1966 Dallas Cowboys season
| 1966 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Tom Landry |
| Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
| Home field | Cotton Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish |
Lost NFL Championship (Packers, 34–27) |
The 1966 Dallas Cowboys season was the seventh for the franchise in the National Football League. The Cowboys finished the regular season at 10–3–1, their first winning record as a franchise and first Eastern Conference title. They hosted the NFL Championship Game at the Cotton Bowl, but lost to the defending champion Green Bay Packers, who went on to win the first Super Bowl two weeks later.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11, 1966 | Bye | |||
| 2 | September 18, 1966 | New York Giants | W, 52–7 | 1–0–0 | |
| 3 | September 25, 1966 | Minnesota Vikings | W, 28–17 | 2–0–0 | |
| 4 | October 2, 1966 | at Atlanta Falcons | W, 47–14 | 3–0–0 | |
| 5 | October 9, 1966 | Philadelphia Eagles | W, 56–7 | 4–0–0 | |
| 6 | October 16, 1966 | at St. Louis Cardinals | T, 10–10 | 4–0–1 | |
| 7 | October 23, 1966 | at Cleveland Browns | L, 30–21 | 4–1–1 | |
| 8 | October 30, 1966 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W, 52–21 | 5–1–1 | |
| 9 | November 6, 1966 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L, 24–23 | 5–2–1 | |
| 10 | November 13, 1966 | at Washington Redskins | W, 31–30 | 6–2–1 | |
| 11 | November 20, 1966 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W, 20–7 | 7–2–1 | |
| 12 | November 24, 1966 | Cleveland Browns | W, 26–14 | 8–2–1 | |
| 13 | December 4, 1966 | St. Louis Cardinals | W, 31–17 | 9–2–1 | |
| 14 | December 11, 1966 | Washington Redskins | L, 34–31 | 9–3–1 | |
| 15 | December 18, 1966 | at New York Giants | W, 17–7 | 10–3–1 | |
- A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.
Standings
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–3–1 | 445 | 239 | W1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 8–5 | 326 | 340 | W4 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 9–4 | 403 | 259 | W1 | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 7–5–1 | 264 | 265 | L3 | |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 7–6 | 351 | 355 | L1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–8–1 | 316 | 347 | W2 | |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–5 | 204 | 437 | L1 | |
| New York Giants | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–11–1 | 263 | 501 | L8 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Season recap
With the growth in popularity of televised NFL games, the league began looking for a second team in addition to the Detroit Lions, to host an annual Thanksgiving Day game. Every team turned down the offer, except for the Dallas Cowboys. General Manager Tex Schramm recognized this as an opportunity for the franchise to increase its popularity and establish its own Thanksgiving Day game tradition.
In 1966, the Cowboys who had been founded six years earlier, adopted the practice of hosting Thanksgiving games. It is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one (since games on days other than Sunday were uncommon at the time and thus high attendance was not a certainty). Since then, the two "traditional" Thanksgiving Day pro football games have been in Detroit and Dallas.
Roster
| Dallas Cowboys 1966 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
|
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Special Teams
|
Reserve Lists
Rookies in italics | |||
Postseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | January 1, 1967 | Green Bay Packers | L 34–27 | Cotton Bowl | |