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1976: In a year of fireworks, Dallas fizzled at the end

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Coming off the tough loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl X in January, the Cowboys went right to work on getting back to the title game.

The way Lynn Swann had carved up the secondary put Wyoming defensive back Aaron Kyle on the Cowboys’ radar. He was selected 27th in the first round.

The Cowboys would also add wide receiver Butch Johnson (3rd) and guard Tom Rafferty (4th). While the rest of the country celebrated the Bicentennial, they went to work.

Perfect Start

Roger Staubach threw for over 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Scott Laidlaw ran for 104 yards in a season-opening 27-7 win over the Eagles.

1976: In a year of fireworks, Dallas fizzled at the end
Scott Laidlaw in action against the New York Giants. Getty Images.

This was followed by a 24-6 win at New Orleans. For the second straight week the defense held the opponent scoreless until late in the game.

The Cowboys found themselves having to come from behind at home in the third week against the Colts. Baltimore got three rushing touchdowns, the last for a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter.

Drew Pearson had connected with Golden Richards for a 39-yard touchdown earlier in the game. Staubach added two more touchdown passes – 31 yards to Richards and 38 yards to Billy Joe Dupree — for a 27-24 Dallas lead.

The Colts tied the game before Effren Herrera nailed a 32-yard field goal for a 30-27 Dallas win.

Dallas traveled to the northwest and fell behind 13-0 early to the Seahawks. But a pair of Staubach touchdown passes rallied the team to a 28-13 win.

The Cowboys made it 5-0 on the season with an easy 24-14 win over New York at Giants Stadium. Whispers of a perfect season started to spread.

A Gray Day In St. Louis

Dallas played its third straight road game of the season when they took the field in St. Louis. Jim Hart and Mel Gray turned out to be rude hosts.

1976: In a year of fireworks, Dallas fizzled at the end 1
Ed Jones #72 of the Dallas Cowboys pursues quarterback Jim Hart #17 of the St. Louis Cardinals during an NFL football game circa 1980 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. Jones played for the Cowboys from 1974-78 and 1980-89. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Hart threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Gray caught seven passes for 152 yards and two scores. The Cowboys win streak, and perfect season hopes, died on the field in a 21-17 loss.

The Cowboys rebounded with four straight wins – 31-21 over Chicago, 20-7 over the Redskins, 9-3 over the Giants, and 17-10 over the Bills – to go to 9-1 on the season.

Dallas was tied with Oakland for the best record in the NFL. It seemed likely that the two teams would meet in Super Bowl XI.

Hold That Thought

The Cowboys would take a 10-0 lead into the fourth quarter at Atlanta the following week. When they boarded the bus for home, they had lost 17-10.

Dallas rebounded with a 19-14 win over the Cardinals and a 26-7 win over the Eagles. But with a chance to secure the NFC’s #1 seed they dropped the season finale 27-14 to the Redskins.

At 11-3 Dallas was a half-game behind the Vikings in the NFC. Instead of the Wild Card Redskins to open the playoffs, Dallas would host the Rams instead.

One And Done

The Vikings throttled the Redskins 35-20 on Saturday and everyone anticipated a Dallas win on Sunday and a Vikings-Cowboys NFC title tilt in Minneapolis the next week.

Someone forgot to tell the Rams about that. Staubach would throw three interceptions and the Cowboys run game was stagnant.

1976: In a year of fireworks, Dallas fizzled at the end 2
Dallas Cowboys QB Roger Staubach (12) before snap from John Fitzgerald (62) during game vs Los Angeles Rams at Texas Stadium. Irving, TX 12/19/1976 CREDIT: Neil Leifer (Photo by Neil Leifer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

While Pat Haden fared little better for the Rams, also tossing three picks. But Haden rushed for one score and Lawrence McCutcheon scored the game winner as the Rams upset Dallas 14-12.

The Cowboys season had come up woefully short. The glaring weakness was its running game.

Doug Dennison was the team’s leading rusher with 542 yards and just six touchdowns. Fullback Robert Newhouse was second with 450 and Laidlaw finished with 424 yards.

If the Cowboys wanted a second championship they needed help at running back. That help just a few weeks earlier had won the Heisman Trophy and led his team to the National Championship.

Richard Paolinelli

Staff Writer

Richard Paolinelli is a sports journalist and author. In addition to his work at InsideTheStar.com, he has a Substack -- Dispatches From A SciFi Scribe – where he discusses numerous topics, including sports in general. He started his newspaper career in 1991 with the Gallup (NM) Independent before going to the Modesto (CA) Bee, Gustine (CA) Press-Standard, and Turlock (CA) Journal -- where he won the 2001 Best Sports Story, in the annual California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest. He then moved to the Merced (CA) Sun-Star, Tracy (CA) Press, Patch and finished his career in 2011 with the San Francisco (CA) Examiner. He has written two Non-Fiction sports books, 11 novels, and has over 30 published short stories.

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