1977 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season

The Cowboys and Broncos in Super Bowl XII

The 1977 Dallas Cowboys season was their 18th in the National Football League (NFL). The club appeared twice on Monday Night Football. Rookie running back 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. Dallas scored 345 points, which ranked first in the NFC, while its defense only gave up 212 points. Dallas finished with a 12–2 record (tied with 1968 for the best record in the Landry era). The Cowboys made it to their fourth Super Bowl and beat the Denver Broncos to capture their second Super Bowl title. They were the first team from the NFC East Division to win two Super Bowls. Their 15–2 (.882) record (including the postseason) remains the highest single-season winning percentage in franchise history.

As in 1975, the Cowboys did not play this season on Thanksgiving, again replaced by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The 1977 Cowboys ranked #17 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.[1][2]

Offseason

To improve their running game, the Cowboys orchestrated a big trade with the Seattle Seahawks, moving up in the NFL draft to acquire running back Tony Dorsett, the Heisman Trophy winner from national champion Pittsburgh.[3]

With the retirement of Lee Roy Jordan, Bob Breunig became the starting middle linebacker, Randy White was moved to defensive tackle, and Thomas Henderson became a starter at strongside linebacker, turning the defense into a dominant unit.

Draft

1977 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 2 Tony Dorsett * †  RB Pittsburgh Pick from SEA
2 54 Glenn Carano  QB UNLV
3 62 Tony Hill *  WR Stanford
3 81 Val Belcher  OG Houston
4 108 Guy Brown  LB Houston
5 137 Andy Frederick  OT New Mexico
6 164 Jim Cooper  OT Temple
7 191 Dave Stalls  DE Northern Colorado
8 208 Al Cleveland  DE Pacific
8 221 Fred Williams  RB Arizona State
9 248 Mark Cantrell  C North Carolina
10 275 Steve DeBerg  QB San Jose State
11 305 Don Wardlow  TE Washington
12 332 Greg Peters  OL California
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[4]

Undrafted free agents

1977 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Thomas Bailey Running back Tulsa
Artie Belvin Defensive back UTEP
Larry Brinson Running back Florida
Jeff Butts Tight end Oregon
Bruce Huther Linebacker New Hampshire
Richard Jacobson Defensive Line Hamline
Lucien Johnson Linebacker UTEP
Abel Joe Running back Cheyney State
Dave Meteer Offensive line BYU
Keith Ponder Defensive back Northern Michigan
Fred Rayhle Tight end Chattanooga

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 August 6 San Diego Chargers W 34–14 1–0 Texas Stadium 59,504 Recap
2 August 13 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–23 (OT) 1–1 Kingdome 58,789 Recap
3 August 20 Miami Dolphins L 14–20 1–2 Texas Stadium 58,620 Recap
4 August 27 Baltimore Colts W 23–21 2–2 Texas Stadium 54,835 Recap
5 September 3 at Houston Oilers L 14–23 2–3 Astrodome 49,777 Recap
6 September 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–0 3–3 Texas Stadium 49,824 Recap

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 including an 84-yard touchdown run which was the longest during the 1977 NFL season.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 September 18 at Minnesota Vikings W 16–10 (OT) 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,678 Recap
2 September 25 New York Giants W 41–21 2–0 Texas Stadium 64,215 Recap
3 October 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–7 3–0 Texas Stadium 55,316 Recap
4 October 9 at St. Louis Cardinals W 30–24 4–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,129 Recap
5 October 16 Washington Redskins W 34–16 5–0 Texas Stadium 62,115 Recap
6 October 23 at Philadelphia Eagles W 16–10 6–0 Veterans Stadium 65,507 Recap
7 October 30 Detroit Lions W 37–0 7–0 Texas Stadium 63,160 Recap
8 November 6 at New York Giants W 24–10 8–0 Giants Stadium 74,532 Recap
9 November 14 St. Louis Cardinals L 17–24 8–1 Texas Stadium 64,038 Recap
10 November 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–28 8–2 Three Rivers Stadium 49,761 Recap
11 November 27 at Washington Redskins W 14–7 9–2 RFK Stadium 55,031 Recap
12 December 4 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–14 10–2 Texas Stadium 60,289 Recap
13 December 12 at San Francisco 49ers W 42–35 11–2 Candlestick Park 55,851 Recap
14 December 18 Denver Broncos W 14–6 12–2 Texas Stadium 63,752 Recap
Division opponents are in bold text

Standings

NFC East
  • view
  • talk
  • edit
 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

Dallas Cowboys 1977 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
45 active, 4 inactive

Game summaries

Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings

Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Cowboys 0 3 07616
Vikings 7 0 03010

at Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: Sunday, September 18, 1977
  • Game time: 1:00
  • Game weather: 68°, wind 12 mph
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • MIN – Chuck Foreman 18-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick)

Second quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 40-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Preston Pearson 7-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • MIN – Fred Cox 35-yard field goal

Overtime

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 4-yard run (no PAT attempt)

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 18/30, 196 yds, TD, lng 23, rate 90.4
  • MIN – Fran Tarkenton 13/32, 182 yds, TD, 3 INT, lng 25, rate 31.0

Rushing

  • DAL – Preston Pearson 15 att, 63 yds, lng 22
  • MIN – Chuck Foreman 22 att, 66 yds, lng 9

Receiving

  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 4 rec, 57 yds, lng 23
  • MIN – Chuck Foreman 5 rec, 56 yds, TD, lng 20

Defense

  • DAL - Cliff Harris 2 INT
  • DAL - Thomas Henderson 1 INT

Kick returns

  • DAL - Butch Johnson 2 rt, 69 yds, 34.5 y/rt
  • DAL - Larry Brinson 1 rt, 15 yds, 15.0 y/rt
  • MIN - Brent McClanahan 2 rt, 40 yds, 20.0 y/rt
  • MIN - Robert Miller 1 rt, 12 yds, 12.0 y/rt

Punt returns

  • DAL - Butch Johnson 4 rt, 28 yds, 7.0 y/rt
  • MIN - Bob Grim 3 rt, 10 yds, 3.3 y/rt

Kicking

  • DAL - Efrén Herrera 1 XPM, 1 XPA, 1 FGM, 2 FGA
  • MIN - Fred Cox 1 XPM, 1 XPA, 1 FGM, 2 FGA

Punting

  • DAL - Danny White 9 pnts, 352 yds, 39.1 y/pnt
  • MIN - Neil Clabo 5 pnts, 177 yds, 35.4 y/pnt

Week 2: vs. New York Giants

Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 7 14021
Cowboys 14 17 3741

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: Sunday, September 25, 1977
  • Game time: 1:00
  • Game weather: 88°, wind 16 mph
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 2-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Preston Pearson 10-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Second quarter

  • DAL – Doug Dennison 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 11-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • NYG – Willie Spencer 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 37-yard field goal

Third quarter

  • NYG – Bobby Hammond 68-yard punt return (Joe Danelo kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 41-yard field goal
  • NYG – Doug Kotar 3-yard run (Joe Danelo kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 34-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

  • NYG – Johnny Perkins 1 rec, 54 yds, lng 14
  • DAL – Drew Pearson 6 rec, 97 yds, lng 13

Defense

Kick returns

Punt returns

Kicking

Punting

  • DAL - Danny White 6 pnts, 259 yds, 43.2 y/pnt
  • NYG - Dave Jennings 8 pnts, 331 yds, 41.4 y/pnt

Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 7 007
Cowboys 17 3 3023

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

  • TB – Richard Wood 37-yard fumble return (Allan Leavitt kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 19-yard field goal

Third quarter

Passing

  • TB – Gary Huff 8/23, 107 yards, 2 INT, lng 30, rate 14.2
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 15/24, 212 yards, INT, lng 24, rate 73.6

Rushing

  • TB – Anthony Davis 15 att, 30 yards, lng 9
  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 16 att, 73 yards, TD, lng 17

Receiving

Defense

  • TB - Richard Wood 1 INT, 29 yards, lng 29
  • DAL - Thomas Henderson 2 INT, 79 yards, TD

Kick returns

  • TB - Isaac Hagins 5 rt, 118 yards, 23.6 y/rt
  • TB - Anthony Davis 1 rt, 19 yards, 19.0 y/rt
  • DAL - Butch Johnson 2 rt, 39 yards, 19.5 y/rt

Punt returns

Kicking

Punting

  • TB - Dave Green 10 pnts, 415 yds, 41.5 y/pnt
  • DAL - Danny White 5 pnts, 216 yds, 43.2 y/pnt

Week 4: at St. Louis Cardinals

Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 3 10 31430
Cardinals 10 7 7024

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

  • Date: Sunday, October 9, 1977
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 49 F, wind 13 mph
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Alex Hawkins
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • STL – Jim Bakken 32-yard field goal
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 29-yard field goal
  • STL – Terry Metcalf 62-yard run (Jim Bakken kick)

Second quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 77-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • STL – Mel Gray 60-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 40-yard field goal

Third quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 44-yard field goal
  • STL – Charles Davis 35-yard fumble return (Jim Bakken kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Golden Richards 17-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 18/29, 153 yards, TD, lng 17, rate 87.3
  • STL – Jim Hart 9/32, 186 yards, TD, 2 INT, lng 60, rate 35.7
  • STL - Terry Metcalf 1/2, 9 yards, lng 9, rate 62.5

Rushing

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 14 att, 141 yards, 2 TD, lng 77
  • STL – Terry Metcalf 10 att, 79 yards, TD, lng 32

Receiving

  • DAL – Drew Pearson 6 rec, 55 yards, lng 12
  • STL – Mel Gray 3 rec, 84 yards, TD, lng 60

Defense

  • DAL - Cliff Harris INT, 7 yards, lng 7
  • DAL - Charlie Waters INT, 3 yards, lng 3

Week 5: vs. Washington Redskins

Period 1 2 34Total
Redskins 6 7 3016
Cowboys 0 14 61434

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: Sunday, October 16
  • Game time: 3:00 pm
  • Game weather: 56 F, wind 8 mph
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • WSH – Mark Moseley 25-yard field goal
  • WSH – Mark Moseley 40-yard field goal

Second quarter

  • DAL – Golden Richards 50-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 7-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • WSH – Clarence Harmon 1-yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick)

Third quarter

  • WSH – Mark Moseley 53-yard field goal
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 44-yard field goal
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 52-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Drew Pearson 59-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 6-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • WSH – Billy Kilmer 4/15, 45 yards, INT
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 15/28, 250 yards, 2 TD

Rushing

  • WSH – Mike Thomas 15 att, 46 yards
  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 17 att, 71 yards, 2 TD

Receiving

  • WSH – Charley Taylor 2 rec, 32 yards
  • DAL – Drew Pearson 6 rec, 157 yards, TD

Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles

Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 6 01016
Eagles 0 7 0310

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

Game information

Second quarter

  • PHI – Charlie Smith 12-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Horst Muhlmann kick)
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 5-yard run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Charlie Waters 17-yard punt return (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 18-yard field goal
  • PHI – Horst Muhlmann 32-yard field goal

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 15/26, 172 yards
  • PHI – Ron Jaworski 10/23, 104 yards, TD, 2 INT

Rushing

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 13 att, 48 yards, TD
  • PHI – Tom Sullivan 13 att, 61 yards

Receiving

  • DAL – Drew Pearson 4 rec, 54 yards
  • PHI – Keith Krepfle 3 rec, 40 yards

Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions

Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 0 000
Cowboys 3 20 7737

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 21-yard field goal

Second quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 45-yard field goal
  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 14-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Scott Laidlaw 18-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 30-yard field goal

Third quarter

  • DAL – Jay Saldi 1-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Larry Brinson 20-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • DET – Joe Reed 6/16, 75 yards, INT
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 16/25, 179 yards, 3 TD

Rushing

  • DET – Horace King 8 att, 26 yards
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 13 att, 48 yards

Receiving

  • DET – Rick Kane 2 rec, 30 yards
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 5 rec, 48 yards

Week 8: at New York Giants

Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 7 7324
Giants 0 3 7010

at The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Jay Saldi 8-yard fumble return (Efrén Herrera kick)

Second quarter

  • NYG – Joe Danelo 51-yard field goal
  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 5-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Third quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • NYG – Bobby Hammond 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 35-yard field goal

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 14/25, 190 yards, TD
  • NYG – Joe Pisarcik 6/17, 61 yards, INT

Rushing

  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 11 att, 41 yards
  • NYG – Larry Csonka 15 att, 47 yards

Receiving

  • DAL – Drew Pearson 3 rec, 89 yards
  • NYG – Johnny Perkins 4 rec, 34 yards

Week 9: vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Period 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 3 0 71424
Cowboys 0 14 0317

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

First quarter

  • STL – Jim Bakken 26-yard field goal

Second quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 2-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Third quarter

  • STL – Wayne Morris 1-yard run (Jim Bakken kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 21-yard field goal
  • STL – Mel Gray 49-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick)
  • STL – Jackie Smith 3-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick)

Passing

  • STL – Jim Hart 10/24, 141 yards, 2 TD, INT
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 11/20, 102 yards, TD, 2 INT

Rushing

  • STL – Wayne Morris 21 att, 72 yards, TD
  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 12 att, 61 yards

Receiving

  • STL – Mel Gray 3 rec, 76 yards, TD
  • DAL – Drew Pearson 4 rec, 45 yards

Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 6 7 0013
Steelers 0 14 14028

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh

  • Date: Sunday, November 20
  • Game time: 4:00 pm
  • Game weather: 48 F, wind 9 mph
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 13-yard run (kick failed)

Second quarter

  • PIT – Franco Harris 61-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)
  • DAL – Jay Saldi 23-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • PIT – Lynn Swann 9-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)

Third quarter

  • PIT – John Stallworth 28-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
  • PIT – Franco Harris 2-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 18/26, 230 yards, TD, 2 INT
  • PIT – Terry Bradshaw 7/12, 106 yards, 2 TD

Rushing

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 17 att, 73 yards, TD
  • PIT – Franco Harris 29 att, 179 yards, 2 TD

Receiving

  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 3 rec, 45 yards
  • PIT – John Stallworth 4 rec, 46 yards, TD

Week 11: at Washington Redskins

Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 0 7714
Redskins 0 7 007

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

  • Date: Sunday, November 27
  • Game time: 4:00 pm
  • Game weather: 31 F, wind 16 mph
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
  • Box Score
Game information

Second quarter

  • WSH – Joe Theismann 1-yard run (Mark Moseley kick)

Third quarter

  • DAL – Golden Richards 4-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 10/24, 138 yards, TD, INT
  • WSH – Joe Theismann 17/35, 231 yards, INT

Rushing

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 19 att, 64 yards, TD
  • WSH – Calvin Hill 4 att, 44 yards

Receiving

  • DAL – Drew Pearson 2 rec, 79 yards
  • WSH – Frank Grant 6 rec, 89 yards

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Period 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 7 7014
Cowboys 7 7 3724

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: Sunday, December 4
  • Game time: 1:00 pm
  • Game weather: 59 F, wind 12 mph
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and Alex Hawkins
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Second quarter

  • PHI – Mike Hogan 51-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
  • DAL – Drew Pearson 16-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Third quarter

  • PHI – Harold Carmichael 12-yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Nick Mike-Mayer kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 24-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 84-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • PHI – Ron Jaworski 18/32, 199 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 13/26, 183 yards, TD, 2 INT

Rushing

  • PHI – Mike Hogan 6 att, 25 yards
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 23 att, 206 yards, 2 TD

Receiving

  • PHI – Mike Hogan 3 rec, 59 yards, TD
  • DAL – Preston Pearson 3 rec, 70 yards

Week 13: at San Francisco 49ers

Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 21 71442
49ers 7 7 71435

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

Game information

First quarter

  • SF – Bob Ferrell 1-yard run (Ray Wersching kick)

Second quarter

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 1-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Preston Pearson 36-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • SF – Kenny Harrison 10-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick)
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 20-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Third quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 21-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • SF – Gene Washington 27-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Butch Johnson 22-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • SF – Devlin Williams 1-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick)
  • DAL – Preston Pearson 3-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • SF – Paul Seal 47-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick)

Passing

  • DAL -Roger Staubach 14/19, 220 yards, 3 TD
  • SF – Jim Plunkett 15/29, 263 yards, 4 TD

Rushing

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 20 att, 92 yards, TD
  • SF – Delvin Williams 17 att, 44 yards

Receiving

  • DAL – Drew Pearson 4 rec, 61 yards
  • SF – Gene Washington 5 rec, 130 yards, TD

Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos

Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 0 336
Cowboys 7 0 7014

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Preston Pearson 22-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)

Third quarter

  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 7-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DEN – Jim Turner 22-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

  • DEN – Jim Turner 37-yard field goal

Passing

  • DEN – Norris Weese 10/19, 94 yards
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 15/20, 160 yards, 2 TD, INT

Rushing

  • DEN – Norris Weese 6 att, 33 yards
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 17 att, 50 yards

Receiving

  • DEN – Jack Dolbin 5 rec, 85 yards
  • DAL – Preston Pearson 6 rec, 48 yards, TD

Postseason

Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap
Divisional December 26, 1977 Chicago Bears (4) W 37–7 Texas Stadium 63,260 Recap
NFC Championship January 1, 1978 Minnesota Vikings (3) W 23–6 Texas Stadium 64,293 Recap
Super Bowl XII January 15, 1978 vs Denver Broncos (A 1) W 27–10 Louisiana Superdome 75,583 Recap

NFC Divisional Playoff

Dallas Cowboys 37, Chicago Bears 7
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 0 077
Cowboys 7 10 17337

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Doug Dennison 2-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Second quarter

  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 28-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 21-yard field goal

Third quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 23-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 31-yard field goal
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 7-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 27-yard field goal
  • CHI – Steve Schubert 34-yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)

Passing

  • CHI – Bob Avellini 15/25, 177 yds, TD, 4 INT
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 8/13, 134 yds, TD, INT

Rushing

  • CHI – Walter Payton 19 att, 60 yds
  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 17 att, 85 yds, 2 TD

Receiving

  • CHI – Steve Schubert 5 rec, 69 yds, TD
  • DAL – Drew Pearson 2 rec, 38 yds

NFC Championship Game

Dallas Cowboys 23, Minnesota Vikings 6
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 6 006
Cowboys 6 10 0723

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: January 1, 1978
  • Game time: 4:30 p.m. CST
  • 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

First quarter

  • DAL – Golden Richards 32-yard pass from Roger Staubach (kick failed)

Second quarter

  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 5-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • MIN – Fred Cox 32-yard field goal
  • MIN – Fred Cox 37-yard field goal
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 21-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 11-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • MIN – Bob Lee 14/31, 158 yds, INT
  • DAL – Roger Staubach 12/23, 165 yds, TD, INT

Rushing

  • MIN – Chuck Foreman 21 att, 59 yds
  • DAL – Robert Newhouse 15 att, 81 yds, TD

Receiving

  • MIN – Sammy White 3 rec, 46 yds
  • DAL – Drew Pearson 4 rec, 62 yds

Super Bowl XII

Dallas Cowboys 27, Denver Broncos 10
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys (NFC) 10 3 7727
Broncos (AFC) 0 0 10010

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans

Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 3-yard run (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 35-yard field goal

Second quarter

  • DAL – Efrén Herrera 43-yard field goal

Third quarter

  • DEN – Jim Turner 47-yard field goal
  • DAL – Butch Johnson 45-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Efrén Herrera kick)
  • DEN – Rob Lytle 1-yard run (Jim Turner kick)

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Golden Richards 29-yard pass from Robert Newhouse (Efrén Herrera kick)

Passing

  • DAL – Roger Staubach 17/25, 183 yds, TD
  • DEN – Craig Morton 4/15, 39 yds, 4 INT

Rushing

  • DAL – Tony Dorsett 15 att, 66 yds, TD
  • DEN – Rob Lytle 10 att, 35 yds, TD

Receiving

  • DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 4 rec, 66 yds
  • DEN – Jack Dolbin 2 rec, 24 yds

Season recap

With an improved offense and defense, the Cowboys finished with a 12–2 regular season record, breezing through the playoffs by beating the Chicago Bears 37–7 in the divisional round, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 23–6 in the NFC Championship Game and winning Super Bowl XII 27–10 against the Denver Broncos.

Dorsett set a franchise rookie record with 1,007 rushing yards. Defensive end Harvey Martin had one of the greatest seasons ever by an NFL player. In a 14-game season he totaled 85 tackles and an estimated league-leading 23 sacks[5] (more than Michael Strahan's 22.5 record in 16 games), he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus All-Pro selection, was a key player in the Cowboys winning Super Bowl XII, and a co-MVP of the game with Randy White.

Awards and records

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. ^ "NFL Top 100 Teams". Pro Football Reference.
  2. ^ "100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100-1 SUPERCUT". NFL.com.
  3. ^ "Tony Dorsett had all the right moves and a brilliant NFL career". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  4. ^ "1977 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  5. ^ DeLuca, Sam (1981). The Football Handbook. Jonathan David Publishers. p. 143. ISBN 0824602749. Defensive tackle Harvey Martin of the Cowboys had 23 sacks in 1977 -as many as the entire San Diego team had in 1976

External links

  • 1977 Dallas Cowboys
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • Dallas Cowboys Official Site
  • v
  • t
  • e
  • v
  • t
  • e
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl XII champions
  • v
  • t
  • e
Dallas Cowboys
  • Founded in 1960
  • Based in Arlington, Texas
  • Headquartered in Frisco, Texas
Franchise
Stadiums
Culture
Lore
Rivalries
Division championships (25)
Conference championships (10)
League championships (5)
Media
Current league affiliations