By David Lacey

Staff Writer 

After a stressful off-season plagued by injuries and suspensions, the Dallas Cowboys are off to the best start to a season since 2009. After an opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers at home, the Cowboys have been on a surprising winning streak.

Pro Bowl middle linebacker Sean Lee was lost for the entire 2014 season during the first week of organized team activities in May with a torn ACL in his right knee. This is the second season in a row that Lee will miss at least half of the year with an injury. Veteran quarterback Tony Romo also had two separate back surgeries during the off-season and was listed as questionable for the upcoming season. 

With Lee out and Romo on the fence, the Cowboys looked less likely to reach even a .500 record this year. Following a 0-4 pre-season record, The Boys were written off as a lost cause, and talk of replacing head coach Jason Garrett was already fluttering around the Metroplex.

The talk continued after America’s team went down 28-17 to the 49ers, with quaterback Tony Romo throwing three interceptions in the first half. The Cowboys began 0-1, and it looked like their season was already finished.

The next Sunday, the team traveled to Nashville to face the 1-0 Tennessee Titans. Despite the embarrassing loss the previous week, the Cowboys came out firing and won 26-10 over a decent Tennessee squad, giving the fans and critics a glimmer of hope for the season.

After returning its record to .500 at 1-1, The Boys travelled to St. Louis to play the lackluster Rams team. Despite the loss of their starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, the Rams took an early 21-point lead over the Cowboys. Dallas did manage to come back to pull out the difficult victory 34-31, making that game the largest comeback in franchise history.

The next week, the 2-1 Cowboys returned home for a highly anticipated matchup against defending NFC South champions the New Orleans Saints. After a humiliating 41-17 loss to the Mardi Gras team last season in New Orleans, the Cowboys wanted revenge. Dallas took a 24-point lead into the locker room at halftime and never looked back, crushing the Saints 38-17. The victory was led by running back Demarco Murray, who leads the NFL in rushing attempts and yards.

After five straight victories including the win over Seattle (as of press date), the Cowboys are performing better than they have for the past five years.