From 2011 to 2013, he had three straight 8–8 seasons, losing in the last game each season to NFC East division rivals New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Philadelphia Eagles to miss the division championship and the playoffs each time. In 2014, Garrett achieved head-coaching success for the first time. The Cowboys, featuring several key draft picks maturing as the league's best offensive line and the emergence of DeMarco Murray as a dominant running back, won the NFC East with a 12–4 record and were tied for the best record in the conference with the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys were undefeated on the road, including impressive wins over Seattle and the NFC East frontrunners (at the time), the Philadelphia Eagles. Garrett's team lost the three-way tiebreaker to Green Bay and Seattle and therefore hosted the Detroit Lions in a wildcard-round game. , won 24–20 by the Cowboys, featured a controversial "flag pick up" after a penalty during a late Detroit drive, thereby allowing Dallas an improved chance to make a comeback and defeat the Lions. In the against the Green Bay Packers, hyped as a rematch of the famous Ice Bowl NFL championship game from 1967, Dallas held a lead in the second half, but after losing the lead due to a late Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass, had a potentially game-winning catch by Dez Bryant overturned in official replay, therefore sealing a 26–21 defeat to Green Bay.