The 1979 Dallas Cowboys season was their 20th in the National Football League (NFL). The team was unable to improve on their previous output of 12–4, winning eleven games. They qualified for the playoffs, but lost in the divisional round.
The Cowboys still possessed a great offense, but suffered defensive losses as defensive tackle Jethro Pugh retired, safety Charlie Waters missed the season with injury, Ed "Too Tall" Jones left the team while he embarked on a professional boxing career (Jones would return in 1980), and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson was cut in November for erratic play and behavior. The season began 8–2 before a three-game losing streak placed the season in jeopardy (one of the three being a 30–24 loss to Houston in which Oilers coach Bum Phillips declared the Oilers as "Texas's Team"). The team rallied to win their final three to finish at 11–5 and gain the number one seed in the NFC.
Playing in his final season, Roger Staubach proceeded to have the best year of his career completing 267 passes out of 461 attempts for 3,586 yards and 27 touchdowns with only 11 interceptions with a passer rating of 92.3 and a completion percentage of 57.9.
In the season's final regular season game against the Washington Redskins, with the NFC East Title at issue, Staubach rallied the Cowboys from a 34–21 deficit in the last four minutes to win, 35–34. It turned out to be Staubach's last win. The Cowboys were upset at home in the divisional playoff by the Los Angeles Rams 21–19 and Staubach retired after the season. The last remaining active member of the 1979 Dallas Cowboys was offensive lineman Tom Rafferty, who retired after the 1989 season.
Offseason NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRon BrownLinebackerBrownTom FlynnDefensive backNotre DameSteve GibbsLinebackerClemsonKevin HillWide ReceiverUTEPSteve KrausQuarterbackWestminsterJon LazarRunning backIowaBill MillerTackleMinnesotaNate PeteWide receiverNew Mexico StateAl PittsGuardMichigan StateMark SnyderQuarterbackRicePaul SuheyLinebackerPenn StateBrad WindWide ReceiverNorthern MichiganWill WintersLinebackerUtah State
Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1979 roster Quarterbacks Glenn Carano Roger Staubach Danny White P
Running backs Larry Brinson Tony Dorsett Scott Laidlaw Robert Newhouse Preston Pearson Ron Springs
Wide receivers Tony Hill Butch Johnson Drew Pearson Steve Wilson
Tight ends Doug Cosbie Billy Joe DuPree Jay Saldi Offensive linemen Jim Cooper T Pat Donovan T John Fitzgerald C Andy Frederick T Burton Lawless G Tom Rafferty G Herbert Scott G Robert Shaw C Rayfield Wright T
Defensive linemen Larry Bethea DT Larry Cole DE/DT John Dutton DE Harvey Martin DE Dave Stalls DT Bruce Thornton DE Randy White DTLinebackers Bob Breunig MLB Guy Brown OLB Mike Hegman OLB Bruce Huther MLB D. D. Lewis OLB
Defensive backs Benny Barnes CB Cliff Harris FS Randy Hughes SS Aaron Kyle CB Wade Manning CB Aaron Mitchell CB Dennis Thurman SS
Special teams Rafael Septién KReserve lists Rich Grimmett T (IR) Thomas Henderson LB (Ret.) Ed Jones DE (Ret.) Charlie Waters FS (IR)
Rookies in italics45 active, 4 inactive
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Time TV Result Record Game site Attendance NFL.comrecap 1 vs. Oakland Raiders 2:30p.m. CDT L 13–20 0–1 Fawcett Stadium 2 Denver Broncos 8:00p.m. CDT W 7–6 1–1 Texas Stadium 3 at Seattle Seahawks 8:00p.m. CDT L 17–27 1–2 Kingdome 4 Houston Oilers 8:00p.m. CDT W 16–13 2–2 Texas Stadium 5 Pittsburgh Steelers 8:00p.m. CDT W 16–14 3–2 Texas Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Time TV Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 2 at St. Louis Cardinals 1:00p.m. CDT CBS W 22–21 1–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,855 Recap 2 September 9 at San Francisco 49ers 3:00p.m. CDT CBS W 21–13 2–0 Candlestick Park 56,728 Recap 3 September 16 Chicago Bears 3:00p.m. CDT CBS W 24–20 3–0 Texas Stadium 64,056 Recap 4 at Cleveland Browns 8:00p.m. CDT ABC L 7–26 3–1 Cleveland Stadium 80,123 Recap 5 September 30 Cincinnati Bengals 3:00p.m. CDT NBC W 38–13 4–1 Texas Stadium 63,179 Recap 6 October 7 at Minnesota Vikings 3:00p.m. CDT CBS W 36–20 5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,572 Recap 7 October 14 Los Angeles Rams 8:00p.m. CDT ABC W 30–6 6–1 Texas Stadium 64,462 Recap 8 October 21 St. Louis Cardinals 1:00p.m. CDT CBS W 22–13 7–1 Texas Stadium 64,300 Recap 9 at Pittsburgh Steelers 12Noon CST CBS L 3–14 7–2 Three Rivers Stadium 50,199 Recap 10 November 4 at New York Giants 12Noon CST CBS W 16–14 8–2 Giants Stadium 76,490 Recap 11 Philadelphia Eagles 8:00p.m. CST ABC L 21–31 8–3 Texas Stadium 62,417 Recap 12 November 18 at Washington Redskins 12Noon CST CBS L 20–34 8–4 RFK Stadium 55,031 Recap 13 November 22 Houston Oilers 3:00p.m. CST NBC L 24–30 8–5 Texas Stadium 63,897 Recap 14 December 2 New York Giants 3:00p.m. CST CBS W 28–7 9–5 Texas Stadium 63,787 Recap 15 at Philadelphia Eagles 11:30a.m. CST CBS W 24–17 10–5 Veterans Stadium 71,434 Recap 16 December 16 Washington Redskins 3:00p.m. CST CBS W 35–34 11–5 Texas Stadium 62,867 Recap Division opponents are in bold text
Season summary
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9 (Sunday, October 28, 1979): at Pittsburgh Steelers
Point spread: Cowboys +3 Over/under: 39.0 (under) Time of game:
CowboysGame statisticsSteelers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16 (Sunday, December 16, 1979): vs. Washington Redskins
It was December 16, 1979, when the Washington Redskins came to Texas Stadium tied with the Cowboys for first place in the NFC East with 10–5 records. This game would turn out to be one of Roger Staubach's finest moments as well as his last great comeback in his Cowboys career.
The NFC East showdown between these heated rivals did not start out the way the Cowboys had wanted. On the Cowboys' first two possessions of the game they fumbled and the Redskins took full advantage of the recoveries.
It took only two plays on the Cowboys' first possession before rookie Ron Springs fumbled at the Cowboys' 34-yard line. The Redskins took over and drove to the Cowboys' three-yard line. On third and goal Larry Cole sacked Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann and forced the Redskins to kick a field goal by Mark Mosley for an early 3–0 lead.
On the Cowboys' second possession they once again fumbled the ball away. This time it was Robert Newhouse who gave the ball to the Redskins on the Cowboys' 45-yard line. The Redskins drove to the Cowboys' one-yard line, but this time Theismann made sure there would be no field goal attempt as he scored himself, giving the Redskins a 10–0 lead.
With the Redskins leading 10–0 going into the second quarter and the Cowboys' offense showing no signs of life, the Redskins' offense went back to work with an 80-yard, 7-play drive. They finished the drive when Theismann connected with running back Benny Malone who eluded a tackle by D.D. Lewis. Malone raced down the right sideline for a 55-yard touchdown, giving the Redskins a commanding 17–0 lead.
The Cowboys' offense seemed to wake up on their next possession. They put together a 13-play, 70-yard drive. From the Redskins' one-yard line, Ron Springs made up for his earlier fumble as he scored the Cowboys' first touchdown of the game. The Redskins now led 17–7 with a little more than four minutes left in the first half.
With only 1:48 left in the first half, the Cowboys got the ball back on their own 15-yard line. Staubach went to work as he connected with Tony Hill three times and Drew Pearson once to get to the Redskins' 26-yard line. With only nine seconds remaining, Staubach connected with Preston Pearson for a touchdown as Pearson made a diving catch in the end zone. The Cowboys had fought their way back into the game with two second-quarter touchdowns. They went into the half down 17–14.
In the third quarter the Cowboys' defense shut down the Redskins' offense. The Cowboys' offense took advantage and scored the only touchdown of the quarter, which gave them their first lead of the game. After a short Redskins punt the Cowboys took over at their own 48-yard line. They needed only nine plays, which included a Butch Johnson reverse that gained 13 yards. Preston Pearson took a short pass from Staubach and got the Cowboys to the two-yard line. Like Ron Springs in the first half, it was now Newhouse's turn to make up for his earlier fumble. He scored from the two-yard line, giving the Cowboys a 21–17 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter the Redskins drove to the Cowboys' 7-yard line where they had to settle for a Mark Mosley 24-yard field goal. That made the score 21–20 Cowboys.
Staubach threw his only interception of the game when he went deep over the middle from his own 13-yard line where there was no receiver in sight. Redskins safety Mark Murphy came down with the ball and returned it to the Cowboys' 25-yard line. On the Redskins' first play, Theismann threw into the end zone for receiver Ricky Thompson. Cowboys safety Cliff Harris bumped Thompson and was called for pass interference. The penalty placed the ball at the Cowboys' one-yard line where John Riggins scored to give the lead back to the Redskins, 27–21.
With less than seven minutes to play in the game, Riggins seemed to put the game out of reach for the Cowboys. Riggins broke to the outside at his own 34-yard line as he outran Cowboys linebacker Mike Hegman and then broke a tackle by Cliff Harris. Riggins then raced away from Cowboys cornerback Dennis Thurman down the right sideline and scored from 66 yards for a 34–21 Redskins lead.
With 3:49 left in the game, Randy White recovered a Redskins fumble. Roger Staubach only needed three plays to get the Cowboys closer as he connected with Ron Springs for a 26-yard touchdown. Springs caught the pass at the five-yard line and dragged Redskins cornerback Ray Waddy into the end zone. The Redskins still had a 34–28 lead with 2:20 left in the game.
With time running out and the Redskins facing a third and one, veteran defensive tackle Larry Cole threw Riggins for a two-yard loss and forced the Redskins to punt.
The Cowboys stood 75 yards away from an NFC Eastern Division title. Roger Staubach went back to work like he had done so many times in his career. He drove the Cowboys down the field in only seven plays. During the drive he connected with Tony Hill for 20 yards, then to Preston Pearson for 22 yards. With 1:01 left in the game Staubach went back to Preston Pearson for a 25-yard gain to the Redskins' 8-yard line. From there Staubach lofted a pass into the end zone that Tony Hill came down with.
The Cowboys won the game 35–34 over the Redskins and also won their 11th Eastern title in the team's 20-year history. The win also gave the Cowboys a week off and home field advantage in the playoffs. With the win it also knocked the Redskins out of the playoffs.
Roger Staubach finished the game with 336 yards passing and three touchdown passes. It was also the 21st time he guided the Cowboys to a fourth-quarter win and the 14th time he turned defeat into victory for the Cowboys in the final two minutes of a game.
Tony Hill led all receivers with eight receptions for 113 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Preston Pearson followed Hill with five receptions for 108 yards and one touchdown. Rookie Ron Springs, who started in place of the injured Tony Dorsett, rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown. He also added 58 receiving yards with one touchdown.
"What can I say about him?" asked Tom Landry. "Roger is simply super in these kinds of situations. He's done it before and knows he can do it."