| 1968 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
| General manager | Tex Schramm |
| Head coach | Tom Landry |
| Home stadium | Cotton Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–2 |
| Division place | 1stNFL Capitol |
| Playoffs | LostEastern Conference Championship Game (atBrowns) 20–31 Won NFLPlayoff Bowl (vs.Vikings) 17–13 |
The1968Dallas Cowboys season was their ninth in theNational Football League (NFL) and won the Capitol division by five games with a 12–2 record (tied with1977 for the best record in the Landry era). In the first round of theplayoffs, Dallas met theCleveland Browns (10–4) in the Eastern Conference title game, held atMunicipal Stadium inCleveland. In this era, the host sites were rotated, home field advantage was not adopted for the playoffs until1975. Dallas had won the regular season game 28–7 in September, and had routed the Browns 52–14 in theprevious year's playoffs, but both were played at theCotton Bowl.
The Browns upset the favored Cowboys 31–20,[1][2][3] sending Dallas to thethird placePlayoff Bowl at theOrange Bowl inMiami,[4] where they rallied to defeat theMinnesota Vikings, 17–13.[5][6]
The team averaged 30.8 points per game during the regular season, and holds the record for most points scored through the first three games of a season.[7]
| 1968 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Dennis Homan | Wide receiver | Alabama | |
| 2 | 45 | Dave McDaniels | Wide receiver | Mississippi Valley State | |
| 3 | 71 | Ed Harmon | Linebacker | Louisville | |
| 4 | 97 | John Douglas | Linebacker | Missouri | |
| 5 | 130 | Blaine Nye * | Guard | Stanford | |
| 6 | 159 | D. D. Lewis | Linebacker | Mississippi State | |
| 7 | 185 | Bob Taucher | Tackle | Nebraska | |
| 8 | 211 | Frank Brown | Defensive tackle | Albany State | |
| 9 | 241 | Ken Kmiec | Defensive back | Illinois | |
| 10 | 266 | Ben Olison | Wide receiver | Kansas | |
| 11 | 292 | Ron Shotts | Running back | Oklahoma | |
| 12 | 321 | Wilson Whitty | Linebacker | Boston University | |
| 13 | 347 | Carter Lord | Wide receiver | Harvard | |
| 14 | 373 | Ron Williams | Defensive back | West Virginia | |
| 15 | 402 | Tony Lunceford | Kicker | Auburn | |
| 16 | 428 | Larry Cole | Defensive end | Hawaii | yes |
| 17 | 454 | George Nordgren | Running back | Houston | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | Detroit Lions | W 59–13 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | 61,382 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | Cleveland Browns | W 28–7 | 2–0 | Cotton Bowl | 68,733 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 45–13 | 3–0 | Franklin Field | 60,858 | Recap |
| 4 | October 6 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | W 27–10 | 4–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48,296 | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 34–14 | 5–0 | Cotton Bowl | 72,083 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | atMinnesota Vikings | W 20–7 | 6–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–28 | 6–1 | Cotton Bowl | 74,604 | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 17–3 | 7–1 | Tulane Stadium | 84,728 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | New York Giants | L 21–27 | 7–2 | Cotton Bowl | 72,163 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | atWashington Redskins | W 44–24 | 8–2 | D.C. Stadium | 50,816 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | atChicago Bears | W 34–3 | 9–2 | Wrigley Field | 46,667 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Washington Redskins | W 29–20 | 10–2 | Cotton Bowl | 66,076 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–7 | 11–2 | Cotton Bowl | 55,069 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | atNew York Giants | W 28–10 | 12–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,617 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 45 |
| Eagles | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Q1 | PHI | Sam Baker 23 yard field goal | PHI 3–0 | |
| Q1 | DAL | Dan Reeves 2 yard pass fromDon Meredith (Mike Clark kick) | DAL 7–3 | |
| Q2 | DAL | Lance Rentzel 11 yard pass from Don Meredith (Mike Clark kick) | DAL 14–3 | |
| Q2 | PHI | Gary Ballman 18 yard pass fromKing Hill (Sam Baker kick) | DAL 14–10 | |
| Q2 | PHI | Sam Baker 13 yard field goal | DAL 14–13 | |
| Q3 | DAL | Bob Hayes 44 yard pass from Don Meredith (Mike Clark kick) | DAL 21–13 | |
| Q3 | DAL | Don Perkins 10 yard pass from Don Meredith (Mike Clark kick) | DAL 28–13 | |
| Q4 | DAL | Mike Clark 26 yard field goal | DAL 31–13 | |
| Q4 | DAL | Lance Rentzel 8 yard pass from Don Meredith (Mike Clark kick) | DAL 38–13 | |
| Q4 | DAL | Craig Morton 4 yard run (Mike Clark kick) | DAL 45–13 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Giants | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 1 | NYG | Pete Gogolak 12 yard field goal | Giants 3–0 | |
| 2 | DAL | Bob Hayes 13 yard pass fromCraig Morton (Mike Clark kick) | Cowboys 7–3 | |
| 3 | DAL | Bob Hayes 63 yard punt return (Mike Clark kick) | Cowboys 14–3 | |
| 3 | DAL | Craig Morton 1 yard run (Mike Clark kick) | Cowboys 21–3 | |
| 4 | DAL | Walt Garrison 8 yard run (Mike Clark kick) | Cowboys 28–3 | |
| 4 | NYG | Aaron Thomas 46 yard pass fromFran Tarkenton (Pete Gogolak kick) | Cowboys 28–10 | |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference | December 21, 1968 | atCleveland Browns | L 20–31 | Cleveland Stadium | 81,497 | Recap |
| Playoff Bowl | January 5, 1969 | vsMinnesota Vikings | W 17–13 | Orange Bowl | 22,961 |
| NFL Capitol | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 9–1 | 431 | 186 | W5 |
| New York Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 7–3 | 294 | 325 | L4 |
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 249 | 358 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0–6 | 1–9 | 202 | 351 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys 1968 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Taxi squad
Rookies in italics | |||
