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The 1975 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's sixteenth season in the National Football League (NFL), all under head coach Tom Landry. The Cowboys finished second in the National Football Conference (NFC) East division with a 10–4 regular season record and advanced through the playoffs to Super Bowl X, where they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers 21–17. They were also the first wild card team to reach the Super Bowl.
| 1975 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
| General manager | Tex Schramm |
| Head coach | Tom Landry |
| Home field | Texas Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 17–14 Won NFC Championship (at Rams) 37–7 Lost Super Bowl X (vs. Steelers) 17–21 |
For the first time in a decade, the Cowboys did not play on Thanksgiving, replaced by the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cowboys were coming off a disappointing 1974 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 like Bob Lilly, Bob Hayes, Cornell Green, Walt Garrison, Dave Manders, John Niland, and Calvin 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 nine draft choices and the average number was keeping six. Their 1975 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 include linebacker Mike Hegman, who was drafted that year but did not enter the NFL until 1976. Neither was included rookie undrafted free agent quarterback Jim Zorn who made the team, but was later cut to make room for running back Preston Pearson, who had been waived by the Pittsburgh 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 one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Percy Howard | Wide Receiver | Austin Peay State |
| Jim Zorn | Quarterback | Cal Poly Pomona |
Schedule
| 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 | at Detroit Lions | W 36–10 | 3–0 | Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium | 79,384 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | at New 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 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–17 | 5–1 | Veterans Stadium | 64,889 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | at Washington 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 | at New 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 | at St. 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 | at New York Jets | W 31–21 | 10–4 | Shea Stadium | 37,279 | Recap |
- Division opponents are in bold text
Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 28, 1975 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 17–14 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,425 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | January 4, 1976 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 37–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 84,483 | Recap |
| Super Bowl | January 18, 1976 | vs Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–21 | Orange Bowl | 80,187 | Recap |
Standings
| 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 |
Week 1
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week One: Los Angeles Rams (0-0) at Dallas Cowboys (0-0)
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: September 21
- Game time: 3:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h), relative humidity 54%
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 2
| 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
|
Week Two: St. Louis Cardinals (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: September 28
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h), relative humidity 53%
- Referee: Bernie Ulman
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
NFC Divisional Playoff
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Game information |
|---|
| First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
Dallas Cowboys 17, Minnesota Vikings 14
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
- Date: December 28
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 25 °F (−4 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h), wind chill 17 °F (−8 °C), relative humidity 76%
- Referee: Chuck Heberling
- TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender, Johnny Unitas
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
The "Hail Mary" Game
NFC Championship Game
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 37 |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
Dallas Cowboys 37, Los Angeles Rams 7
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
- Date: January 4
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h), relative humidity 58%
- Referee: Tommy Bell
- TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully, Sonny Jurgensen
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Quarterback Roger Staubach threw for 220 yards and 4 touchdown passes while also rushing for 54 yards as the Cowboys upset the favored Rams.
Super Bowl X
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys (NFC) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Steelers (AFC) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
Super Bowl X
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- Date: January 18, 1976
- Game attendance: 80,187
- Referee: Norm Schachter
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier and Hank Stram
Scoring summary
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 reach Super Bowl X that season, and would play a key role in the Cowboys being given the name "America's Team".
The NFL didn't start recognizing quarterback sacks as an official stat until 1982; 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 trend Tom Landry revived the Shotgun formation which he called "the spread", providing the NFL 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 4–10 Green Bay Packers and 5–9 Kansas 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 a wild-card team and beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-14 during the first round, in the now famous “Hail Mary” game. They then defeated the heavily favored Los Angeles Rams 37–7 on the road, winning the NFC Championship Game and becoming the first non-division winner to advance to the Super Bowl in league history. The storybook season ended in Super Bowl X after losing 21–17 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2
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