| 1975 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
| General manager | Tex Schramm |
| Head coach | Tom Landry |
| Home stadium | Texas Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | 2ndNFC East |
| Playoffs | WonDivisional Playoffs (atVikings) 17–14 WonNFC Championship (atRams) 37–7 LostSuper Bowl X (vs.Steelers) 17–21 |
The1975 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's sixteenth season in theNational Football League (NFL), all under head coachTom Landry. TheCowboys finished second in theNational Football Conference (NFC)East division with a 10–4 regular season record and advanced through theplayoffs toSuper Bowl X, where they were defeated by thePittsburgh Steelers 21–17. They were also the first wild card team to reach the Super Bowl.
For the first time in adecade, the Cowboys did not play onThanksgiving, replaced by theSt. Louis Cardinals.
The Cowboys were coming off a disappointing1974 season, after finishing with a record of 8–6, effectively ending an eight-year run of making the playoffs. Accompanied with the retirement or loss of key players likeBob Lilly,Bob Hayes,Cornell Green,Walt Garrison,Dave Manders,John Niland, andCalvin Hill, there was speculation in the media that the franchise was in decline.
For all of the accolades that the Cowboys' scouting department had received throughout the years, the team had never kept more than ninedraft choices and the average number was keeping six. Their1975 NFL draft is considered to be one of the best in league history because twelve picks made the roster, hence the nickname "The Dirty Dozen". This rookie class, didn't even includelinebackerMike Hegman, who was drafted that year but did not enter theNFL until1976. Neither was included rookieundrafted free agentquarterbackJim Zorn who made the team, but was later cut to make room forrunning backPreston Pearson, who had been waived by thePittsburgh Steelers.
| 1975 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Randy White * † | DT | Maryland | from N. Y. Giants |
| 1 | 18 | Thomas Henderson | LB | Langston | |
| 2 | 44 | Burton Lawless | OG | Florida | |
| 3 | 70 | Bob Breunig * | LB | Arizona State | |
| 4 | 90 | Pat Donovan * | DE | Stanford | |
| 4 | 96 | Randy Hughes | S | Oklahoma | |
| 5 | 113 | Kyle Davis | C | Oklahoma | |
| 6 | 148 | Rolly Woolsey | DB | Boise State | |
| 7 | 173 | Mike Hegman | LB | Tennessee State | |
| 8 | 200 | Mitch Hoopes | P | Arizona | |
| 9 | 226 | Ed Jones | DB | Rutgers | |
| 10 | 252 | Dennis Booker | RB | Millersville | |
| 11 | 278 | Greg Krpalek | C | Oregon State | |
| 12 | 304 | Charles Bland | DB | Cincinnati | |
| 13 | 330 | Herbert Scott * | OG | Virginia Union | |
| 14 | 356 | Scott Laidlaw | RB | Stanford | |
| 15 | 382 | Willie Hamilton | RB | Arizona | |
| 16 | 407 | Pete Clark | TE | Colorado State | |
| 17 | 434 | Jim Testerman | TE | Dayton | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Percy Howard | Wide Receiver | Austin Peay State |
| Jim Zorn | Quarterback | Cal Poly Pomona |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | Los Angeles Rams | W 18–7 | 1–0 | Texas Stadium | 49,091 | Recap |
| 2 | September 28 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 37–31(OT) | 2–0 | Texas Stadium | 52,417 | Recap |
| 3 | October 6 | atDetroit Lions | W 36–10 | 3–0 | Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium | 79,384 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | atNew York Giants | W 13–7 | 4–0 | Shea Stadium | 56,511 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–19 | 4–1 | Texas Stadium | 64,189 | Recap |
| 6 | October 26 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 20–17 | 5–1 | Veterans Stadium | 64,889 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | atWashington Redskins | L 24–30(OT) | 5–2 | RFK Stadium | 55,004 | Recap |
| 8 | November 10 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 31–34 | 5–3 | Texas Stadium | 63,539 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | atNew England Patriots | W 34–31 | 6–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,905 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–17 | 7–3 | Texas Stadium | 57,893 | Recap |
| 11 | November 30 | New York Giants | W 14–3 | 8–3 | Texas Stadium | 53,329 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | L 17–31 | 8–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,701 | Recap |
| 13 | December 13 | Washington Redskins | W 31–10 | 9–4 | Texas Stadium | 61,091 | Recap |
| 14 | December 21 | atNew York Jets | W 31–21 | 10–4 | Shea Stadium | 37,279 | Recap |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 28, 1975 | atMinnesota Vikings | W 17–14 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,425 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | January 4, 1976 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 37–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 84,483 | Recap |
| Super Bowl | January 18, 1976 | vsPittsburgh Steelers | L 17–21 | Orange Bowl | 80,187 | Recap |
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| St. Louis Cardinals(3) | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 6–2 | 9–2 | 356 | 276 | W3 |
| Dallas Cowboys(4) | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 350 | 268 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–4 | 7–4 | 325 | 276 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1–7 | 3–8 | 216 | 306 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–5 | 4–7 | 225 | 302 | W1 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 37 |
| Game information |
|---|
| First quarter Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Overtime
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
atMetropolitan Stadium,Bloomington, Minnesota
| Game information |
|---|
| First quarter Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
The"Hail Mary" Game
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 37 |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles, California
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
QuarterbackRoger Staubach threw for 220 yards and 4 touchdown passes while also rushing for 54 yards as the Cowboys upset the favored Rams.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys (NFC) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Steelers (AFC) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Dallas Cowboys 1975 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers Tight ends | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | |||
The infusion of new talent not only provided an immediate rebuilding process, but also changed the course of the team in a significant way. This group helped the team reachSuper Bowl X that season, and would play a key role in the Cowboys being given the name "America's Team".
TheNFL didn't start recognizingquarterback sacks as an official stat until1982; however, the Cowboys have their own records and according to their stats,Roger Staubach got sacked a league high 45 times the previous season and 43 the year before that, to revert this trendTom Landry revived theShotgun formation which he called "the spread", providing theNFL with another long lasting innovation.
The Cowboys experienced an unexpected success, winning the first 4 games on the way to a 10–4 regular season record. However, home losses to the 4–10Green Bay Packers and 5–9Kansas City Chiefs cost the Cowboys the NFC East championship. Had Dallas defeated both Green Bay and Kansas City, it would have held home-field advantage in the playoffs thanks to an 18–7 victory over the Rams in the season opener. On the other hand, the Cowboys made home field advantage moot with their playoff wins at Minnesota and Los Angeles.
The new look offense averaged 25 points per game and a revitalized defense that became known as "Doomsday II" gave up only 19 points per game.
They made the playoffs as awild-card team and beat theMinnesota Vikings 17-14 during the first round, in the now famous“Hail Mary” game. They then defeated the heavily favoredLos Angeles Rams 37–7 on the road, winning theNFC Championship Game and becoming the first non-division winner to advance to theSuper Bowl in league history. The storybook season ended inSuper Bowl X after losing 21–17 to thePittsburgh Steelers.
The Football EncyclopediaISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total FootballISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My HeroesISBN 0-446-51950-2
