1972 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1972 10–4 2nd NFC East Tom Landry Clint Murchison, Jr. Tex Schramm Texas Stadium Won Divisional Playoffs(at 49ers) 30–28Lost NFC Championship(at Redskins) 3–26 Cowboys seasons The 1972 Dallas Cowboys season was their 13th in the league. The team failed to improve their previous output of 11–3, winning ten games.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1972.htm 1972 Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Reference September 15, 2019 They qualified for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season but settled for the wildcard spot. A pre-season injury to quarterback Roger Staubach and the trade of Duane Thomas (both had been integral figures in the 1971 championship team) hindered the offense, although this was mitigated somewhat since their replacements of Craig Morton and Calvin Hill were both former starters. In the divisional playoff round, Staubach came off the bench to engineer an improbable 30–28 comeback win over the 49ers (Dallas had trailed by 28–16 with less than 2 minutes to play). The win over the 49ers still ranks as one of the all-time great Cowboys wins. However, the momentum could not carry them to a victory over Washington in the NFC Championship game. NFL draft 1972 NFL draft 1972 Dallas Cowboys 1 26 Bill Thomas RB Boston College yes 2 35 Robert Newhouse FB Houston yes 2 39 John Babinecz LB Villanova yes 2 52 Charles McKee WR Arizona no 3 64 Mike Keller LB Michigan yes 3 78 Marv Bateman P Utah yes 4 83 Tim Kearney LB Northern Michigan no 4 90 Robert West WR San Diego State no 4 93 Chuck Zapiec LB Penn State no 6 156 Charles Bolden DB Iowa no 8 208 Ralph Coleman LB North Carolina A&T yes 9 234 Roy Bell RB Oklahoma Signed with the CFL no 10 260 Richard Amman DT Florida State no 11 286 Lonnie Leonard DE North Carolina A&T no 12 312 Jimmy Harris WR Morgan State no 13 338 Jean Fugett TE Amherst College yes yes 14 363 Alan Thompson RB Wisconsin Signed with the CFL no 15 390 Carlos Alvarez WR Florida no 16 416 Gordon Longmire QB Utah no 17 442 Alphonso Cain DE Bethune–Cookman no Roster Dallas Cowboys 1972 roster Quarterbacks 14 Craig Morton 12 Roger Staubach Running backs 32 Walt Garrison 35 Calvin Hill 23 Mike Montgomery 44 Robert Newhouse 30 Dan Reeves 27 Bill Thomas Wide receivers 19 Lance Alworth 22 Bob Hayes 21 Billy Parks 88 Ron Sellers Tight ends 89 Mike Ditka 84 Jean Fugett 87 Billy Truax Offensive linemen 62 John Fitzgerald C/G 51 Dave Manders C 73 Ralph Neely T 76 John Niland G 61 Blaine Nye G 71 Rodney Wallace T/G 70 Rayfield Wright T Defensive linemen 63 Larry Cole DE 77 Bill Gregory DE/DT 74 Bob Lilly DT 75 Jethro Pugh DT 67 Pat Toomay DELinebackers 53 John Babinecz MLB 86 Ralph Coleman OLB 52 Dave Edwards OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB Defensive backs 26 Herb Adderley CB 34 Cornell Green SS 43 Cliff Harris FS 20 Mel Renfro CB 46 Mark Washington CB 41 Charlie Waters CB/S Special teams 81 Marv Bateman P 15 Toni Fritsch KReserve lists 66 George Andrie DE (IR) 10px 54 Chuck Howley LB (IR) 10px 85 Tody Smith DE (NF-Ill.) 10px Taxi Squad 31 Benny Barnes CB 18 Jack Concannon QB 57 Mike Keller LB 72 Don Talbert T Rookies in italics 40 active, 7 inactive Regular season Roger Staubach was lost in the 3rd pre season game with the Los Angeles Rams when Marlin McKeever tackled him. It required him to get a shoulder operation. Veteran backup Quarterback Craig Morton would lead the Cowboys for the 1972 season. When the Cowboys got down in the December 23 playoff game Tom Landry inserted Roger who led them to a come from behind 30–28 victory over San Francisco. In 1972 the Cowboys would build up big leads in games only to hang on to win. Some examples of this would be Monday Night October 30 when they hosted Detroit, the November 5 game in San Diego, a November 12 game at home versus St. Louis, and the December 9 home game against Washington. The December 18, 1972 Sports Illustrated ran a story on the 1972 Dallas Cowboys surrounding their game with the Washington Redskins on pages 20–23, and featuring Cowboy middle linebacker #55 Lee Roy Jordan on the cover. Still another factor in the Cowboys 1972 season was that All Pro defensive tackle Bob Lilly played through an injury to his back for most all of the year, along with a bone spur near his heel and an injured muscle just above his knee. Lilly was furthermore selected for his 10th Pro Bowl but did not play in the game at Texas Stadium. Lilly had 2 1/2 sacks on the season, while overall the team totaled 32. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 17 Philadelphia Eagles W 28–6 1–0 Texas Stadium 55,850 Recap 2 September 24 at New York Giants W 23–14 2–0 Yankee Stadium 62,725 Recap 3 October 1 at Green Bay Packers L 13–16 2–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,103 Recap 4 October 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–13 3–1 Texas Stadium 65,682 Recap 5 October 15 at Baltimore Colts W 21–0 4–1 Memorial Stadium 58,992 Recap 6 October 22 at Washington Redskins L 20–24 4–2 RFK Stadium 53,039 Recap 7 October 30, 1972 Detroit Lions W 28–24 5–2 Texas Stadium 65,378 Recap 8 November 5 at San Diego Chargers W 34–28 6–2 San Diego Stadium 54,476 Recap 9 November 12 St. Louis Cardinals W 33–24 7–2 Texas Stadium 65,218 Recap 10 November 19 at Philadelphia Eagles W 28–7 8–2 Veterans Stadium 65,720 Recap 11 November 23 San Francisco 49ers L 10–31 8–3 Texas Stadium 65,124 Recap 12 December 3 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–6 9–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,787 Recap 13 December 9, 1972 Washington Redskins W 34–24 10–3 Texas Stadium 65,136 Recap 14 December 17 New York Giants L 3–23 10–4 Texas Stadium 64,602 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1: vs. Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys; Dallas Cowboys;text-align:center; autocollapse Week One: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys  – Game summary September 17 1:00 p.m. CDT Eagles 3 3 0 0 Cowboys 0 7 14 7 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 80 degrees, wind 11 mph Fred Wyant CBS Don Criqui and Irv Cross Box Score First quarter PHI – Tom Dempsey 30 yard field goal, Eagles 3–0 Second quarter PHI – Tom Dempsey 42 yard field goal, Eagles 6–0 DAL – Ron Sellers 37 yard pass from Craig Morton (Toni Fritsch kick), Cowboys 7–6 Third quarter DAL – Lance Alworth 13 yard pass from Craig Morton (Toni Fritsch kick), Cowboys 14–6 DAL – Calvin Hill 3 yard run (Toni Fritsch kick), Cowboys 21–6 Fourth quarter DAL – Robert Newhouse 1 yard run (Toni Fritsch kick), Cowboys 28–6 Top passers PHI – John Reaves – 11/19, 143 yards, 2 interceptions DAL – Craig Morton – 13/26, 235 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions Top rushers PHI – Po James – 13 carries, 28 yards DAL – Calvin Hill – 17 carries, 65 yards, 1 touchdown Top receivers PHI – Harold Jackson – 9 receptions, 161 yards DAL – Ron Sellers – 3 receptions, 88 yards, 1 touchdown Week 2: at New York Giants background-color:#ffffff; color:#002244 ;text-align:center; border:2px solid #002244 autocollapse Week Two: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants  – Game summary September 24 1:00 p.m. EDT Cowboys 7 3 3 10 Giants 0 7 0 7 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York 60 degrees, wind 8 mph Chuck Heberling CBS Frank Glieber and Alex Hawkins Box Score First quarter DAL – Walt Garrison 1 yard run (Toni Fritsch kick), Cowboys 7–0 Second quarter DAL – Toni Fritsch 54 yard field goal, Cowboys 10–0 NYG – Rich Houston 55 yard pass from Norm Snead (Pete Gogolak kick), Cowboys 10–7 Third quarter DAL – Toni Fritsch 13 yard field goal, Cowboys 13–7 Fourth quarter DAL – Toni Fritsch 8 yard field goal, Cowboys 16–7 NYG – Rich Houston 94 yard pass from Norm Snead (Pete Gogolak kick), Cowboys 16–14 DAL – Lance Alworth 3 yard pass from Craig Morton (Toni Fritsch kick), Cowboys 23–14 Top passers DAL – Craig Morton – 15/27, 158 yards, 1 touchdown NYG – Norm Snead – 19/26, 298 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception Top rushers DAL – Calvin Hill – 20 carries, 91 yards NYG – Ron Johnson – 14 carries, 42 yards Top receivers DAL – Billy Parks – 4 receptions, 49 yards NYG – Rich Houston – 5 receptions, 175 yards, 2 touchdowns Playoffs 1972–73 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap Divisional December 23, 1972 F j, Y at San Francisco 49ers W 30–28 Candlestick Park 61,214 Recap NFC Championship December 31, 1972 at Washington Redskins L 3–26 RFK Stadium 53,129 Recap Standings Season recap The Dallas Cowboys since its inception have always had cheerleaders, but during the team preparations to defend their World Championship title in 1972, a turning point in cheerleader history would be made with the creation of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, wearing new star spangled uniforms and performing dance routines, instead of the traditional acrobatic displays. The Cowboys qualified for the playoffs a record seventh consecutive year. Trivia This season marks the first time in Cowboys history they wore their white jerseys for every game. The second and only other time so far was 2010. 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 30em External links 1972 Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys