Cowboys countdown to kickoff: Top 100 iconic games – Day 84

It is Day 84 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.

We’re now at Day 84 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, where we revisit a win that looked much bigger in hindsight than it might have felt before kickoff. The Cowboys had opened the 2022 season with a flat loss to Tampa Bay, Dak Prescott was out with a thumb injury, and Cincinnati arrived in Arlington as the defending AFC champion. With Cooper Rush taking over at quarterback, this looked like a dangerous early-season spot for Dallas. Instead, the Cowboys used defense, efficiency, and one clutch final drive to beat the Bengals 20-17.

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Sunday, September 18, 2022 — 4:25 p.m. ET

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 20, Cincinnati Bengals 17

Dallas started perfectly. Rush led a 12-play, 75-yard opening drive and hit Noah Brown for a nine-yard touchdown, which was also the Cowboys’ first touchdown of the season. After an Evan McPherson field goal made it 7-3, Tony Pollard finished the next Dallas possession with a one-yard touchdown run. Brett Maher added a 54-yard field goal before halftime, and the Cowboys went into the locker room up 17-3.

The first half was Dallas at its best under the circumstances. The Cowboys had outgained Cincinnati 227 yards to 84 by halftime, and the defense had already sacked Joe Burrow four times. Rush was not being asked to carry the entire operation, but he was decisive, protected the football, and gave Dallas exactly what it needed with Prescott unavailable.

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Cincinnati eventually fought back. McPherson kicked two third-quarter field goals, from 50 and 46 yards, to cut the lead to 17-9. Then Burrow led a 19-play, 83-yard fourth-quarter drive that consumed nearly nine minutes, ending with a five-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins and a two-point conversion to Tyler Boyd. Suddenly, after Dallas had controlled most of the afternoon, the game was tied 17-17.

That set the stage for Rush. Dallas got the ball back with 57 seconds left after KaVontae Turpin’s punt return gave the Cowboys decent field position. Rush hit CeeDee Lamb, then Brown, then Lamb again, calmly moving Dallas just close enough for Maher. From 50 yards out, Maher’s kick slipped inside the right upright as time expired, giving Dallas its first win of the season and turning what could have been an 0-2 panic into a genuine contender-profile moment.

Rush finished 19-of-31 for 235 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a 95.5 passer rating. Brown had five catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, Lamb added seven catches for 75 yards, and Pollard produced 98 yards from scrimmage with a score. Defensively, the Cowboys sacked Burrow six times, with Micah Parsons and Dorance Armstrong each recording two.

This game belongs on the countdown because it changed the early tone of the 2022 season. Dallas looked wounded after Week 1, but this win proved the Cowboys could survive without Prescott, beat a high-end opponent, and lean on a defense that was becoming one of the league’s most disruptive units. It was not a blowout or a playoff game, but it was a measuring-stick win with a backup quarterback.