![]() to face the Redskins, Dallas’ prime challenger in the NFC East. The defense dominated in an easy 21-0 win.Īt 4-1, the stage was set for a trip to Washington D.C. Morton carved them up to the tune of 22/30 for 279 yards, with Sellers catching seven balls for 113 yards. The Baltimore Colts had been a top team-in fact, the one who had broken hearts in Dallas in the Super Bowl just two years earlier. The running back not only rushed for 108 yards, but he threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Sellers that delivered a 17-13 win. After falling behind 13-3 in the second quarter, the Cowboys put the game in Hill’s hands. They went on to Pittsburgh, where the Steelers were having a breakout season that would set their tone for the balance of the entire decade. That was the primary cause of a 16-13 defeat. In a game the Cowboys generally played pretty well, they also turned it over five times. But with a 139-84 advantage on the ground, they ultimately put New York away, 23-14.ĭallas went on to Green Bay, where the Packers would ultimately win a division title. Dallas led 10-7 at the half and still clung to a 16-14 lead in the fourth quarter. A 37-yard touchdown pass to Sellers got some breathing room and a 154-70 edge in rush yardage keyed an easy 28-6 win.Ī road trip to New York to face a decent Giants team followed a similar storyline. After a sluggish first half where the Cowboys only led 7-6, they opened up. The defense ranked sixth in the league for points allowed.ĭallas opened the season at lowly Philadelphia. In the trenches, there was big Bob Lilly, now 33-years-old, but still a Pro Bowl player. Corner Mel Renfro and strong safety Cornell Green were both Pro Bowlers, while young cornerback Charlie Waters intercepted six passes. The Cowboy defense was led by a good secondary. Overall, while the offense took a step back from ’71, when it was the best in the NFL, they still ranked a respectable 10 th in a 26-team league. Both Hill and Garrison made the Pro Bowl.Ī big reason the running game was so effective was the presence of a pair of All-Pros on the offensive line, left guard John Niland and right tackle Rayfield Wright. The tandem of halfback Calvin Hill and fullback Walt Garrison not only combined to rush for over 1,800 yards, but they were the team’s two leading pass-catchers. But the offense as a whole became very focused on the running backs. Dallas still had a deep threat in Ron Sellers, who caught 31 passes for 653 yards. The passing game was further hindered when speedy Bob Hayes was hampered all year with a hamstring injury. Morton was intercepted on 6.2 percent of his passes, a figure that placed him 19 th among the 24 qualifying QBs. What held Morton back, at least compared to Staubach, was mistakes. Morton was an effective quarterback-his 55 percent completion rate and 7.1 yards-per-attempt were both in the upper one-fourth of the league’s starting QBs. But the 1972 Dallas Cowboys still made the playoffs and-aided by Staubach’s recovery-won a memorable postseason game.Īfter Staubach separated his shoulder in the preseason, Landry went back to reliable veteran Craig Morton, who had steered the team to the Super Bowl in 1970. The bid for a repeat title took a big hit when Staubach was injured in the preseason. That championship season was keyed by Landry’s settling on Roger Staubach as his quarterback midway through. #74 - Bob "Mr.Tom Landry’s Cowboys ended several years of postseason frustration in 1971, when they won the franchise’s first Super Bowl.Lineup "Doomsday" Hall of Famer Mel Renfro pictured in action during Super Bowl V ![]() Later linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White became the first (and only) teammates (co-MVPs) to win the award ( XII). The first defensive player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Super Bowl was linebacker Chuck Howley ( V). This defense was in part, responsible for the Cowboys being the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. Many Cowboy fans recognize the defense from 1992 to 1996 as "Doomsday III", though to a lesser extent. "Doomsday II" had its heyday from approximately 1975 to 1982. The original "Doomsday Defense" can generally be identified as the Cowboys' defenses from 1966 to 1974. The Doomsday Defense is often recognized as having two different "generations," but different listings of players and time periods exist. In 1964, sports writer Gary Cartwright of the Dallas Morning News coined the phrase "Doomsday Defense". This defense was the backbone of the Cowboys' dynasty, which won two Super Bowls ( VI, XII) and played in three more ( V, X and XIII). The Doomsday Defense was the defensive lineup of the Dallas Cowboys American football team during the dynasty years of the late 1960s - 1970s. Defense of Dallas Cowboys American football team
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