1976 Dallas Cowboys season

1976 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
General managerTex Schramm
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Rams) 12–14

The 1976 Dallas Cowboys season was their 17th in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 10–4, winning eleven games.[1] They qualified for the playoffs, but were stunned by the Los Angeles Rams 14–12 in the Divisional round.

Offseason

1976 Expansion Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft
Dallas Cowboys selected during the Expansion Draft
Round Overall Name Position Expansion Team
0 0 Ron Howard Tight end Seattle Seahawks
0 0 Cal Peterson Linebacker Tampa Bay Buccaneers
0 0 Rolly Woolsey Cornerback Seattle Seahawks

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL draft
1976 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 27 Aaron Kyle  CB Wyoming
2 40 Jim Jensen  RB Iowa
2 55 Jim Eidson  OG Mississippi State
3 73 Duke Fergerson  WR San Diego State
3 75 John Smith  RB Boise State
3 87 Butch Johnson  WR California-Riverside
4 119 Tom Rafferty  OG Penn State
5 151 Wally Pesuit  OT Kentucky
6 181 Greg McGuire  OT Indiana
7 186 Greg Schaum  DT Michigan State
7 208 David Williams  RB Colorado
8 236 Henry Laws  DB South Carolina
9 264 Beasley Reece  DB North Texas State
10 290 Leroy Cook  DE Alabama
11 308 Cornelius Greene  QB Ohio State
12 346 Charles McShane  LB California Lutheran
13 374 Mark Driscoll  QB Colorado State
14 402 Larry Mushinskie  TE Nebraska
15 430 Dale Curry  LB UCLA
16 458 Rick Costanzo  OT Nebraska
17 486 Stan Woodfill  K Oregon
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 September 12 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–7 1–0 Texas Stadium 54,052 Recap
2 September 19 at New Orleans Saints W 24–6 2–0 Louisiana Superdome 61,413 Recap
3 September 26 Baltimore Colts W 30–27 3–0 Texas Stadium 64,237 Recap
4 October 3 at Seattle Seahawks W 28–13 4–0 Kingdome 62,027 Recap
5 October 10 at New York Giants W 24–14 5–0 Giants Stadium 76,042 Recap
6 October 17 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–21 5–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,317 Recap
7 October 24 Chicago Bears W 31–21 6–1 Texas Stadium 61,346 Recap
8 October 31 at Washington Redskins W 20–7 7–1 RFK Stadium 55,004 Recap
9 November 7 New York Giants W 9–3 8–1 Texas Stadium 58,870 Recap
10 November 15 Buffalo Bills W 17–10 9–1 Texas Stadium 51,799 Recap
11 November 21 at Atlanta Falcons L 10–17 9–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 54,992 Recap
12 November 25 St. Louis Cardinals W 19–14 10–2 Texas Stadium 62,498 Recap
13 December 5 at Philadelphia Eagles W 26–7 11–2 Veterans Stadium 55,072 Recap
14 December 12 Washington Redskins L 14–27 11–3 Texas Stadium 59,916 Recap

Division opponents are in bold text

Playoffs

Main article: 1976–77 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap
Divisional December 19, 1976 Los Angeles Rams (3) L 12–14 Texas Stadium 62,436 Recap

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys(2) 11 3 0 .786 6–2 9–3 296 194 L1
Washington Redskins(4) 10 4 0 .714 6–2 9–3 291 217 W4
St. Louis Cardinals 10 4 0 .714 5–3 9–3 309 267 W2
Philadelphia Eagles 4 10 0 .286 2–6 4–8 165 286 W1
New York Giants 3 11 0 .214 1–7 3–9 170 250 L1

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1976 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
43 active, 4 inactive

Season recap

The Cowboys entered the year with high expectations, dominating the regular season by finishing with an 11-3 record, while capturing the NFC East title. But they came up short in the first round of the divisional playoffs, after being heavily favored at home against the Los Angeles Rams, but still losing 14-12.

Publications

The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References

  1. ^ 1976 Dallas Cowboys