The Cowboys had to overcome many obstacles during the regular season. Fullback Calvin Hill, the team's second leading rusher with 577 yards and 4 touchdowns, was lost for the year after suffering a leg injury late in the regular season. And wide receiver Bob Hayes was benched by head coach Tom Landry for poor performances on several occasions.
Most significantly, the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy between Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. Morton and Staubach alternated as the starting quarterback during the regular season, but Landry eventually chose Morton to start Super Bowl V because he felt less confident that Staubach would follow his game plan (Landry called all of Morton's plays in Super Bowl V).[1] Also, Morton had done extremely well in the regular season, throwing for 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns, with seven interceptions, earning him a passer rating of 89.8. In contrast, Staubach, although a noted scrambler and able to salvage broken plays effectively, threw for 542 yards, and only two touchdowns with eight interceptions, giving him a 42.9 rating.
Hayes was the main deep threat on the team, catching 34 passes for 889 yards (a 26.1 yards per catch average) and 10 touchdowns, while also rushing 4 times for 34 yards and another touchdown, and adding another 116 yards returning punts. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Lance Rentzel recorded 28 receptions for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns.
However, the main strength on the Cowboys offense was their running game. Rookie running back Duane Thomas rushed 151 times for 803 yards (a 5.1 yards per carry average) and 5 touchdowns, while adding another 416 yards returning kickoffs. Fullback Walt Garrison, who replaced the injured Hill, provided Thomas with excellent blocking and rushed for 507 yards and 3 touchdowns himself. Garrison was also a good receiver out of the backfield, catching 21 passes for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Up front, Pro Bowl guard John Niland and future Hall of Famer tackle Rayfield Wright anchored the offensive line.
The Cowboys had their lowest regular season (6–2 vs. Cleveland Browns) and playoff (5–0 vs. Detroit Lions) scoring games in franchise history. The playoff victory over Detroit on December 26 remains the lowest scoring postseason game in NFL history. Through the 2022 season, the Cowboys-Browns game is one of only two 6-2 games in league history; the other was a Packers-Bears game in 1931, and the Cowboys-Lions playoff is one of three 5-0 games, along with a 1927 game between the Providence Steam Roller and Buffalo Bisons, and a Bills-Bengals game in 1978.
For the first time, the Cowboys defeated the Green Bay Packers; this year's game was on Thanksgiving on the new artificial turf of the Cotton Bowl.[2] Green Bay had won the first six contests, four in the regular season (1960, 1964, 1965, 1968) and two in NFL championship games (1966, 1967). The Packers won the next meeting in Green Bay in 1972.[3]
Schedule
More information Week, Date ...
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
Game Site |
Attendance |
Recap |
1 |
September 20 |
at Philadelphia Eagles |
W 17–7 |
1–0 |
Franklin Field |
59,728 |
Recap |
2 |
September 27 |
New York Giants |
W 28–10 |
2–0 |
Cotton Bowl |
57,236 |
Recap |
3 |
October 4 |
at St. Louis Cardinals |
L 7–20 |
2–1 |
Busch Memorial Stadium |
50,780 |
Recap |
4 |
October 11 |
Atlanta Falcons |
W 13–0 |
3–1 |
Cotton Bowl |
53,611 |
Recap |
5 |
October 18 |
at Minnesota Vikings |
L 13–54 |
3–2 |
Metropolitan Stadium |
47,900 |
Recap |
6 |
October 25 |
at Kansas City Chiefs |
W 27–16 |
4–2 |
Municipal Stadium |
51,158 |
Recap |
7 |
November 1 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
W 21–17 |
5–2 |
Cotton Bowl |
55,736 |
Recap |
8 |
November 8 |
at New York Giants |
L 20–23 |
5–3 |
Yankee Stadium |
62,938 |
Recap |
9 |
|
St. Louis Cardinals |
L 0–38 |
5–4 |
Cotton Bowl |
69,323 |
Recap |
10 |
November 22 |
at Washington Redskins |
W 45–21 |
6–4 |
RFK Stadium |
50,415 |
Recap |
11 |
November 26 |
Green Bay Packers |
W 16–3 |
7–4 |
Cotton Bowl |
67,182 |
Recap |
12 |
December 6 |
Washington Redskins |
W 34–0 |
8–4 |
Cotton Bowl |
57,936 |
Recap |
13 |
|
at Cleveland Browns |
W 6–2 |
9–4 |
Cleveland Stadium |
75,458 |
Recap |
14 |
December 20 |
Houston Oilers |
W 52–10 |
10–4 |
Cotton Bowl |
50,504 |
Recap |
Close
- Division opponents are in bold text
Game summaries
Week 1 at Eagles
More information Period, Total ...
Close
More information Team, Category ...
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
Cowboys |
Passing | Roger Staubach | 11/15, 115 yards, TD, INT |
Rushing | Calvin Hill | 25 rushes, 117 yards |
Receiving | Lance Rentzel | 6 receptions, 100 yards, TD |
Eagles |
Passing | Norm Snead | 10/23, 138 yards, TD, 3 INT |
Rushing | Tom Woodeshick | 15 rushes, 55 yards |
Receiving | Ben Hawkins | 4 receptions, 57 yards, TD |
Close
More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
Close
Week 2
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Giants |
3 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
10 |
• Cowboys |
0 |
0 | 14 | 14 |
28 |
- Date: September 27
- Location: Cotton Bowl
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Game attendance: 57,236
- Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
- Referee: Tommy Bell
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | | NYG | Gogolak 20 yard field goal | NYG 3–0 |
| Q2 | | NYG | Johnson 1 yard run (Gogolak kick) | NYG 10–0 |
| Q3 | | DAL | Hill 3 yard run (Clark kick) | NYG 10–7 |
| Q3 | | DAL | Garrison 18 yard run (Clark kick) | DAL 14–10 |
| Q4 | | DAL | Hayes 58 yard pass from Rentzel (Clark kick) | DAL 21–10 |
| Q4 | | DAL | Hayes 24 yard pass from Staubach (Clark kick) | DAL 28–10 |
|
Close
Week 3
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Cowboys |
0 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
7 |
• Cardinals |
3 |
3 | 7 | 7 |
20 |
|
Close
Week 4
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Falcons |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
• Cowboys |
0 |
3 | 3 | 7 |
13 |
|
Close
Week 5
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Cowboys |
3 |
3 | 0 | 7 |
13 |
• Vikings |
14 |
20 | 17 | 3 |
54 |
|
Close
Week 6
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Cowboys |
3 |
10 | 14 | 0 |
27 |
Chiefs |
7 |
3 | 0 | 6 |
16 |
|
Close
Week 7
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Eagles |
0 |
0 | 10 | 7 |
17 |
• Cowboys |
0 |
14 | 7 | 0 |
21 |
- Date: November 1
- Location: Cotton Bowl
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Referee: Ben Dreith
- Television network: CBS
|
Close
Week 8
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Cowboys |
10 |
7 | 3 | 0 |
20 |
• Giants |
3 |
6 | 7 | 7 |
23 |
|
Close
Week 9
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Cardinals |
7 |
10 | 0 | 21 |
38 |
Cowboys |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
|
Close
Week 10
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Cowboys |
3 |
21 | 14 | 7 |
45 |
Redskins |
7 |
0 | 14 | 0 |
21 |
|
Close
Week 11
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Packers |
3 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
3 |
• Cowboys |
0 |
3 | 0 | 13 |
16 |
|
Close
Thanksgiving Day
Week 12
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Redskins |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
• Cowboys |
0 |
7 | 14 | 13 |
34 |
- Date: December 6
- Location: Cotton Bowl
- Game start: 3:00 p.m. CST
- Referee: Jack Reader
|
Close
Week 13
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Cowboys |
0 |
0 | 3 | 3 |
6 |
Browns |
2 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
2 |
|
Close
Week 14
More information Total ...
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Oilers |
3 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
10 |
• Cowboys |
17 |
7 | 14 | 14 |
52 |
- Date: December 20
- Location: Cotton Bowl
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
|
Close