1977 Dallas Cowboys season
1977 Dallas Cowboys season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Tom Landry |
General manager | Tex Schramm |
Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
Home field | Texas Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 12–2 |
Division place | 1st in NFC East |
Playoff finish | Won Super Bowl XII (Broncos) |
![](../I/m/1986_Jeno's_Pizza_-_02_-_Butch_Johnson.jpg)
The 1977 Dallas Cowboys season was their 18th in the NFL. The club appeared twice on Monday Night Football. Tony Dorsett rushed for 1,007 yards and became the second member of the Cowboys (first since 1973) to have a 1,000-yard rushing season. During the season, the club scored 345 points, which ranked first in the NFC, while the defense only gave up 212 points. The Cowboys made it to their fourth Super Bowl and beat the Denver Broncos to capture their second Super Bowl Championship. They were the first team from the NFC East Division to win two Super Bowls. Their 15-2 record (.882, including the postseason) remains the highest single season winning percentage in team history.
NFL Draft
Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Dallas Cowboys (from Seattle) | Tony Dorsett | Running back | Pittsburgh |
54 | Dallas Cowboys | Glenn Carano | Quarterback | UNLV |
62 | Dallas Cowboys | Tony Hill | Wide receiver | Stanford |
108 | Dallas Cowboys | Guy Brown | Linebacker | Houston |
Regular season
- December 4, 1977 – Tony Dorsett becomes the first player in franchise history to rush for at least 200 yards in a game. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dorsett had 23 rushes for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Schedule
Week | Date | Result | Record | Opponent | Points For | Points Against | First Downs | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 18 | Win | 1–0 | at Minnesota Vikings | 16 | 10 | 16 | |
2 | September 25 | Win | 2–0 | New York Giants | 41 | 21 | 25 | |
3 | October 2 | Win | 3–0 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 23 | 7 | 23 | |
4 | October 9 | Win | 4–0 | at St. Louis Cardinals | 30 | 24 | 22 | |
5 | October 16 | Win | 5–0 | Washington Redskins | 34 | 16 | 23 | |
6 | October 23 | Win | 6–0 | at Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | 10 | 17 | |
7 | October 30 | Win | 7–0 | Detroit Lions | 37 | 0 | 20 | |
8 | November 6 | Win | 8–0 | at New York Giants | 24 | 10 | 13 | |
9 | November 14 | Loss | 8–1 | St. Louis Cardinals | 17 | 24 | 16 | |
10 | November 20 | Loss | 8–2 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | 28 | 20 | |
11 | November 27 | Win | 9–2 | at Washington Redskins | 14 | 7 | 19 | |
12 | December 4 | Win | 10–2 | Philadelphia Eagles | 24 | 14 | 19 | |
13 | December 12 | Win | 11–2 | at San Francisco 49ers | 42 | 35 | 24 | |
14 | December 18 | Win | 12–2 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 6 | 15 | |
Standings
NFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Dallas Cowboys(1) | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 7–1 | 11–1 | 345 | 212 | W4 |
Washington Redskins | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 196 | 189 | W3 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 272 | 287 | L4 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 220 | 207 | W2 |
New York Giants | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 3–5 | 5–7 | 181 | 265 | L2 |
Roster
Game Summaries
Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 16 |
Vikings | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date: Sunday, September 18, 1977
- Game time: 1:00
- Game weather: 68°, wind 12 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 2: vs. New York Giants
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
Cowboys | 14 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 41 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Sunday, September 25, 1977
- Game time: 1:00
- Game weather: 88°, wind 16 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Cowboys | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Sunday, October 2, 1977
- Game time: 12:00
- Game weather: 74 F, wind 15 mph
- Referee: Bernie Ulman
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 4: at St. Louis Cardinals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 3 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 30 |
Cardinals | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: Sunday, October 9, 1977
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 49 F, wind 13 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 5: vs. Washington Redskins
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redskins | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
Cowboys | 0 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 34 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Sunday, October 16
- Game time: 3:00 pm
- Game weather: 56 F, wind 8 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
Game information | ||
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Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cowboys | 3 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 37 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Sunday, October 30
- Game time: 1:00
- Game weather: 70 F, wind 11 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 8: at New York Giants
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
Giants | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
at The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Date: Sunday, November 6
- Game time: 1:00 pm
- Game weather: 54 F, wind 16 mph
- Referee: Gene Barth
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 9: vs. St. Louis Cardinals
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
Cowboys | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Monday, November 14
- Game time: 8:00 pm
- Game weather: 61 F, wind 12 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Steelers | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh
- Date: Sunday, November 20
- Game time: 4:00 pm
- Game weather: 48 F, wind 9 mph
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 11: at Washington Redskins
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Redskins | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: Sunday, November 27
- Game time: 4:00 pm
- Game weather: 31 F, wind 16 mph
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagles | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Sunday, December 4
- Game time: 1:00 pm
- Game weather: 59 F, wind 12 mph
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 13: at San Francisco 49ers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 0 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
49ers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco
- Date: Monday, December 12
- Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: 53 F, wind 6 mph
- Referee: Dick Jorgensen
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Broncos | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Cowboys | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: Sunday, December 18
- Game time: 3:00 pm
- Game weather: 52 F, wind 10 mph
- Referee: Jerry Markbreit
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Postseason
NFC Divisional Playoff
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Cowboys | 7 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 37 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: December 26, 1977
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C), mostly cloudy
- Game attendance: 63,260
- Referee: Gordon McCarter
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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NFC Championship Game
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vikings | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Cowboys | 6 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 23 |
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: January 1, 1978
- Game time: 5:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), cloudy
- Game attendance: 64,293
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Alex Hawkins
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Super Bowl XII
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys (NFC) | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
Broncos (AFC) | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
- Date: January 15, 1978
- Game attendance: 76,400
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
- Box Score
Game information | ||
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Awards and Records
- Tony Dorsett, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award
- Tony Dorsett, All-Pro Selection
- Efren Herrera, Five Field Goals Attempted in one Super Bowl game, Super Bowl record
- Harvey Martin, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
- Harvey Martin, NFL Defensive Player of the Year
- Harvey Martin, Led NFL, Sacks (23)
- Pearson, Led NFL Receiving Yards (870)
- Pearson, All-Pro Selection
- Pearson, Pro Bowl Selection
- Roger Staubach, All-Pro Selection
- Roger Staubach, Pro Bowl Selection
- Roger Staubach, Led NFC, Touchdown Passes (18)
- Roger Staubach, NFC Passing Leader
- Randy White, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
- Led NFC, Points Scored (345)
- Led NFC, Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed (1,651)
- Led NFL, Fewest Total Yards Allowed (3,213)
- Led NFL, Total Yards, (4,812)
Publications
- 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