2001 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 2001 5–11 5th NFC East Jerry Jones Jerry Jones Dave Campo Texas Stadium Did not qualify G Larry AllenLB Dexter Coakley Cowboys seasons File:Dallas Cowboys Uniforms 2013-2014.png The 2001 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 42nd in the National Football League (NFL) and second under head coach Dave Campo. The Cowboys matched their record from the season before, going 5–11 and missing the playoffs, finishing last in the NFC East. For the first time since 1988, Troy Aikman was not on the Cowboys roster as quarterback, as the three-time Super Bowl champion retired, after playing for the team from 1989 to 2000. For the only time, Pat Summerall and John Madden did not call any Cowboys games for Fox all year. Offseason Additions SubtractionsWR Darrin Chiaverini (Browns) QB Randall Cunningham (Ravens)QB Tony Banks (Ravens) QB Troy Aikman (retirement) WR James McKnight (Dolphins) CB Ryan McNeil (Chargers) DT Leon Lett (Broncos) An eventful off-season created a lot of buzz but little change in the Cowboys' fortunes. Franchise quarterback Troy Aikman, after suffering a pair of concussions the previous season, was released by the team. Unable to sign on with another team — in part due to his long history of concussions — Aikman announced his retirement at an emotional and lengthy press conference later in the off-season. This left running back Emmitt Smith as the last of the famed "triplets" from the Cowboys' Super Bowl victories. Veteran quarterback Tony Banks was signed in the off-season from the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens as an immediate replacement, and owner Jerry Jones hand-picked Georgia quarterback Quincy Carter with a second-round draft choice as the quarterback of the future. Many saw the Carter pick as quite a reach considering Carter's inconsistent career at Georgia and his low draft rating by several other teams. 2001 draft class 2001 NFL draft 2001 Dallas Cowboys 2 53 Quincy Carter QB Georgia yes 2 56 Tony Dixon SS Alabama yes 3 93 Willie Blade DT Mississippi State compensatory yes 4 122 Markus Steele LB Southern California yes 5 137 Matt Lehr G Virginia Tech yes 6 171 Daleroy Stewart DT Southern Mississippi yes 7 207 Colston Weatherington DL Central Missouri State yes 7 240 John Nix DT Southern Mississippi compensatory yes 7 242 Char-ron Dorsey OT Florida State compensatory yes Notes The Cowboys traded their 2000 first-round (No. 19 overall) and 2001 first-round (No. 7 overall) selections to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for wide receiver Joey Galloway. The Cowboys traded their original second-round selection (No. 37 overall) to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for second- (No. 52 overall) and third-round (No. 81 overall) selections. The Cowboys traded their second-round (No. 52 overall, from Indianapolis) selection to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for second (No. 56 overall) and fourth-round (No. 122 overall) selections. The Cowboys traded two third-round (Nos. 70 and 81 overall) selections to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a second-round (No. 53 overall) selection. The Cowboys traded their fourth-round (No. 102 overall) and 2002 seventh-round (No. 217 overall) selections to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for tight end O.J. Santiago.http://www.prosportstransactions.com/football/DraftTrades/Years/2001.htm 2001 NFL Draft Pick Transactions ProSportsTransactions.com Undrafted free agents + 2001 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDel BatesCornerbackNevadaJason BellCornerbackUCLACleavon BradshawCornerbackIdahoJaviar CollinsDefensive tackleNorthwesternDemetric EvansDefensive endGeorgiaJ. J. JonesLinebackerArkansasTravis OrtegaSafetyRiceLynn ScottSafetyNorthwestern Oklahoma StateColin SearsTackleAuburnTony TaylorRunning backNorthwestern StateJames WagstaffTackleNorth CarolinaKenny WilkersonFullbackMississippi State Roster Dallas Cowboys 2001 roster Quarterbacks 17 Quincy Carter 16 Ryan Leaf  5 Clint Stoerner Running backs 42 Troy Hambrick 22 Emmitt Smith 32 Michael Wiley KR 48 Terry Witherspoon FB Wide receivers 85 Darrin Chiaverini 84 Joey Galloway 81 Rocket Ismail 87 Ken-Yon Rambo 80 Reggie Swinton KR/PR 89 Randal Williams Tight ends 88 Jackie Harris 49 Johnny Huggins 86 Mike Lucky Offensive linemen 76 Flozell Adams T 73 Larry Allen G 70 Javiar Collins T 79 Char-ron Dorsey T 66 Ben Fricke C/G 61 Kelvin Garmon G 63 Aaron Gibson T 71 Alcender Jackson G 68 Matt Lehr C/G 53 Mark Stepnoski C Defensive linemen 98 Greg Ellis DE 92 Demetric Evans DE 90 Byron Frisch DE 72 Dwayne Missouri DE 94 Michael Myers DT 60 John Nix DT 75 Brandon Noble DT 93 Peppi Zellner DELinebackers 51 Keith Adams MLB 50 Jamal Brooks OLB 54 Marq Cerqua OLB 52 Dexter Coakley OLB 56 Orantes Grant OLB 59 Dat Nguyen MLB 55 Markus Steele OLB Defensive backs 33 Jason Bell CB 41 Pat Dennis CB 24 Tony Dixon SS 27 Mario Edwards CB 38 Duane Hawthorne CB 43 Izell Reese CB/S 21 Lynn Scott SS 31 George Teague FS 28 Darren Woodson SS Special teams  9 Jon Hilbert K  4 Micah Knorr P 45 Mike Solwold LS Reserve lists 99 Willie Blade DT (IR) 7px 96 Ebenezer Ekuban DE (IR) 7px 23 Dwayne Goodrich CB (IR) 7px 58 Louis Mackey LB (IR) 7px 77 Solomon Page T (IR) 7px  6 Tim Seder K (IR) 7px 64 Daleroy Stewart DT (NF-Inj) 7px 44 Robert Thomas FB (IR) 7px 91 Dimitrius Underwood DT (NF-Ill) 7px 82 James Whalen TE (IR) 7px  2 Anthony Wright QB (IR) 7px 18 Bashir Yamini WR (IR) 7px Practice squad 19 Richmond Flowers WR 15 Anthony Lucas WR (IR) 7px 36 Tony Taylor RB 67 Colston Weatherington DE -- Austin Wheatley TE 58 Donny Green OLB 53 Scott Zimmerman LB rookies in italics 53 active, 13 inactive, 5 practice squad Coaching staff Dallas Cowboys 2001 coaching staff Front office Owner/general manager – Jerry Jones Executive vp – Stephen Jones Head coaches Head coach – Dave Campo Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jack Reilly Quarterbacks – Wade Wilson Running backs – Clarence Shelmon Wide receivers – Wes Chandler Tight ends – Joe Avezzano Offensive line – Hudson Houck Offensive assistant – Glenn Smith Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Zimmer Defensive tackle – Andre Patterson Defensive ends – Jim Jeffcoat Linebackers – George Edwards Secondary – Pete Carmichael Jr Defensive nickel – Bill Bates Special teams coaches Special teams – Joe Avezzano Kickers – Steve Hoffman Strength and conditioning – Joe Juraszek Source:NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 113. Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 4, 2001 at Oakland Raiders L 14–21 0–1 Network Associates Coliseum 2 August 11, 2001 Denver Broncos L 6–20 0–2 Texas Stadium 3 August 18, 2001 at New Orleans Saints L 10–16 0–3 Louisiana Superdome 4 August 27 vs. Oakland Raiders W 21–6 1–3 Mexico Estadio Azteca (Mexico City) 5 August 30, 2001 Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–17 2–3 Texas Stadium Regular season Despite what seemed a promising outing in the first pre-season game by starter Tony Banks, the Cowboys, in a very surprising move, released Banks in the middle of training camp and handed the reins over to their rookie quarterback Quincy Carter. Banks would play this season with one of their rivals, the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately, a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness led the Cowboys to start a total of four different quarterbacks over the course of the season, including journeyman Anthony Wright and former Arkansas Razorback Clint Stoerner. In an attempt to provide more depth at the quarterback position, the team signed former second-overall draft pick Ryan Leaf mid-season, but he provided no improvement in his limited playing time. His only three starts of the season, a Week 9 loss to the Falcons, which also marked the first start for Falcons QB Michael Vick, a week 10 loss the Eagles, and a week 11 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Broncos, were the final starts of his career. Of those four quarterbacks, only Anthony Wright lasted into 2007. Even with the injection of new blood, the Cowboys suffered through another 5–11 campaign. placing 5th and last in the NFC East. The lack of development at quarterback and the offense in general would be blamed on offensive coordinator Jack Reilly, who was dismissed after the season. Fans became weary of the Cowboys' performance and blamed owner Jerry Jones, who by now had taken a more hands-on approach to running the team. One notable game included week 7, where the Cowboys led the Giants 24–7 at halftime, but (thanks in part to Clint Stoerner's 4 interceptions) the Giants rallied to win in overtime. In an unusual move, Stoerner was pulled from the game for Ryan Leaf late in the 4th quarter of a tie game. It was Leaf's debut with the team, but he couldn't lead them to victory. Another infamous game was on Thanksgiving Day against the Broncos. Dallas trailed 26–10 and scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter. Coach Dave Campo decided against "going for 2" which if successful would have made it an eight-point (and one-possession) game. Campo instead had Dallas kick the extra point, keeping the margin at 9. Dallas did score one more late TD but that was not enough to tie the game and they never got the ball back, and lost 26–24. A fourth consecutive season sweep of rival Washington Redskins and a victory over the San Francisco 49ers were the only victories of note. Much of the focus turned towards Emmitt Smith and his pursuit of the all-time career rushing yardage record. During an early-season game against the San Diego Chargers, Bob Hayes was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–10 0–1 Texas Stadium 61,521 2DAL-DET The Cowboys were originally scheduled to play the Detroit Lions during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17. September 23 San Diego Chargers L 21–32 0–2 Texas Stadium 63,430 3 September 30 at Philadelphia Eagles L 18–40 0–3 Veterans Stadium 66,621 4DAL-OAK The Cowboys were originally scheduled to play the Oakland Raiders during Week 6 (October 21) at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland. However, the game was re-scheduled to Week 4 to accommodate a possible Oakland Athletics baseball game in the ALCS, in which both the Cowboys and Raiders would originally have had their byes. The Athletics were subsequently eliminated on October 15. October 7 at Oakland Raiders L 21–28 0–4 Network Associates Coliseum 61,535 5 October 15, 2001 Washington Redskins W 9–7 1–4 Texas Stadium 63,941 6 ByeDAL-OAK 7 October 28 Arizona Cardinals W 17–3 2–4 Texas Stadium 63,114 8 November 4 at New York Giants L 24–27 (OT) 2–5 Giants Stadium 78,673 9 November 11 at Atlanta Falcons L 13–20 2–6 Georgia Dome 69,010 10 November 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 3–36 2–7 Texas Stadium 63,204 11 November 22 Denver Broncos L 24–26 2–8 Texas Stadium 64,104 12 December 2 at Washington Redskins W 20–14 3–8 FedExField 85,112 13 December 9 New York Giants W 20–13 4–8 Texas Stadium 61,821 14 December 16 at Seattle Seahawks L 3–29 4–9 Husky Stadium 63,366 15 December 23 at Arizona Cardinals L 10–17 4–10 Sun Devil Stadium 48,883 16 December 30 San Francisco 49ers W 27–21 5–10 Texas Stadium 64,366 17DAL-DET January 6 at Detroit Lions L 10–15 5–11 Pontiac Silverdome 77,512 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 2: vs San Diego Chargers Dallas Cowboys 2001 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 2: San Diego Chargers at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary September 23 12:00 p.m. CDT Chargers 14 6 6 6 Cowboys 0 14 0 7 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 63,430 Partly Cloudy and Hazy, 84 F C Jeff Triplette CBS Kevin Harlan, Craig James and Beasley Reece Box score, Game Book First quarter SDG – Freddie Jones 11-yard pass from Doug Flutie (Wade Richey kick), 10:23. Chargers 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 38 yards, 3:48. SDG – Curtis Conway 7-yard pass from Doug Flutie (Wade Richey kick), 3:43. Chargers 14–0. Drive: 10 plays, 48 yards, 5:39. Second quarter SDG – Wade Richey 22-yard field goal, 13:30. Chargers 17–0. Drive: 5 plays, 39 yards, 1:42. DAL – Rocket Ismail 80-yard pass from Anthony Wright (Tim Seder kick), 13:12. Chargers 17–7. Drive: 1 play, 80 yards, 0:18. SDG – Wade Richey 24-yard field goal, 3:55. Chargers 20–7. Drive: 7 plays, 85 yards, 3:03. DAL – Wane McGarity 11-yard pass from Anthony Wright (Tim Seder kick), 1:01. Chargers 20–14. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 2:54. Third quarter SDG – Tim Dwight 16-yard run (pass failed), 6:55. Chargers 26–14. Drive: 10 plays, 83 yards, 5:45. Fourth quarter SDG – Wade Richey 23-yard field goal, 12:53. Chargers 29–14. Drive: 11 plays, 81 yards, 5:00. DAL – Mike Lucky 7-yard pass from Anthony Wright (Tim Seder kick), 9:21. Chargers 29–21. Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 3:32. SDG – Wade Richey 43-yard field goal, 1:09. Chargers 32–21. Drive: 7 plays, 9 yards, 1:26. Top passers SDG – Doug Flutie – 23/38, 348 yards, 2 TD DAL – Anthony Wright – 12/25, 193 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT Top rushers SDG – LaDainian Tomlinson – 27 rushes, 90 yards DAL – Emmitt Smith – 17 rushes, 85 yards Top receivers SDG – Jeff Graham – 6 receptions, 94 yards DAL – Rocket Ismail – 2 receptions, 83 yards, TD Week 8: at New York Giants Dallas Cowboys 2001 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 8: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants – game summary November 4 1:00 p.m. EST Cowboys 10 14 0 0 0 Giants 0 7 7 10 3 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey 78,673 Scattered clouds, 61 F C Bernie Kukar Fox Dick Stockton, Troy Aikman, Daryl Johnston and Pam Oliver First quarter DAL – Tim Seder 22-yard field goal, 3:15. Cowboys 3–0. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 5:49. DAL – Joey Galloway 16-yard pass from Clint Stoerner (Tim Seder kick), 0:19. Cowboys 10–0. Drive: 2 plays, 15 yards, 0:47. Second quarter DAL – Dexter Coakley 29-yard interception return (Tim Seder kick), 14:32. Cowboys 17–0. NYG – Joe Jurevicius 4-yard pass from Kerry Collins (Morten Andersen kick), 3:22. Cowboys 17–7. Drive: 4 plays, 63 yards, 1:49. DAL – Mario Edwards 71-yard interception return (Tim Seder kick), 0:39. Cowboys 24–7. Third quarter NYG – Joe Jurevicius 34-yard pass from Kerry Collins (Morten Andersen kick), 5:45. Cowboys 24–14. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:57. Fourth quarter NYG – Morten Andersen 40-yard field goal, 10:41. Cowboys 24–17. Drive: 7 plays, 28 yards, 4:06. NYG – Ike Hilliard 9-yard pass from Kerry Collins (Morten Andersen kick), 8:19. Tied 24–24. Drive: 2 plays, 14 yards, 0:46. Overtime NYG – Morten Andersen 42-yard field goal, 7:48. Giants 27–24. Drive: 8 plays, 61 yards, 4:17. Top passers DAL – Clint Stoerner – 13/23, 177 yards, TD, 4 INT NYG – Kerry Collins – 24/34, 280 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Top rushers DAL – Troy Hambrick – 30 rushes, 77 yards NYG – Ron Dayne – 17 rushes, 52 yards Top receivers DAL – Raghib Ismail – 6 receptions, 107 yards NYG – Amani Toomer – 3 receptions, 69 yards Week 11: vs Denver Broncos Dallas Cowboys 2001 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 11: Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys November 22, 2001 3:15 p.m. CST Broncos 3 14 6 3 Cowboys 3 0 0 21 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 64,104 Overcast, 72 F C CBS Greg Gumbel, Phil Simms and Armen Keteyian First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers DEN – Brian Griese – 17/29, 171 yards, TD, INT DAL – Ryan Leaf – 16/32, 193 yards Top rushers DEN – Mike Anderson – 33 rushes, 118 yards, TD DAL – Troy Hambrick – 5 rushes, 17 yards Top receivers DEN – Rod Smith – 7 receptions, 81 yards DAL – Joey Galloway – 6 receptions, 64 yards Week 17: at Detroit Lions Dallas Cowboys 2001 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 17: Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions January 6, 2002 12:00 p.m. CDT/1:00 p.m. EST Cowboys 0 7 0 3 Lions 0 6 3 6 Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan 77,512 None (indoor stadium) Fox Kenny Albert, Tim Green and Jennifer Hammond First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers DAL – Quincy Carter – 11/26, 158 yards, INT DET – Ty Detmer – 24/40, 242 yards, 2 TD Top rushers DAL – Emmitt Smith – 18 rushes, 77 yards, TD DET – James Stewart – 13 rushes, 69 yards Top receivers DAL – Joey Galloway – 3 receptions, 58 yards DET – Johnnie Morton – 8 receptions, 86 yards, TD Standings Notes References Publications The Football Encyclopedia 0-312-11435-4 Total Football 0-06-270170-3 Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes 0-446-51950-2 External links https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2001.htm 2001 Dallas Cowboys Statistics & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Dallas