Ranking the five Cowboys' losses in 2026, from acceptable Giants defeat to catastrophic Cardinals collapse

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Halfway through the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys have already racked up a slew of heartbreaking losses.

The Cowboys are 3-5 on the season, and fans can make a case that the team should have won any of their five losses. All five of those losses have come by a margin of 10 points or less, with two being one-score games and two coming on last-second field goals.

While there is still time for the Cowboys to turn things around, Dallas has already dropped games to inferior opponents and divisional opponents, and the team has even blown big leads. It's one thing to lose close games; it's another to lose games in such disappointing fashion.

At the end of the season, the Cowboys will look back at these games and wonder what could've been if they just found a way to win a few of these games. Here's a ranking of how bad each of the Cowboys' losses so far have been.

MORE: Cowboys' latest defensive disaster puts pressure on Brian Schottenheimer

Ranking the five Cowboys losses in 2026

Imagn Images

5. Week 1 at Giants

The Cowboys opened the season with a disappointing loss against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, which deflated the fanbase. There was much hype for the revamped Dallas defense entering the 2026 season, but it went away when Jaxson Dart and the Giants' offense found no resistance in the victory.

With more losses on the ledger, it's now clear that this loss wasn't too bad. Dart was healthy at the time, and a road divisional game is always a tough task. Additionally, with this being the first game of the year, there was plenty of room for improvement over the course of the season.

4. Week 6 at Packers

What made the loss to the Green Bay Packers so tough was that it was the offense that let the team down, not the defense. Dak Prescott's unit was held scoreless in the first half, with Prescott throwing two interceptions in the second quarter, putting Dallas down 17-0 at halftime.

While the Cowboys did try to mount a comeback, the offense scored just two touchdowns all game to squander any chance the team had. Still, Green Bay was the best team that has beaten Dallas all season long, so this loss was not nearly as devastating as the next three.

3. Week 3 vs. Ravens

For most teams, this loss to the Ravens would be their worst of the season. In Brazil, the Cowboys and Ravens played a shootout, but the Cowboys relied too much on field goals in a 34-31 loss. Still, Dallas appeared to force overtime wth just seven seconds left in regulation.

That was until Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers with seconds left in the game, allowing Tyler Loop to hit a game-winning field goal. The defensive breakdown was an early lowlight that prevented the Cowboys from trying to win the game in overtime, instead forcing them to fly back to the United States in disappointment.

2. Week 8 vs. Cardinals

The Cowboys' historic loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday could be season-defining. Dallas was up 14 points multiple times in the game, but the defense once again came up small by allowing the Cardinals to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Then, in overtime, the Cowboys defense actually got a stop, but the offense went three-and-out immediately. Arizona would go on to kick a game-winning field goal, giving the Cowboys their fifth loss of the season and preventing them from hitting the .500 mark.

Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

1. Week 5 vs. Buccaneers

The worst loss of the Cowboys' season came in Week 5, when they inexcusably dropped a game against Jalon Daniels and the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Daniels, an undrafted free agent, was getting his second start for an injured Baker Mayfield, but he led Tampa Bay into Dallas for a 24-16 win.

Daniels didn't necessarily shred the Cowboys' defense, but e Tampa Bay did score all 24 points in the second and third quarters. Prescott turned the ball over twice vs. a tough Buccaneers defense, and when Dallas went down 24-10 in the third quarter, the offense couldn't complete a comeback.

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