1978 Dallas Cowboys (NFL) |
| 1st place • National Football Conference • Eastern Division • 12-4-0 .750 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Tom Landry |
| Ermal Allen | Special Assistant-Research and Development |
| Mike Ditka | Special Teams/Receivers |
| Jim Myers | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line |
| Dan Reeves | Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Backfield |
| Gene Stallings | Defensive Backs |
| Ernie Stautner | Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line |
| Jerry Tubbs | Linebackers |
| Bob Ward | Conditioning |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/5/1978 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 41-24 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63736 | |
| Sat | 8/12/1978 | A | Denver Broncos | 21-14 | W | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74619 | |
| Sat | 8/19/1978 | H | Houston Oilers | 13-27 | L | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 62242 | |
| Sat | 8/26/1978 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 16-13 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 59747 | |
| Mon | 9/4/1978 | H | Baltimore Colts | 38-0 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64224 | |
| Sun | 9/10/1978 | A | New York Giants | 34-24 | W | East Rutherford, NJ | Giants Stadium | 73265 | |
| Sun | 9/17/1978 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 14-27 | L | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 65749 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1978 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 21-12 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 62760 | |
| Mon | 10/2/1978 | A | Washington Redskins | 5-9 | L | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 55031 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1978 | H | New York Giants | 24-3 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63420 | |
| Sun | 10/15/1978 | A | St. Louis Cardinals | 24-21 | W | OT | St. Louis, MO | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48991 |
| Sun | 10/22/1978 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 14-7 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 60525 | |
| Thu | 10/26/1978 | H | Minnesota Vikings | 10-21 | L | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 61848 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1978 | A | Miami Dolphins | 16-23 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 69414 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1978 | A | Green Bay Packers | 42-14 | W | Milwaukee, WI | County Stadium | 55256 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1978 | H | New Orleans Saints | 27-7 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 57920 | |
| Thu | 11/23/1978 | H | Washington Redskins | 37-10 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64905 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1978 | H | New England Patriots | 17-10 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63263 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1978 | A | Philadelphia Eagles | 31-13 | W | Philadelphia, PA | Veterans Stadium | 64667 | |
| Sun | 12/17/1978 | A | New York Jets | 30-7 | W | New York, NY | Shea Stadium | 52532 | |
| NFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sat | 12/30/1978 | H | Atlanta Falcons | 27-20 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 60338 | |
| NFC Championship | |||||||||
| Sun | 1/7/1979 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 28-0 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 67470 | |
| Super Bowl XIII | |||||||||
| Sun | 1/21/1979 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 31-35 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 79484 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Benny Barnes | 31 | LCB | 6-1 | 190 | 27 | Contra Costa JC; Stanford | 14 | 12 |
| Larry Bethea | 76 | DE | 6-5 | 251 | 22 | Michigan State | 16 | 0 |
| Alois Blackwell | 24 | RB | 5-10 | 195 | 24 | Houston | 13 | 0 |
| Bob Breunig | 53 | MLB | 6-2 | 236 | 25 | Arizona State | 16 | 16 |
| Larry Brinson | 36 | RB | 6-0 | 214 | 24 | Florida | 10 | 0 |
| Guy Brown | 59 | LB | 6-4 | 223 | 23 | Houston | 15 | 0 |
| Glenn Carano | 18 | QB | 6-3 | 201 | 23 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 2 | 0 |
| Larry Cole | 63 | LDT | 6-4 | 245 | 32 | Air Force; Houston; Hawaii | 16 | 3 |
| Jim Cooper | 61 | C | 6-5 | 265 | 23 | Temple | 14 | 2 |
| Doug Dennison | 21 | RB | 6-0 | 205 | 27 | Kutztown | 5 | 0 |
| Pat Donovan | 87 | LOT | 6-5 | 260 | 25 | Stanford | 16 | 16 |
| Tony Dorsett | 33 | RB | 5-11 | 189 | 24 | Pittsburgh | 16 | 15 |
| Billy Joe DuPree | 89 | TE | 6-4 | 225 | 28 | Michigan State | 16 | 16 |
| John Fitzgerald | 62 | C | 6-5 | 255 | 30 | Boston College | 14 | 14 |
| Andy Frederick | 71 | ROT | 6-6 | 265 | 24 | New Mexico | 16 | 5 |
| Cliff Harris | 43 | FS | 6-0 | 188 | 30 | Ouachita Baptist | 16 | 16 |
| Mike Hegman | 58 | LLB | 6-1 | 227 | 25 | Alabama A&M; Tennessee State | 16 | 2 |
| Thomas Henderson | 56 | LLB | 6-2 | 220 | 25 | Langston | 15 | 14 |
| Tony Hill | 80 | WR | 6-2 | 205 | 22 | Stanford | 16 | 13 |
| Randy Hughes | 42 | S | 6-4 | 207 | 25 | Oklahoma | 16 | 0 |
| Bruce Huther | 57 | LB | 6-1 | 220 | 24 | New Hampshire | 16 | 0 |
| Butch Johnson | 86 | WR | 6-1 | 187 | 24 | UC Riverside | 16 | 0 |
| Ed Jones | 72 | LDE | 6-9 | 277 | 27 | Tennessee State | 16 | 16 |
| Aaron Kyle | 25 | RCB | 5-11 | 185 | 24 | Wyoming | 16 | 16 |
| Scott Laidlaw | 35 | FB | 6-0 | 205 | 25 | Stanford | 16 | 4 |
| Burton Lawless | 66 | OG | 6-4 | 255 | 25 | Florida | 16 | 0 |
| D.D. Lewis | 50 | RLB | 6-2 | 218 | 33 | Mississippi State | 16 | 16 |
| Harvey Martin | 79 | RDE | 6-5 | 260 | 28 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 16 | 16 |
| Robert Newhouse | 44 | FB | 5-10 | 219 | 28 | Houston | 13 | 12 |
| Drew Pearson | 88 | WR | 6-0 | 182 | 27 | Tulsa | 16 | 16 |
| Preston Pearson | 26 | RB | 6-1 | 190 | 33 | Illinois | 16 | 1 |
| Jethro Pugh | 75 | LDT | 6-6 | 258 | 34 | Elizabeth City State | 13 | 13 |
| Tom Rafferty | 64 | ROG | 6-3 | 262 | 24 | Penn State | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Randall | 60 | DT | 6-5 | 245 | 22 | Iowa State | 11 | 0 |
| Golden Richards | 83 | WR | 6-0 | 181 | 28 | Brigham Young; Hawaii | 1 | 0 |
| Jay Saldi | 87 | TE | 6-3 | 227 | 24 | South Carolina | 4 | 1 |
| Herbert Scott | 68 | LOG | 6-2 | 260 | 25 | Virginia Union | 16 | 16 |
| Rafael Septien | 1 | K | 5-9 | 171 | 25 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 16 | 0 |
| Jackie Smith | 81 | TE | 6-4 | 225 | 38 | Northwestern State (Louisiana) | 12 | 2 |
| Dave Stalls | 65 | DT-DE | 6-4 | 245 | 23 | Northern Colorado | 16 | 0 |
| Roger Staubach | 12 | QB | 6-2 | 198 | 36 | New Mexico Military Institute JC; Navy | 15 | 15 |
| Robert Steele | 82 | WR | 6-4 | 196 | 22 | North Alabama | 14 | 0 |
| Dennis Thurman | 32 | LCB | 5-11 | 178 | 22 | Southern California | 16 | 1 |
| Mark Washington | 46 | LCB | 5-11 | 187 | 31 | Morgan State | 13 | 3 |
| Charlie Waters | 41 | SS | 6-2 | 200 | 30 | Clemson | 16 | 16 |
| Danny White | 11 | QB-P | 6-3 | 195 | 26 | Arizona State | 16 | 1 |
| Randy White | 54 | RDT | 6-4 | 260 | 25 | Maryland | 16 | 16 |
| Rayfield Wright | 70 | ROT | 6-7 | 242 | 33 | Fort Valley State | 15 | 11 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 28 | Larry Bethea | DE | Michigan State |
| 2 | 56 | Todd Christensen | RB | Brigham Young |
| 3 | 84 | Dave Hudgens | DT | Oklahoma |
| 4 | 110 | Alois Blackwell | RB | Houston |
| 5 | 138 | Rich Rosen | G | Syracuse |
| 6 | 166 | Harold Randolph | LB | East Carolina |
| 7 | 194 | Tom Randall | DT-DE | Iowa State |
| 8 | 222 | Homer Butler | WR | UCLA |
| 9 | 250 | Russ Williams | DB | Tennessee |
| 10 | 278 | Barry Tomasetti | G | Iowa |
| 11 | 306 | Dennis Thurman | DB | Southern California |
| 12 | 334 | Lee Washburn | G | Montana State |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 58 | 121 | 118 | 84 | 3 | 384 |
| Opponents Totals | 83 | 43 | 25 | 57 | 0 | 208 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 342 | 146 | 167 | 29 | 118/235 50.2% | 4/8 50.0% | 96 | 816 | |
| Opponents Totals | 232 | 83 | 128 | 21 | 78/220 35.5% | 8/13 61.5% | 95 | 783 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Septien | 0 | 46 | 47 | 97.9 | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 0 | 94 |
| Tony Dorsett | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Robert Newhouse | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Billy Joe DuPree | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | ||
| Tony Hill | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Scott Laidlaw | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Drew Pearson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Larry Brinson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Jay Saldi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Doug Dennison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Roger Staubach | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Charlie Waters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 48 | 46 | 48 | 95.8 | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 1 | 384 |
| Opponents Totals | 25 | 23 | 25 | 92.0 | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 1 | 208 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Septien | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 1 | 48 | 2/3 | 8/8 | 3/5 | 3/10 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 26 | 61.5 | 1 | 48 | 2/3 | 8/8 | 3/5 | 3/10 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 11 | 22 | 50.0 | 0/0 | 3/3 | 3/7 | 4/10 | 1/2 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Dorsett | 290 | 1325 | 4.6 | 63 | 7 |
| Robert Newhouse | 140 | 584 | 4.2 | 24 | 8 |
| Scott Laidlaw | 75 | 312 | 4.2 | 59 | 3 |
| Roger Staubach | 42 | 182 | 4.3 | 23 | 1 |
| Preston Pearson | 25 | 104 | 4.2 | 18 | 0 |
| Larry Brinson | 18 | 96 | 5.3 | 39t | 2 |
| Doug Dennison | 14 | 75 | 5.4 | 23 | 1 |
| Alois Blackwell | 9 | 37 | 4.1 | 13 | 0 |
| Drew Pearson | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 33 | 0 |
| Tony Hill | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 14 | 0 |
| Billy Joe Dupree | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| Danny White | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 4 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 625 | 2783 | 4.5 | 63 | 22 |
| Opponents Totals | 477 | 1721 | 3.6 | 52t | 13 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Staubach | 413 | 231 | 55.9 | 166 | 3190 | 7.7 | 13.8 | 91t | 25 | 6.1 | 16 | 3.9 | 32 | 219 | 2971 | 84.9 |
| Danny White | 34 | 20 | 58.8 | 13 | 215 | 6.3 | 10.8 | 35 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2.9 | 1 | 10 | 205 | 65.2 |
| Tony Dorsett | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Tony Hill | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 449 | 251 | 55.9 | 181 | 3405 | 7.6 | 13.6 | 91t | 25 | 5.6 | 17 | 3.8 | 33 | 229 | 3176 | 83.1 |
| Opponents Totals | 432 | 202 | 46.8 | 207 | 2730 | 6.3 | 13.5 | 51 | 11 | 2.5 | 23 | 5.3 | 58 | 442 | 2288 | 53.7 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston Pearson | 47 | 526 | 11.2 | 34 | 0 |
| Tony Hill | 46 | 823 | 17.9 | 54 | 6 |
| Drew Pearson | 44 | 714 | 16.2 | 53t | 3 |
| Tony Dorsett | 37 | 378 | 10.2 | 91t | 2 |
| Billy Joe Dupree | 34 | 509 | 15.0 | 38 | 9 |
| Robert Newhouse | 20 | 176 | 8.8 | 24 | 2 |
| Butch Johnson | 12 | 155 | 12.9 | 23 | 0 |
| Scott Laidlaw | 6 | 108 | 18.0 | 44t | 1 |
| Jay Saldi | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 5 | 2 |
| Doug Dennison | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| Golden Richards | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 251 | 3405 | 13.6 | 91t | 25 |
| Opponents Totals | 202 | 2730 | 13.5 | 51 | 11 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benny Barnes | 5 | 72 | 14.4 | 38 | 0 |
| Charlie Waters | 4 | 61 | 15.3 | 22 | 0 |
| Cliff Harris | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 23 | 0 |
| Aaron Kyle | 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 17 | 0 |
| Randy Hughes | 2 | 80 | 40.0 | 56 | 0 |
| Dennis Thurman | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 23 | 0 |
| Larry Cole | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Harvey Martin | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Bob Breunig | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 23 | 316 | 13.7 | 56 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 17 | 176 | 10.4 | 43 | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny White | 76 | 3076 | 40.5 | 56 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 311 | 2545 | 33.1 |
| Team Totals | 77 | 3076 | 39.9 | 56 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 311 | 2545 | 33.1 |
| Opponents Totals | 108 | 4257 | 39.4 | 61 | 0 | 13 | 16 | 502 | 3495 | 32.4 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butch Johnson | 51 | 12 | 401 | 7.9 | 23 | 0 |
| Tony Hill | 11 | 0 | 101 | 9.2 | 20 | 0 |
| Dennis Thurman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 63 | 12 | 502 | 8.0 | 23 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 40 | 13 | 311 | 7.8 | 38 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butch Johnson | 29 | 603 | 20.8 | 56 | 0 | |
| Larry Brinson | 6 | 93 | 15.5 | 31 | 0 | |
| Alois Blackwell | 3 | 70 | 23.3 | 31 | 0 | |
| Doug Dennison | 3 | 63 | 21.0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Dennis Thurman | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Randy White | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Burton Lawless | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Jay Saldi | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 47 | 896 | 19.1 | 56 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 73 | 1709 | 23.4 | 57 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Randy White | 16.0 | |
| Harvey Martin | 14.5 | |
| Ed Jones | 9.0 | |
| Dave Stalls | 4.0 | |
| Thomas Henderson | 2.5 | |
| Mike Hegman | 2.5 | |
| Larry Cole | 2.5 | |
| D.D. Lewis | 2.5 | |
| Cliff Harris | 1.0 | |
| Jethro Pugh | 1.0 | |
| Bob Breunig | 1.0 | |
| Charlie Waters | 0.5 | |
| (Team) | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 58.0 | 442.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 33.0 | 229.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benny Barnes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Bob Breunig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Brinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tony Dorsett | 12 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 1 | |
| Billy Joe DuPree | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Fitzgerald | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Andy Frederick | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Harris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 0 |
| Mike Hegman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Henderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Hill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Randy Hughes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Butch Johnson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Aaron Kyle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Laidlaw | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Robert Newhouse | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jethro Pugh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Roger Staubach | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | |
| Dennis Thurman | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mark Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny White | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -8 | 0 | |
| Rayfield Wright | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 36 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 75 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 0 |
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