1968 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1968 Dallas Cowboys season was their ninth in the National Football League (NFL) and won the Capitol division by five games with a 12–2 record (tied with 1977 for the best record in the Landry era). In the first round of the playoffs, Dallas met the Cleveland Browns (10–4) in the Eastern Conference title game, held at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. In this era, the host sites were rotated, home field advantage was not adopted for the playoffs until 1975. Dallas had won the regular season game 28–7 in September, and had routed the Browns 52–14 in the previous year's playoffs, but both were played at the Cotton Bowl.

1968 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Clint Murchison, Jr.
General manager	Tex Schramm
Head coach	Tom Landry
Home field	Cotton Bowl
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st NFL Capitol
Playoff finish	Lost Eastern Conference Championship Game (at Browns) 20–31 Won NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Vikings) 17–13
← 1967 Cowboys seasons 1969 →

The Browns upset the favored Cowboys 31–20,^[1][2][3] sending Dallas to the third place Playoff Bowl at the Orange Bowl in Miami,^[4] where they rallied to defeat the Minnesota 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]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1968 NFL draft

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 one Pro Bowl during career

Schedule

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	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 45–13	3–0	Franklin Field	60,858	Recap
4	October 6	at St. 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	at Minnesota 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	at New 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	at Washington Redskins	W 44–24	8–2	D.C. Stadium	50,816	Recap
11	November 24	at Chicago 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	at New York Giants	W 28–10	12–2	Yankee Stadium	62,617	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 7 7 14 17 45 Eagles 3 10 0 0 13 Date: September 29 Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game attendance: 60,858 Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 12 mph

Scoring summary Q1 PHI Sam Baker 23 yard field goal PHI 3–0 Q1 DAL Dan Reeves 2 yard pass from Don 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 from King 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

^[8]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 0 7 14 7 28 Giants 3 0 0 7 10 Date: December 15 Location: Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), wind 20 mph

Scoring summary 1 NYG Pete Gogolak 12 yard field goal Giants 3–0 2 DAL Bob Hayes 13 yard pass from Craig 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 from Fran Tarkenton (Pete Gogolak kick) Cowboys 28–10

^[9]

Playoffs

Main article: 1968 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game Site	Attendance	Recap
Eastern Conference	December 21, 1968	at Cleveland Browns	L 20–31	Cleveland Stadium	81,497	Recap
Playoff Bowl	January 5, 1969	vs Minnesota Vikings	W 17–13	Orange Bowl	22,961

Standings

NFL Capitol
view talk edit	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

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1968 roster
Quarterbacks 17 Don Meredith 14 Craig Morton 13 Jerry Rhome Running backs 46 Craig Baynham KR 32 Walt Garrison FB 43 Don Perkins FB 25 Les Shy Wide receivers 22 Bob Hayes PR 24 Dennis Homan 80 Dave McDaniels 88 Sonny Randle 19 Lance Rentzel Tight ends 35 Pete Gent WR 84 Pettis Norman		Offensive linemen 72 Tony Liscio T 51 Dave Manders C 73 Ralph Neely T 76 John Niland G 61 Blaine Nye G 57 Malcolm Walker C 65 John Wilbur G 67 Rayfield Wright T/TE Defensive linemen 66 George Andrie DE 63 Larry Cole DE 77 Ron East DT 74 Bob Lilly DT 75 Jethro Pugh DT 87 Andy Stynchula DE/DT		Linebackers 52 Dave Edwards OLB 54 Chuck Howley OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 53 Dave Simmons MLB Defensive backs 37 Phil Clark CB 21 Dick Daniels FS/SS 27 Mike Gaechter SS/CB 34 Cornell Green CB 23 Mike Johnson CB 20 Mel Renfro FS/CB Special teams 83 Mike Clark K 12 Ron Widby P		Reserve lists 60 Jackie Burkett OLB (IR) 62 Leon Donohue G (IR) 30 Dan Reeves RB (IR) 71 Willie Townes DE (IR) Taxi squad -- Ed Harmon LB -- Ken Kmiec DB Rookies in italics 42 active, 4 inactive, 2 Taxi squad

References

1. Bledsoe, Terry (December 22, 1968). "Browns' interceptions beat Dallas". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
2. Livingston, Pat (December 22, 1968). "Browns jolt Cowboys, 31-20". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 3.
3. Taylor, Jim (December 22, 1968). "Browns smash Dallas, earn shot at NFL title". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. D1.
4. 1968 Dallas Cowboys
5. "Vikings 13-0 lead withers before Dallas rush, 17-13". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. January 6, 1969. p. 11, part 2.
6. "Cowboys rally, capture Playoff Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 6, 1969. p. 26.
7. "Mind-blowing stats for week 4 of the 2013 season". National Football League. September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-15.
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com