The Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the second year of the franchise under the ownership of Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys rebounded from a 1–15 season in 1989 to a 7–9 record. However, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Despite this, Jimmy Johnson won AP's NFL coach of the year honors. This was the first season since their Super Bowl X-appearing 1975 season that offensive lineman Tom Rafferty was not on the roster, as he announced his retirement in the offseason, ending a 14-year era for the team.
Summary The season began with a win over San Diego, breaking a 14-game home losing streak. The Cowboys showed some early season fight with two wins over Tampa Bay and a near-miss against Philadelphia, but still stood only 3–7 after ten weeks, and were seemingly out of playoff contention. However, the team improved significantly in late November, winning four games in a row (including impressive wins over the Redskins and Saints, and a blowout win over the Cardinals). The Cowboys entered the season's final two weeks needing only one win or Saints' loss to make the playoffs as a wildcard. However, in week 16, quarterback Troy Aikman separated his shoulder early against the Eagles and was replaced by Babe Laufenberg (the Cowboys had traded backup Steve Walsh early in the season and Laufenberg was elevated from third string to backup). With Aikman injured, the Cowboys mustered little offense against the Eagles and lost, 17–3. Meanwhile, the Saints upset the 49ers (handing the Niners only their second loss) to keep the Cowboys from clinching in week 16. The next week, with Laufenberg again leading the offense, the Cowboys were thoroughly beaten, 26–7, by the 4–11 Atlanta Falcons. When the Saints beat the Rams the next night, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention.
This season featured the debut of running back Emmitt Smith. Smith held out during training camp and was only a minimal contributor in the season's early games, but began to show his future greatness with a 100+ yard performance in a week-5 win against Tampa Bay and had a few other outstanding games during the season.
Because of the dismal 1–15 record from the previous season, the home opener against the San Diego Chargers was threatened to be blacked out for the local television market, since Texas Stadium was not sold out. A local radio station ended up buying all of the unsold tickets so that the game could be broadcast to the local DFW market.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1990 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeTom HuebnerGuardPittsburghFred McNairQuarterbackAlcorn StateCurt MullTackleGeorgiaMark WarnerTackleCanisiusKen WillisKickerKentucky
Staff
Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1990 roster Quarterbacks Babe Laufenberg Cliff Stoudt
Running backs Tommie Agee FB Daryl Johnston FB Bob Perryman Emmitt Smith
Wide receivers James Dixon KR Michael Irvin Kelvin Martin PR Derrick Shepard PR Alexander Wright KR
Tight ends Rob Awalt Steve Folsom Jay Novacek Offensive linemen John Gesek G Kevin Gogan T/G Crawford Ker G Nate Newton T Mark Stepnoski C Mark Tuinei T Jeff Zimmerman G
Defensive linemen Dean Hamel DT Jim Jeffcoat DE Jimmie Jones DT Danny Noonan DT Danny Stubbs DE Tony Tolbert DELinebackers Willis Crockett MLB Jack Del Rio OLB Dave Harper OLB David Howard OLB Eugene Lockhart MLB Vinson Smith OLB Jesse Solomon MLB
Defensive backs Bill Bates SS Michael Brooks CB/S Ron Francis CB Kenneth Gant CB Manny Hendrix CB Issiac Holt CB Ray Horton FS James Washington SS Robert Williams CB
Special teams Dale Hellestrae LS Mike Saxon P Ken Willis KReserve lists Troy Aikman QB (IR) Vince Albritton S (IR) Scott Ankrom S (IR) Willie Broughton DT (IR) Chad Hennings DT (Military Reserve) Alonzo Highsmith FB (IR) Steve Johnson TE (IR) Keith Jones RB (IR) Ken Norton Jr. LB (IR) Stan Smagala CB/S (IR)
Practice squad
Rookies in italics 46 active, 10 inactive, 3 practice squad
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 San Diego Chargers W 17–14 1–0 Texas Stadium 48,063 2 September 16 New York Giants L 7–28 1–1 Texas Stadium 61,090 3 September 23 at Washington Redskins L 15–19 1–2 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 53,804 4 September 30 at New York Giants L 17–31 1–3 Giants Stadium 75,923 5 October 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–10 2–3 Texas Stadium 60,076 6 October 14 at Phoenix Cardinals L 3–20 2–4 Sun Devil Stadium 45,235 7 October 21 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–13 3–4 Tampa Stadium 68,315 8October 28 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–21 3–5 Texas Stadium 62,605 9 November 4 at New York Jets L 9–24 3–6 Giants Stadium 68,086 10 November 11 San Francisco 49ers L 6–24 3–7 Texas Stadium 62,966 11 November 18 at Los Angeles Rams W 24–21 4–7 Anaheim Stadium 58,589 12 November 22 Washington Redskins W 27–17 5–7 Texas Stadium 60,355 13 December 2 New Orleans Saints W 17–13 6–7 Texas Stadium 60,087 14Bye 15 December 16 Phoenix Cardinals W 41–10 7–7 Texas Stadium 60,190 16 December 23 at Philadelphia Eagles L 3–17 7–8 Veterans Stadium 63,895 17 December 30 at Atlanta Falcons L 7–26 7–9 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 50,097 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Season summary
Week 1: vs San Diego Chargers
Porkchop Bowl
The Porkchop Bowl was the NFL matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys which followed the Bounty Bowl II.
The week before game day in Dallas, Philadelphia head coach Buddy Ryan and offensive coordinator Ted Plumb went out for dinner. Ryan was dining on pork chops and started to choke. Plumb quickly initiated the Heimlich maneuver and saved Ryan's life. Word of the incident spread in Dallas, and Cowboys' president Tex Schramm dubbed the pending game on October 28 the "Porkchop Bowl." The final score was 21–20 in favor of the Eagles.
Transactions On September 25, 1990, the Dallas Cowboys traded Steve Walsh to the New Orleans Saints for the Saints' first and third-round picks in the 1991 NFL draft and a second-round pick (that could become a first-round pick based on performance) in the 1992 NFL draft.
Awards and records Jimmy Johnson, National Football League Coach of the Year Award Emmitt Smith, National Football League Rookie of the Year Award
Publications The Football Encyclopedia Total Football Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes
References
External links 1990 Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site