The Cowboys came off of missing the playoffs in 1984 with an otherwise uneventful draft in the spring of 1985.
They did net a starting guard in Crawford Ker in the third round. They also grabbed Herschel Walker in the fifth round.
Walker would not see action until 1986, but he would prove to be a key factor in future success for the Cowboys. Just not under Tom Landry.
Hot Start To The Season
Dallas hosted the Redskins on Monday night to open the season. It opened with a bang.
With Danny White back as the starter he found Mike Renfro on a 55-yard pass.
The Cowboys defense intercepted Joe Theismann five times, returning two for touchdowns, in a 44-14 win.
White was picked off three times the next week at Detroit.
Gary Hogeboom came into the game and rallied the Cowboys back from a 26-0 deficit with three touchdown drives. But the rally fell short in a 26-21 loss to the Lions.
White started and led the team to a 20-7 home win against the Browns, then outdueled Warren Moon at the Astrodome in a 17-10 win over the Oilers.
White threw for three touchdowns against the Giants, but needed a 31-yard field goal by Rafael Septien for a 30-29 victory.
The Cowboys made it four wins in a row with a 27-13 win at home against the Steelers. Tony Dorsett caught a 56-yard pass from White and ran 35-yards for another.
A 19-yard run by Dorsett during the game pushed him over 10,000 yards. He was the first Dallas back to reach the milestone.
Only Emmitt Smith (17,162) has more rushing yards for the Cowboys.
Eugene Lockhart returned an errant David Woodley pass 19 yards for a score in the victory.
Rocky Midseason
Dallas would alternate wins and losses over the next five weeks. A 5-1 start had suddenly become 7-4.
The Eagles scored 10 unanswered points in the final quarter for a 16-14 win in Philadelphia.
Back home against the Falcons, Dallas fell behind 10-0 after the first quarter. But a 60-yard Dorsett run put Dallas ahead 14-10 before the half and Dallas cruised to a 24-10 win.
The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead in St. Louis only to see the Cardinals rally for 21 unanswered for a 21-10 win.
Dallas would have a tougher outing against the Redskins in D.C. before taking home a 13-7 victory.
The roller coaster ride ended at home with a 44-0 loss to Chicago. The Bears returned two first-half interceptions for touchdowns in the massacre.
Driving For The Playoffs
Dallas righted the ship with back-to-back home victories. A 34-17 win over the Eagles was followed by a 35-17 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Cardinals.
The Cowboys sent 53 players to Cincinnati who appeared to still be in a Turkey Day coma. Dallas fell behind 22-0 by the end of the first quarter and lost 50-24 to the Bengals.
A Jim Jeffcoat 65-yard interception return helped get Dallas past the Giants 28-21 in the home finale. The Cowboys ended the year with a 31-16 loss at the 49ers.
Dallas managed to win the NFC East with a 10-6 record and would travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams in the Divisional round of the playoffs.
Grounded And Pounded
You would think that holding the opponents’ quarterback to a stat line of 6-of-22 for 50 yards with no touchdowns and one interception would lead to a win.
On Jan. 4, 1986, you would be dead wrong. While Dieter Brock couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn that day, he did have Eric Dickerson in the backfield.
Dickerson chewed up the Dallas defense for 248 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns.
By comparison, Danny White was 24-of-43 for 217 yards. He also failed to throw a touchdown, had three interceptions, and was sacked five times.
Unlike Brock, White had no running game in support. Dorsett was held to 58 yards on 17 carries.
Los Angeles dispatched the Cowboys 20-0 to advance to be the sacrificial lambs against the Bears in the NFC Championship game.
An End Of An Era
The 1985 season had been – and what still is — an NFL record 20th consecutive winning season for the Cowboys.
It had been 21 straight seasons without a losing record with the 1965 team going 7-7.
Over that span Dallas had qualified for the playoffs in 18 seasons. They’d played in two NFL Championship games in the 1960s.
They’d appeared in 10 NFC Championship games and five Super Bowls and won three Lombardi trophies during that run.
But what no one knew at the time, was that playoff game in Los Angeles was the last one Tom Landry would coach in. The record streak of winning seasons would end in 1986.
The clock was running out on Landry’s coaching career and he would not have a winning season over his final three years in the NFL.
An era never before seen was coming to a close in Dallas and in the NFL.
