| 1998 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jerry Jones |
| General manager | Jerry Jones |
| Head coach | Chan Gailey |
| Home stadium | Texas Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 1stNFC East |
| Playoffs | LostWild Card Playoffs (vs.Cardinals) 7–20 |
| Pro Bowlers | RBEmmitt Smith GLarry Allen OTNate Newton CBDeion Sanders SSDarren Woodson |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The1998Dallas Cowboys season was the Cowboys' 39th season in theNational Football League (NFL). The Cowboys were looking to improve on their 6–10 mark from the year before and head to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the 1990s.
After the previous season, head coachBarry Switzer resigned after four seasons in which he led the Cowboys to the playoffs three times and wonSuper Bowl XXX.Chan Gailey, who had beenoffensive coordinator with thePittsburgh Steelers, was hired as his replacement.
The Cowboys did manage to record a 10–6 record and once again win theNFC East as they had done in the five seasons prior to1997. However, the Cowboys did not advance beyond the Wild Card round as they were upset by theArizona Cardinals, who had not won a playoff game since1947, when the franchise wasbased in Chicago. The Cowboys would not win another NFC East title until2007.
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| RBChris Warren (Seahawks) | QBWade Wilson (Raiders) |
| SSGeorge Teague (Dolphins) | FSBrock Marion (Dolphins) |
| GEverett McIver (Dolphins) | CJohn Flannery (Rams) |
| LBVinson Smith (Saints) | |
| SSBill Bates (Retried) | |
| TMark Tuinei (Retried) | |
| DETony Tolbert (Retried) | |
| RBHerschel Walker (Retried) |
| 1998 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Greg Ellis * | Defensive end | North Carolina | |
| 2 | 38 | Flozell Adams * | Offensive tackle | Michigan State | |
| 4 | 100 | Michael Myers | Defensive tackle | Alabama | |
| 5 | 130 | Darren Hambrick | Linebacker | South Carolina | |
| 5 | 138 | Oliver Ross | Tackle | Iowa State | from Seattle |
| 6 | 188 | Izell Reese | Safety | UAB | |
| 7 | 223 | Tarik Smith | Running back | California | |
| 7 | 227 | Antonio Fleming | Guard | Georgia | |
| 7 | 237 | Rod Monroe | Tight end | Cincinnati | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Ronald Bailey | Cornerback | Georgia |
| Kent Booth | Guard | Northern Illinois |
| Barry Cantrell | Punter | Fordham |
| Chike Egbuniwe | Linebacker | Duke |
| Cory Geason | Tight end | Tulane |
Gailey would revitalize the Cowboys offense, particularly the running game, which had seen a recent decline despite the presence ofrunning backEmmitt Smith. The trio of Smith,Troy Aikman, andMichael Irvin helped the Cowboys be the first ever NFC East team to sweep their division en route to capturing theNFC East title, the team's sixth of the 90's. The Cowboys would later encounter theArizona Cardinals for the third time that season in the NFC Wild Card Game, but would lose in a stunning upset in the first round atTexas Stadium.CornerbackDeion Sanders suffered an injury to his toe in a regular season victory over Arizona and made a surprise return against them in the playoff loss.
Aikman was injured in a week two loss at Denver and missed the next five games. Future Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett started all games during Aikman's absence and went 3–2 as the starting quarterback.
Notable additions to the team that year includedefensive endGreg Ellis andoffensive tackleFlozell Adams. Ellis was drafted with the 8th pick in the first round. Many were stunned that the Cowboys didn't draftRandy Moss (most likely for his off-the-field issues).
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | TV | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | Arizona Cardinals | W 38–10 | 1–0 | Texas Stadium | Fox | 63,602 |
| 2 | September 13 | atDenver Broncos | L 23–42 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | Fox | 75,013 |
| 3 | September 21 | atNew York Giants | W 31–7 | 2–1 | Giants Stadium | ABC | 78,039 |
| 4 | September 27 | Oakland Raiders | L 12–13 | 2–2 | Texas Stadium | CBS | 63,544 |
| 5 | October 4 | atWashington Redskins | W 31–10 | 3–2 | Jack Kent Cooke Stadium | Fox | 72,284 |
| 6 | October 11 | Carolina Panthers | W 27–20 | 4–2 | Texas Stadium | Fox | 64,181 |
| 7 | October 18 | atChicago Bears | L 12–13 | 4–3 | Soldier Field | Fox | 59,201 |
| 8 | Bye | ||||||
| 9 | November 2 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 34–0 | 5–3 | Veterans Stadium | ABC | 67,002 |
| 10 | November 8 | New York Giants | W 16–6 | 6–3 | Texas Stadium | Fox | 64,316 |
| 11 | November 15 | atArizona Cardinals | W 35–28 | 7–3 | Sun Devil Stadium | Fox | 71,670 |
| 12 | November 22 | Seattle Seahawks | W 30–22 | 8–3 | Texas Stadium | CBS | 64,142 |
| 13 | November 26 | Minnesota Vikings | L 36–46 | 8–4 | Texas Stadium | Fox | 64,366 |
| 14 | December 6 | atNew Orleans Saints | L 3–22 | 8–5 | Louisiana Superdome | Fox | 65,065 |
| 15 | December 13 | atKansas City Chiefs | L 17–20 | 8–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | Fox | 77,697 |
| 16 | December 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 13–9 | 9–6 | Texas Stadium | Fox | 62,722 |
| 17 | December 27 | Washington Redskins | W 23–7 | 10–6 | Texas Stadium | ESPN | 63,565 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text.
| NFC East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3)Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 381 | 275 | W2 |
| (6)Arizona Cardinals | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 325 | 378 | W3 |
| New York Giants | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 287 | 309 | W4 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 319 | 421 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 161 | 344 | L3 |
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | January 2, 1999 | Arizona Cardinals (6) | L 20–7 | 0–1 | Texas Stadium | ABC |
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