1986 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1986 7–9 3rd NFC East Tom Landry Tex Schramm Bum Bright Texas Stadium Did not qualify None Cowboys seasons The 1986 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 27th season in the National Football League. The team finished the regular season at 7–9, their first time finishing with a losing record since 1964. Summary The Cowboys, re-invigorated by the off-season acquisitions of running back Herschel Walker and passing coordinator Paul Hackett, got off to a strong 6–2 start, including a season opening win on Monday night over the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, which saw Walker score the winning touchdown late in the game, and a 30–6 blowout win over the Washington Redskins, which ended the Redskins 5–0 start. Quarterbacks Danny White and Steve Pelluer played well early in the season under Hackett's tutelage, who was brought over from the San Francisco 49ers to breathe new life into the passing game. However, White broke his wrist on a sack by Carl Banks during a crucial loss to the New York Giants, and was ruled out for the season. Pelluer took over as the starting quarterback, and struggled mightily, throwing 17 interceptions over the course of the season, as well as seeing constant pressure from opposing pass rushers, including being sacked a team record twelve times in a game against San Diego. The Cowboys lost seven out of their final eight games, and suffered a five-game losing streak to close out the season, including embarrassing losses to the Redskins (41–14) and the Seahawks in the annual Thanksgiving Day game (31–14). It was the Cowboys' first loss on Thanksgiving since 1979. During the third quarter of a late-season loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Tom Landry was forced to leave the field due to a threat against his life. Landry returned to the field later in the game wearing a bulletproof vest. The Cowboys undoing certainly wasn't because of an inability to move the football, as the team ranked fourth in the NFL in total offense. Running back Herschel Walker rushed for 737 yards, caught 76 passes for 837 yards, and scored 14 touchdowns. Late in the season against the Eagles, Walker had a combined 292 yards rushing and receiving, breaking the team single game record. Running back Tony Dorsett added 748 yards rushing, and even though he was still the team's starting running back, he was clearly unhappy with his reduced role. This was the first non-strike season he hadn't rushed for 1,000 yards. The passing game flourished under Danny White early in the year, but following White's injury, turnovers and an inability to protect the quarterback neutralized the passing attack. Wide receiver Tony Hill and tight end Doug Cosbie both began to show their age, and Mike Renfro was limited because of injury. Rookie wide receiver Mike Sherrard provided a deep threat, gaining 744 yards on just 41 receptions. Defensively, the team struggled to stop the run, finishing 23rd against the run, and the secondary, an opportunistic bunch in past seasons, only intercepted 17 passes during the season. The pass rush was still strong, despite defensive tackle Randy White finally beginning to slow down due to age and injury, as fourth year defensive end Jim Jeffcoat stepped up with 14 sacks. Overall, it was mistakes that would plague the team throughout the 1986 season. The offensive line gave up 60 sacks, the offense turned the ball over 41 times, and the team committed 112 penalties. No Cowboys were selected for the Pro Bowl in 1986. Offseason NFL draft 1986 NFL draft 1986 Dallas Cowboys 1 18 Mike Sherrard WR UCLA yes 2 33 Darryl Clack RB Arizona State yes 3 74 Mark Walen DT UCLA yes 4 100 Max Zendejas PK Arizona no 6 140 Thornton Chandler TE Alabama yes 6 150 Stan Gelbaugh QB Maryland no 6 158 Lloyd Yancey OG Temple yes 7 185 Johnny Holloway WR Kansas yes 8 212 Topper Clemons RB Wake Forest no 9 242 John Ionata OG Florida State no 10 269 Bryan Chester OG Texas no 11 296 Garth Jax LB Florida State yes 12 307 Chris Duliban LB Texas yes 12 322 Tony Flack DB Georgia no Roster Dallas Cowboys 1986 roster Quarterbacks 10 Reggie Collier 14 Paul McDonald 16 Steve Pelluer Running backs 42 Darryl Clack 33 Tony Dorsett 46 Todd Fowler 29 Robert Lavette 30 Timmy Newsome 34 Herschel Walker Wide receivers 87 Gordon Banks 80 Tony Hill 82 Mike Renfro 86 Mike Sherrard Tight ends 85 Thornton Chandler 84 Doug Cosbie Offensive linemen 62 Brian Baldinger C/G 68 Crawford Ker G 67 Nate Newton G 75 Phil Pozderac T 64 Tom Rafferty C 70 Howard Richards T 63 Glen Titensor G 71 Mark Tuinei T Defensive linemen 99 Kevin Brooks DT/DE 78 John Dutton DT 77 Jim Jeffcoat DE 72 Ed Jones DE 60 Don Smerek DE/DT 54 Randy White DTLinebackers 55 Steve DeOssie MLB/LS 58 Mike Hegman OLB 53 Garth Jax OLB 56 Eugene Lockhart MLB 59 Jesse Penn OLB 50 Jeff Rohrer OLB Defensive backs 36 Vince Albritton SS 40 Bill Bates SS 26 Michael Downs FS 27 Ron Fellows CB 45 Manny Hendrix CB 23 Johnny Holloway CB 22 Victor Scott FS 24 Everson Walls CB Special teams  4 Mike Saxon P  1 Rafael Septién KReserve lists 61 Jim Cooper T (IR) 10px 52 Chris Duliban LB (IR) 10px 28 Norm Granger RB (IR) 10px -- George McDuffie DE (IR) 10px ## Carl Miller RB (IR) 10px 65 Kurt Petersen G (IR) 10px 81 Karl Powe WR (IR) 10px 89 Brian Salonen LB/TE (IR) 10px 95 Mark Walen DE (IR) 10px 11 Danny White QB (IR) 10px ## Lloyd Yancey G (IR) 10px Rookies in italics Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 8, 1986 New York Giants W 31–28 1–0 Texas Stadium 59,804 Recap 2 September 14 at Detroit Lions W 31–7 2–0 Pontiac Silverdome 73,812 Recap 3 September 21 Atlanta Falcons L 35–37 2–1 Texas Stadium 62,880 Recap 4 September 29, 1986 at St. Louis Cardinals W 31–7 3–1 Busch Stadium 49,077 Recap 5 October 5 at Denver Broncos L 14–29 3–2 Mile High Stadium 76,082 Recap 6 October 12 Washington Redskins W 30–6 4–2 Texas Stadium 63,264 Recap 7 October 19 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 5–2 Veterans Stadium 68,572 Recap 8 October 26 St. Louis Cardinals W 37–6 6–2 Texas Stadium 60,756 Recap 9 November 2 at New York Giants L 14–17 6–3 Giants Stadium 74,871 Recap 10 November 9 Los Angeles Raiders L 13–17 6–4 Texas Stadium 61,706 Recap 11 November 16 at San Diego Chargers W 24–21 7–4 Jack Murphy Stadium 55,622 Recap 12 November 23 at Washington Redskins L 14–41 7–5 RFK Stadium 55,642 Recap 13 November 27 Seattle Seahawks L 14–31 7–6 Texas Stadium 58,020 Recap 14 December 7 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–29 7–7 Anaheim Stadium 64,949 Recap 15 December 14 Philadelphia Eagles L 21–23 7–8 Texas Stadium 46,117 Recap 16 December 21 Chicago Bears L 10–24 7–9 Texas Stadium 57,256 Recap Division opponents are in bold text Standings Game summaries Week 1: vs. New York Giants Herschel Walker could have arrived at a better time, with Tony Dorsett sidelined with a first half ankle injury, Walker ended his NFL debut by scoring a game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run with 1:16 to play against the Giants. It was Walker's 2nd TD of the night-a Monday Night in which he ran for 64 yards on 10 tries. Dorsett opened the scoring on a 36-yard toss from Danny White in the second quarter, but New York rallies from 14-0 and 24–21 to claim a 28–24 lead on Phil Simms' third TD pass with 5:24 remaining. Simms threw for 300 yards, but it was Walker having arrived from the USFL that made the difference for Dallas. autocollapse Monday, September 8 8:00 p.m. CDT Giants 0 14 7 7 Cowboys 0 17 0 14 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 59,804 71 F, wind 11 mph on Pat Haggerty ABC Al Michaels (play by play), Frank Gifford (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Second quarter DAL – Tony Dorsett 36 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) – Cowboys 7–0 DAL – Herschel Walker 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick) – Cowboys 14–0 NYG – Bobby Johnson 13 yard pass from Phil Simms (Bob Thomas kick) – Cowboys 14–7 NYG – Stacy Robinson 3 yard pass from Phil Simms (Bob Thomas kick) – Tied 14–14 DAL – Rafael Septién 35 yard field goal – Cowboys 17–14 Third quarter NYG – Joe Morris 2 yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Giants 21–17 Fourth quarter DAL – Thornton Chandler 1 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) – Cowboys 24–21 NYG – Bobby Johnson 44 yard pass from Phil Simms (Bob Thomas kick) – Giants 28–24 DAL – Herschel Walker 10 yard run (Rafael Septién kick) – Cowboys 31–28 Giants Phil Simms 22/45, 300 Yds, 3 TD, INT Joe Morris 20 Rush, 87 Yds, TD Bobby Johnson 7 Rec, 105 Yds, 2 TD Cowboys Danny White 23/39, 279 Yds, 2 TD Herschel Walker 10 Rush, 64 Yds, 2 TD Tony Hill 5 Rec, 107 Yds Week 9: at New York Giants autocollapse November 2 12 noon CST Cowboys 0 7 0 7 Giants 3 7 0 7 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 74,871 59 F, wind 14 mph on Dick Hantak CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentary) Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Raiders Raiders 0 3 7 7 Cowboys 3 7 3 0 November 9 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 4:00 p.m. 56 F; wind 13 mph on Pat Haggerty Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC yes Q1 DAL Septién 20 yard field goal DAL 3–0 Q2 LA Bahr 45 yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q2 DAL Dorsett 13 yard run (Septién kick) DAL 10–3 Q3 LA Williams 20 yard pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick) Tie 10–10 Q3 DAL Septién 20 yard field goal DAL 13–10 Q4 LA Williams 40 yard pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick) LA 17–13 yes Dokie Williams 5 Rec, 107 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-08. Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks autocollapse November 27 Thursday 3:00pm local Seahawks 7 17 0 7 Cowboys 7 0 7 0 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 58,020 partly cloudy, 50 °F °C, 61% humidity, wind N 13 mph km/h Bob McElwee NBC Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, and Bob Griese (sideline) Gamebook First quarter DAL – Tony Dorsett 8-yard run (Rafael Septién kick), 5:57 (DAL 7–0) SEA – Dave Krieg 4-yard run (Norm Johnson kick), 0:41 (Tied 7–7) Second quarter SEA – Steve Largent 11-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 7:04 (SEA 14–7) SEA – Byron Franklin 19-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 1:56 (SEA 21–7) SEA – Norm Johnson 42-yard field goal, 0:08 (SEA 24–7) Third quarter DAL – Herschel Walker 1-yard run (Rafael Septién kick), 6:54 (SEA 24–14) Fourth quarter SEA – Curt Warner 9-yard run (Norm Johnson kick), 10:06 (SEA 31–14) Top passers SEA – Dave Krieg: 16/24, 214 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT DAL – Steve Pelluer: 22/36, 210 yds Top rushers SEA – Curt Warner: 22 car, 122 yds, 1 TD DAL – Tony Dorsett: 14 car, 59 yds, 1 TD Top receivers SEA – Steve Largent: 3 rec, 75 yds, 1 TD DAL – Mike Sherrard: 4 rec, 61 yds Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers SEA – 214 – 201 – 415 – 1 DAL – 201 – 127 – 328 – 1 Awards For the first time in team history, the Cowboys had no players chosen to play in the Pro Bowl. They also had no players mentioned on the Associated Press' All-NFL team. 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 1986 Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Dallas