1998 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 May 2025 Dallas Cowboys 1998 10–6 1st NFC East Jerry Jones Jerry Jones Chan Gailey Texas Stadium Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Cardinals) 7–20 RB Emmitt SmithOT Larry AllenOG Nate NewtonCB Deion SandersSS Darren Woodson File:Dallas Cowboys Uniforms 2013-2014.png Cowboys seasons The 1998 Dallas Cowboys season was the Cowboys' 39th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Cowboys were looking to improve on their 6–10 mark from the year before and head to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the 1990s. After the previous season, head coach Barry Switzer resigned after four seasons in which he led the Cowboys to the playoffs three times and won Super Bowl XXX. Chan Gailey, who had been offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was hired as his replacement. The Cowboys did manage to record a 10–6 record and once again win the NFC East as they had done in the five seasons prior to 1997. However, the Cowboys did not advance beyond the Wild Card round as they were upset by the Arizona Cardinals, who had not won a playoff game since 1947, when the franchise was based in Chicago. The Cowboys would not win another NFC East title until 2007. Offseason Additions Subtractions RB Chris Warren (Seahawks) QB Wade Wilson (Raiders) SS George Teague (Dolphins) FS Brock Marion (Dolphins) G Everett McIver (Dolphins) C John Flannery (Rams) LB Vinson Smith (Saints) SS Bill Bates (Retired) T Mark Tuinei (Retired) DE Tony Tolbert (Retired) RB Herschel Walker (Retired) NFL draft 1998 NFL draft 1998 Dallas Cowboys 1 8 Greg Ellis Defensive end North Carolina yes yes 2 38 Flozell Adams Offensive tackle Michigan State yes yes 4 100 Michael Myers Defensive tackle Alabama no yes 5 130 Darren Hambrick Linebacker South Carolina no yes 5 138 Oliver Ross Tackle Iowa State from Seattle no yes 6 188 Izell Reese Safety UAB no yes 7 223 Tarik Smith Running back California no no 7 227 Antonio Fleming Guard Georgia no no 7 237 Rod Monroe Tight end Cincinnati no no no Undrafted free agents + 1998 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRonald BaileyCornerbackGeorgiaKent BoothGuardNorthern IllinoisBarry CantrellPunterFordhamChike EgbuniweLinebackerDukeCory GeasonTight endTulane Roster Dallas Cowboys 1998 roster Quarterbacks  8 Troy Aikman 17 Jason Garrett 11 Mike Quinn Running backs 48 Daryl Johnston FB 22 Emmitt Smith 45 Nicky Sualua FB 42 Chris Warren KR 20 Sherman Williams Wide receivers 87 Billy Davis 88 Michael Irvin 81 Patrick Jeffers 82 Jeff Ogden Tight ends 86 Eric Bjornson 83 Hayward Clay 89 David LaFleur Offensive linemen 76 Flozell Adams G 73 Larry Allen T 66 Tony Hutson G/T 63 Mike Kiselak C 61 Nate Newton G 68 Oliver Ross G/T 50 Clay Shiver C 79 Erik Williams T Defensive linemen 96 Antonio Anderson DE 72 Nathan Davis DT 98 Greg Ellis DE 95 Chad Hennings DT 78 Leon Lett DT 99 Hurvin McCormack DE/DT 94 Michael Myers DE/DT 97 Kavika Pittman DE 93 Artie Smith DE/DTLinebackers 52 Dexter Coakley OLB 56 Randall Godfrey OLB 54 Darren Hambrick OLB 55 Fred Strickland MLB 59 Robert Thomas MLB 53 Brandon Tolbert OLB Defensive backs 34 Larry Brown CB 32 Tyrone Hughes CB/KR/PR 23 Kevin Mathis CB/KR 27 Singor Mobley SS 43 Izell Reese FS 21 Deion Sanders CB/PR 26 Kevin Smith CB 24 Omar Stoutmire FS 31 George Teague SS 30 Kenny Wheaton CB 25 Charlie Williams CB/S 28 Darren Woodson FS/SS Special teams  3 Richie Cunningham K  4 Toby Gowin P 70 Dale Hellestrae LSReserve lists 91 Darren Benson DT (IR) 10px 35 Wendell Davis CB (IR) 10px 58 Nate Hemsley LB (IR) 10px 67 Everett McIver G (IR) 10px 85 Ernie Mills WR (IR) 10px -- Beau Morgan RB (Military) 10px 51 Broderick Thomas LB (IR) 10px Practice squad 29 Terry Billups CB 60 Denny Fortney DE 38 Zebbie Lethridge CB 57 Myron Smith LB 36 Tarik Smith RB Rookies in italics 53 active, 7 inactive, 5 practice squad Regular season Gailey would revitalize the Cowboys offense, particularly the running game, which had seen a recent decline despite the presence of running back Emmitt Smith. The trio of Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin helped the Cowboys be the first ever NFC East team to sweep their division en route to capturing the NFC East title, the team's sixth of the 90's. The Cowboys would later encounter the Arizona Cardinals for the third time that season in the NFC Wild Card Game, but would lose in a stunning upset in the first round at Texas Stadium. Cornerback Deion Sanders suffered an injury to his toe in a regular season victory over Arizona and made a surprise return against them in the playoff loss. Aikman was injured in a week two loss at Denver and missed the next five games. Future Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett started all games during Aikman's absence and went 3–2 as the starting quarterback. Notable additions to the team that year include defensive end Greg Ellis and offensive tackle Flozell Adams. Ellis was drafted with the 8th pick in the first round. Many were stunned that the Cowboys didn't draft Randy Moss (most likely for his off-the-field issues). Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 6 Arizona Cardinals W 38–10 1–0 Texas Stadium 63,602 2 September 13 at Denver Broncos L 23–42 1–1 Mile High Stadium 75,013 3 September 21, 1998 at New York Giants W 31–7 2–1 Giants Stadium 78,039 4 September 27 Oakland Raiders L 12–13 2–2 Texas Stadium 63,544 5 October 4 at Washington Redskins W 31–10 3–2 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium 72,284 6 October 11 Carolina Panthers W 27–20 4–2 Texas Stadium 64,181 7 October 18 at Chicago Bears L 12–13 4–3 Soldier Field 59,201 8 Bye 9 November 2, 1998 at Philadelphia Eagles W 34–0 5–3 Veterans Stadium 67,002 10 November 8 New York Giants W 16–6 6–3 Texas Stadium 64,316 11 November 15 at Arizona Cardinals W 35–28 7–3 Sun Devil Stadium 71,670 12 November 22 Seattle Seahawks W 30–22 8–3 Texas Stadium 64,142 13 November 26 Minnesota Vikings L 36–46 8–4 Texas Stadium 64,366 14 December 6 at New Orleans Saints L 3–22 8–5 Louisiana Superdome 65,065 15 December 13 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 8–6 Arrowhead Stadium 77,697 16 December 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 13–9 9–6 Texas Stadium 62,722 17 December 27 Washington Redskins W 23–7 10–6 Texas Stadium 63,565 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Playoffs 1998–99 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue TV Wild Card January 2, 1999 Arizona Cardinals (6) L 20–7 0–1 Texas Stadium ABC Publications The Football Encyclopedia 0-312-11435-4 Total Football 0-06-270170-3 Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes 0-446-51950-2 References External links https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1998.htm 1998 Dallas Cowboys Statistics & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Category:NFC East championship seasons Dallas