I was in an end zone seat with my dad, right above where Roger was hurt scoring in the Redskin game (same end zone where Waters ran back the pick six). It was just before halftime and everyone feared he was out for the day. After halftime, every Cowboy except Roger came out of the tunnel and the place was as quiet as death. Ten seconds later, Roger sprinted out and the place absolutely exploded. What a moment and what a game!
Outside of the 2007 Giants, the 1975 Cowboys faced the toughest playoff opposition in NFL history. The Vikings, Rams, and Steelers all sported a 12-2 regular season record and they were 3 of the 4 top ranked defenses in the NFL. In terms of total defense, the Vikings ranked #1, the Rams #2, and the Steelers #4. The Cowboys defense proceeded to hold the Vikings to 14 points, the Rams to 7 points, and the Steelers to 21 points. Roger Staubach demonstrated why he is one of the 5 best QB's in NFL history by delivering the Hail Mary pass, destroying the Rams vaunted defense with 4 touchdown passes, and almost willing (e.g., throwing 3 passes in the end zone at the end of the game) the Cowboys to victory in Super Bowl 10.
ROGER THE DODGER!!!! I remember as a kid in Dallas, trading football cards with the Dallas police department when they cruised in our neighborhood. We'd all stop playing street football and make mad run to be first to trade with the officers. They were cool back then.
My favorite cowboy year of all time even though we didn't win the Super Bowl I'll never forget the Hail Mary pass while drinking eggnog and spilling it all over the place
As I re-watch this great video it was sure nice to see Ralph Neely spike that ball. Neely surely should be in the Hall of Fame....he was a dominant for years and in tandem with Rayfield Wright they were awesome offensive tackles. Additionally, it is a travesty that Lee Roy Jordan and Drew Pearson are not in the hall also. Thanks again!
Without a standout RB and with the knowledge or Roger's scrambling skills and ability to improvise Landry shocked the football world with the re-introduction of the shotgun formation. People laughed and wondered how the center could snap the ball blind. It worked beautifully. What a coaching genius.
With that amount of talent, they only went 10-4. The losses to Green Bay (4-10) and Kansas City (5-9) were devastating. The other two losses were to St. Louis and Washington in OT.
They called Cliff Harris Captain Crash. He would probably be penalized today for the hits he made. Glad I got to see football in the NFL before the whiner wimps took over.
They replace so much talented players in the draft that year. Chuck Howley retired the year before. Then Bob Lilly, Walt Garrison Bob Hayes, Calvin Hill and Cornell Green retired after the 74 season. If you were a Cowboys fan you thought it was the end of the era. But in came Randy White, Hollywood Henderson, Too Tall Jones, Mike Hegman, Pat Donovan, Herb Scott and Scott Laidlaw. The only two positions they didn't replace was RB until the next year when they got Dorsett and CB. After Cornell they still had the best safety tandem in Harris and waters but the achilles heel for years, until they finally drafted Pup and Larry Brown was the CB position. Bennie Barnes and Dennis Thurmon were the punks getting burned in more highlights than I care to remember. They just weren't fast enough.
CC, you know your stuff. And you're right, if the Cowboys had quality corners in SBXIII - like Kevin Smith, who was always in Jerry Rice's face, and Larry Brown, an underrated corner with 4.4 speed - instead of Aaron Kyle and Benny Barnes, they likely beat the Steelers. Swann and Stallworth torched the Dallas corners in that game. And, of course, the myriad of bad breaks and the poor PI call on Barnes in the 4th qtr, also contributed to the most heartbreaking loss in Cowboys history (worse than the Ice Bowl and 81 and 94 NFCCG losses to the 9ers).
Having been as fan of the NFL since the late 70's I have to agree with you guys on the weak CB's that the Cowboys had during that era. After Mel Renfro retired in 1977 the team the didn't have a Pro Bowl caliber Cornerbacks until Everson Walls joined the team in 1981 and Dennis Thurman was moved from the safety spot around that time. Those two guys formed a pretty good tandem but by that time the Cowboys as a whole were in decline.
So Percy Howard doesn't even get a mention at 10:25?! It's literally like the announcer doesn't even know who caught the big touchdown. Probably didn't! LOL
I was 12 and a huge Cowboy fan, thought we would dominate the League for a while but steroids ruined football, once Landry left I’m no longer a Cowboy fan
the rams were talking smack before the nfc championship calling the cowboys offense rinky dink and about how they were going to kick dallas but lol lol lol and got their butts handed to them
curious. if all of these highlights are from the same season (1975), why do some of the highlights have a football with white rings and some have a football with no rings? was there some sort of transition going on?
Somehow, I knew this film wouldn't include any footage or mention of the thumping they got from the Cardinals in St. Louis, who won the division that year.
