1975 Dallas Cowboys season

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. They were also the first wild card team to reach the Super Bowl.

1975 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
General managerTex Schramm
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record10–4
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon 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.

Offseason

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.

NFL Draft
Main article: 1975 NFL draft
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

[1]

Undrafted free agents
1975 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Percy Howard Wide Receiver Austin Peay State
Jim Zorn Quarterback Cal Poly Pomona

Regular season

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
Main article: 1975–76 NFL 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

[2]

Game summaries

Week 1
Week One: Los Angeles Rams (0-0) at Dallas Cowboys (0-0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 0 077
Cowboys 0 9 3618

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%
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 2
Week Two: St. Louis Cardinals (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Cardinals 0 3 1414031
Cowboys 0 7 213637

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%
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information
First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

  • DAL - Drew Pearson 12-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 14-3
  • STL - Mel Gray 23-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) - Cowboys 14-10
  • DAL - Charley Young 1-yard run (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 21-10
  • STL - Earl Thomas 80-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) - Cowboys 21-17
  • DAL - Thomas Henderson 97-yard kickoff return (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 28-17

Fourth quarter

  • DAL - Toni Fritsch 40-yard field goal - Cowboys 31-17
  • STL - Jackie Smith 35-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) - Cowboys 31-24
  • STL - Mel Gray 37-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) - Tie 31-31

Overtime

NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas Cowboys 17, Minnesota Vikings 14
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 0 71017
Vikings 0 7 0714

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information
First quarter

Second quarter

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

  • DAL - Toni Fritsch 24-yard field goal - Cowboys 10-7
  • MIN - Brent McClanahan 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick) - Vikings 14-10
  • DAL - Drew Pearson 50-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 17-14

The "Hail Mary" Game

NFC Championship Game
Dallas Cowboys 37, Los Angeles Rams 7
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 14 13337
Rams 0 0 077

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

Game information
First quarter

Second quarter

  • DAL - Golden Richards 4-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 14-0
  • DAL - Preston Pearson 15-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 21-0

Third quarter

  • DAL - Preston Pearson 19-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick) - Cowboys 28-0
  • DAL - Toni Fritsch 40-yard field goal - Cowboys 31-0
  • DAL - Toni Fritsch 26-yard field goal - Cowboys 34-0

Fourth quarter

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
Super Bowl X
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys (NFC) 7 3 0717
Steelers (AFC) 7 0 01421

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1975 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
43 active, 2 inactive

Season recap

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.

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

References
  1. "1975 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296
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