1977 Dallas Cowboys season

Head coach

Tom Landry

General manager

Tex Schramm

Owner

Clint Murchison, Jr.

Home field

Texas Stadium

Results

Record

12–2

Division place

1st in NFC East

Playoff finish

Won Super Bowl XII (Broncos)

Timeline

Previous season		Next season
< 1976		1978 >

The 1977 Dallas Cowboys season was their 18th in the NFL. The club appeared twice on Monday Night Football. 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. During the season, the club scored 345 points, which ranked first in the NFC, while the defense only gave up 212 points. The Cowboys made it to their fourth Super Bowl and beat the Denver Broncos to capture their second Super Bowl Championship. They were the first team from the NFC East Division to win two Super Bowls. Their 15-2 record (.882, including the postseason) remains the highest single season winning percentage in the teams history.

NFL Draft

Pick #	NFL Team	Player	Position	College
2	Dallas Cowboys ^{(from Seattle)}	Tony Dorsett	Running Back	Pittsburgh
54	Dallas Cowboys	Glenn Carano	Quarterback	UNLV
62	Dallas Cowboys	Tony Hill	Wide Receiver	Stanford
108	Dallas Cowboys	Guy Brown	Linebacker	Houston

^[1]

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.

Schedule

Week	Date	Result	Record	Opponent	Points For	Points Against	First Downs	Attendance
1	September 18	Win	1–0	at Minnesota Vikings	16	10	16	47,678
2	September 25	Win	2–0	New York Giants	41	21	25	64,215
3	October 2	Win	3–0	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	23	7	23	55,316
4	October 9	Win	4–0	at St. Louis Cardinals	30	24	22	50,129
5	October 16	Win	5–0	Washington Redskins	34	16	23	62,115
6	October 23	Win	6–0	at Philadelphia Eagles	16	10	17	65,507
7	October 30	Win	7–0	Detroit Lions	37	0	20	63,160
8	November 6	Win	8–0	at New York Giants	24	10	13	74,532
9	November 14	Loss	8–1	St. Louis Cardinals	17	24	16	64,038
10	November 20	Loss	8–2	at Pittsburgh Steelers	13	28	20	49,761
11	November 27	Win	9–2	at Washington Redskins	14	7	19	55,031
12	December 4	Win	10–2	Philadelphia Eagles	24	14	19	60,289
13	December 12	Win	11–2	at San Francisco 49ers	42	35	24	55,851
14	December 18	Win	12–2	Denver Broncos	14	6	15	63,752

Standings

NFC East
	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

80 Tony Hill
86 Butch Johnson RS
88 Drew Pearson
83 Golden Richards

Tight Ends

89 Billy Joe DuPree
87 Jay Saldi

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

63 Larry Cole DE
77 Bill Gregory DT
72 Ed Jones DE
79 Harvey Martin DE
75 Jethro Pugh DT
65 Dave Stalls DE
54 Randy White DT

Linebackers

53 Bob Breunig MLB
59 Guy Brown OLB
58 Mike Hegman OLB
56 Thomas Henderson OLB
57 Bruce Huther MLB
50 D. D. Lewis OLB

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

1 Efren Herrera

Reserve Lists

Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
45 Active, 0 Inactive

Regular season

Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Cowboys	0	3	0	7	6	16
Vikings	7	0	0	3	0	10

Week 2: vs. New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	7	14	0	21
Cowboys	14	17	3	7	41

Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	7	0	0	7
Cowboys	17	3	3	0	23

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Date: Sunday, October 2
Game time: 12:00
Game weather: 74 F, wind 15 mph
Referee: Bernie Ulman
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

DAL – Efren Herrera 32-yard field goal
DAL – Thomas Henderson 79-yard interception return (Efren Herrera kick)
DAL – Robert Newhouse 17-yard run (Efren Herrera kick)

Second Quarter

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

Third Quarter

DAL – Efren Herrera 20-yard field goal

Passing

TB – Gary Huff 8/23, 107 yards, 2 INT
DAL – Roger Staubach 15/24, 212 yards, INT

Rushing

TB – Anthony Davis 15 att, 30 yards
DAL – Robert Newhouse 16 att, 73 yards, TD

Receiving

TB – Morris Owens 4 rec, 57 yards
DAL – Preston Pearson 5 rec, 65 yards

Week 4: at St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	3	10	3	14	30
Cardinals	10	7	7	0	24

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

Date: Sunday, October 9
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 49 F, wind 13 mph
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

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

Second Quarter

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

Third Quarter

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

Fourth Quarter

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

Passing

DAL – Roger Staubach 18/29, 153 yards, TD
STL – Jim Hart 9/32, 186 yards, TD, 2 INT

Rushing

DAL – Tony Dorsett 14 att, 141 yards, TD
STL – Terry Metcalf 10 att, 79 yards, TD

Receiving

DAL – Drew Pearson 6 rec, 55 yards
STL – Mel Gray 3 rec, 84 yards, TD

Week 5: vs. Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	6	7	3	0	16
Cowboys	0	14	6	14	34

at Texas Stadium, Irving, TX

Date: Sunday, October 16
Game time: 3:00 pm
Game weather: 56 F, wind 8 mph
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 (Efren Herrera kick)
DAL – Robert Newhouse 7-yard run (Efren Herrera kick)
WSH – Clarence Harmon 1-yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick)

Third Quarter

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

Fourth Quarter

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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	6	0	10	16
Eagles	0	7	0	3	10

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

Date: Sunday, October 23
Game time: 1:00 pm
Game weather: 53 F, wind 11 mph
Referee: Don Wedge
Box Score

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 (Efren Herrera kick)
DAL – Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	0	0	0
Cowboys	3	20	7	7	37

Week 8: at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	7	7	3	24
Giants	0	3	7	0	10

at The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, NJ

Date: Sunday, November 6
Game time: 1:00 pm
Game weather: 54 F, wind 16 mph
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

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

Second Quarter

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

Third Quarter

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

Fourth Quarter

DAL – Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	3	0	7	14	24
Cowboys	0	14	0	3	17

at Texas Stadium, Irving, TX

Date: Monday, November 14
Game time: 8:00 pm
Game weather: 61 F, wind 12 mph
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

STL – Jim Bakken 26-yard field goal

Second Quarter

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

Third Quarter

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

Fourth Quarter

DAL – Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	6	7	0	0	13
Steelers	0	14	14	0	28

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

Date: Sunday, November 20
Game time: 4:00 pm
Game weather: 48 F, wind 9 mph
Referee: Bob Frederic
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 (Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	7	7	14
Redskins	0	7	0	0	7

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Date: Sunday, November 27
Game time: 4:00 pm
Game weather: 31 F, wind 16 mph
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 (Efren Herrera kick)

Fourth Quarter

DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	7	0	14
Cowboys	7	7	3	7	24

at Texas Stadium, Irving, TX

Date: Sunday, December 4
Game time: 1:00 pm
Game weather: 59 F, wind 12 mph
Referee: Pat Haggerty
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

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

Third Quarter

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

Fourth Quarter

DAL – Tony Dorsett 84-yard run (Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	21	7	14	42
49ers	7	7	7	14	35

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA

Date: Monday, December 12
Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
Game weather: 53 F, wind 6 mph
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
Box Score

Game information

First Quarter

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

Second Quarter

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

Third Quarter

DAL – Tony Dorsett 21-yard run (Efren 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 (Efren Herrera kick)
SF – Devlin Williams 1-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Ray Wersching kick)
DAL – Preston Pearson 3-yard run (Efren 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

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	3	3	6
Cowboys	7	0	7	0	14

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	7	7
Cowboys	7	10	17	3	37

NFC Championship Game

Dallas Cowboys 23, Minnesota Vikings 6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	6	0	0	6
Cowboys	6	10	0	7	23

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Date: January 1, 1978
Game time: 5:30 p.m. EST
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 (Efren Herrera kick)
MIN – Fred Cox 32-yard field goal
MIN – Fred Cox 37-yard field goal
DAL – Efren Herrera 21-yard field goal

Fourth Quarter

DAL – Tony Dorsett 11-yard run (Efren 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

Awards and Records

Tony Dorsett, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award
Tony Dorsett, All-Pro Selection
Efren Herrera, Five Field Goals Attempted in one Super Bowl game, Super Bowl record
Harvey Martin, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
Harvey Martin, NFL Defensive Player of the Year
Harvey Martin, Led NFL, Sacks (23)
Pearson, Led NFL Receiving Yards (870)
Pearson, All-Pro Selection
Pearson, Pro Bowl Selection
Roger Staubach, All-Pro Selection
Roger Staubach, Pro Bowl Selection
Roger Staubach, Led NFC, Touchdown Passes (18)
Roger Staubach, NFC Passing Leader
Randy White, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
Led NFC, Points Scored (345)
Led NFC, Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed (1,651)
Led NFL, Fewest Total Yards Allowed (3,213)
Led NFL, Total Yards, (4,812)

References

↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1977.htm

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal1977.htm

Super Bowl champions

Dallas Cowboys seasons

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Bold indicates Super Bowl victory

Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl XII Champions

Head Coach: Tom Landry

Dallas Cowboys

Founded in 1960
Based in Arlington, Texas
Headquartered in Valley Ranch, Irving, Texas

The Franchise

Stadiums

Culture

Lore

Rivalries

Super Bowl Appearances (8)

League Championships (5)

1971
1977
1992
1993
1995

Ring of Honor

Media

Current League Affiliations

League: National Football League
Conference: National Football Conference
Division: East Division

Seasons (56)

1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1977 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay