Cowboys lost to the Buffalo Bills 16-6 and then lost against the Redskins 34–23 to finish the regular season with a record of 4-12 and a last-place finish in the NFC East. The Cowboys went 3–1 with Romo as the starting quarterback, but they were 1–11 in all of their other games.
  2016
  The Cowboys drafted running back Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio State in the first round and quarterback Dak Prescott from Mississippi State in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. During a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, Tony Romo suffered a back injury, allowing Prescott to become starter for the 2016 season. With Prescott's stellar play, along with Elliott's running game, the Cowboys finished with a 13–3 record, earning them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. But the Cowboys' promising season ended with a 34–31 loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. After the season, Romo retired after 14 seasons with the Cowboys, and Prescott was named Offensive Rookie of the year.