The 1976 Dallas Cowboys season was their 17th in the National Football League. The team improved on their previous output of 10–4, winning eleven games.1976 Dallas Cowboys They qualified for the playoffs, but were defeated by the Los Angeles Rams with a score of 14–12 in the divisional round.
Offseason
1976 expansion draft
+ Dallas Cowboys selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Ron HowardTight endSeattle Seahawks00Cal PetersonLinebackerTampa Bay Buccaneers00Rolly WoolseyCornerbackSeattle Seahawks
NFL draft
Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1976 roster Quarterbacks Roger Staubach
Running backs Doug Dennison Jim Jensen Scott Laidlaw Robert Newhouse Preston Pearson Charley Young
Wide receivers Butch Johnson Drew Pearson Beasley Reece Golden Richards
Tight ends Billy Joe DuPree Jay Saldi Offensive linemen Pat Donovan T Jim Eidson T John Fitzgerald C Burton Lawless G Ralph Neely T Blaine Nye G Tom Rafferty G/C Herbert Scott G Rayfield Wright T
Defensive linemen Larry Cole DT Bill Gregory DT Ed Jones DE Harvey Martin DE Jethro Pugh DT Greg Schaum DELinebackers Bob Breunig OLB Mike Hegman OLB Thomas Henderson OLB Lee Roy Jordan MLB D. D. Lewis OLB Randy White MLB
Defensive backs Benny Barnes CB Cliff Harris FS Randy Hughes FS Aaron Kyle CB Mel Renfro CB Mark Washington CB Charlie Waters SS
Special teams Efrén Herrera K Danny White P/QBReserve lists Kyle Davis C (IR) Duke Fergerson WR (IR) Percy Howard WR (IR) John Smith RB (IR)
Rookies in italics 43 active, 4 inactive
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 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
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
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 Total Football Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes
References