1966 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1966 10–3–1 1st NFL Eastern Tom Landry Clint Murchison, Jr. Tex Schramm Cotton Bowl Lost NFL Championship(vs. Packers) 27–34 9 DE George Andrie CB Cornell Green WR Bob Hayes LB Chuck Howley DT Bob Lilly C Dave Manders QB Don Meredith FB Don Perkins FS Mel Renfro 4 CB Cornell Green LB Chuck Howley WR Bob Hayes DT Bob Lilly The 1966 Dallas Cowboys season was the seventh for the franchise in the National Football League. The Cowboys, who had never previously finished with a winning record in their history, would improve dramatically. Dallas finished 10–3–1 and won the Eastern Conference title, their first of six consecutive division titles. They hosted the NFL Championship Game at the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to the defending NFL champion Green Bay Packers, thus missing out on the chance to play in the first Super Bowl which the Packers went on to win two weeks later. Quarterback Don Meredith had the best season of his career throwing for 2,805 yards, 24 touchdowns (both career highs) and 12 interceptions. This season would also start an annual tradition, which the Cowboys would play on Thanksgiving, a holiday they have played every year since.Ostly Ayrton Lions, Cowboys and Thanksgiving: Why Detroit and Dallas always play on the holiday https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2024/11/28/detroit-lions-dallas-cowboys-thanksgiving-nfl-history/76598292007/#:~:text=Why%20do%20the%20Lions%20always,more%20fans%20to%20the%20stadium. 2024-11-28 USA TODAY en-US Offseason NFL draft 1966 NFL draft 1966 Dallas Cowboys 1 5 John Niland OG Iowa yes yes 2 22 Willie Townes DT Tulsa yes 5 79 Walt Garrison FB Oklahoma State yes yes 6 86 Bob Dunlevy OT West Virginia no 7 100 Arthur Robinson WR Florida A&M no 8 116 Don Kunit RB Penn State no 9 130 Darrell Elam WR West Virginia Tech no 10 146 Mason Mitchell RB Washington no 11 160 Austin Denney TE Tennessee no 12 173 Les Shy DB Long Beach State yes 12 176 Craig Baynham RB Georgia Tech yes 13 190 Ron Lamb RB South Carolina no 14 206 Lewis Turner RB Norfolk State no 15 220 Mark Gartung OT Oregon State no 16 236 Tom Piggee RB San Francisco State no 17 250 George Allen DT West Texas State Signed with the AFL no 18 266 Steve Orr OT Washington no 19 280 Byron Johnson OT Central Washington no 20 296 Lou Hudson WR Minnesota Signed with the NBA no Undrafted free agents + 1966 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJim BrownRunning backTexas A&IAlex BowdenQuarterbackAuburnDick DanielsSafetyPacific (CA)Marv KendrickDefensive backUtah State Roster Dallas Cowboys 1966 roster Quarterbacks 17 Don Meredith 14 Craig Morton 13 Jerry Rhome Running backs 32 Walt Garrison 43 Don Perkins 30 Dan Reeves 46 Les Shy 24 J. D. Smith Wide receivers 26 Buddy Dial 35 Pete Gent 22 Bob Hayes Tight ends 82 Frank Clarke 84 Pettis Norman Offensive linemen 68 Jim Boeke T 53 Mike Connelly C/G 62 Leon Donohue G 72 Tony Liscio T/G 51 Dave Manders C 73 Ralph Neely T 76 John Niland G 57 Malcolm Walker T Defensive linemen 66 George Andrie DE 77 Jim Colvin DT 74 Bob Lilly DT 75 Jethro Pugh DT 79 Larry Stephens DE 71 Willie Townes DELinebackers 52 Dave Edwards OLB 56 Harold Hays OLB 54 Chuck Howley OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 50 Jerry Tubbs MLB Defensive backs 45 Dick Daniels SS 27 Mike Gaechter SS 34 Cornell Green CB 23 Mike Johnson CB 41 Warren Livingston CB 25 Obert Logan FS 20 Mel Renfro FS Special teams 11 Danny Villanueva K/PReserve lists 70 Bill Sandeman DT (IR) 10px Taxi squad 83 Art Robinson TE 87 Dick Smith WR 44 Jim Steffen S 65 John Wilbur G/T Rookies in italics 40 active, 1 inactive Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 Bye 2 September 18 New York Giants W 52–7 1–0 Cotton Bowl 60,010 Recap 3 September 25 Minnesota Vikings W 27–17 2–0 Cotton Bowl 64,116 Recap 4 October 2 at Atlanta Falcons W 47–14 3–0 Atlanta Stadium 56,990 Recap 5 October 9 Philadelphia Eagles W 56–7 4–0 Cotton Bowl 69,372 Recap 6 October 16 at St. Louis Cardinals T 10–10 4–0–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,673 Recap 7 October 23 at Cleveland Browns L 21–30 4–1–1 Cleveland Stadium 84,721 Recap 8 October 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 52–21 5–1–1 Cotton Bowl 58,453 Recap 9 November 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 23–24 5–2–1 Franklin Field 60,658 Recap 10 November 13 at Washington Redskins W 31–30 6–2–1 D.C. Stadium 50,927 Recap 11 November 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–7 7–2–1 Pitt Stadium 42,185 Recap 12 November 24 Cleveland Browns W 26–14 8–2–1 Cotton Bowl 80,259 Recap 13 December 4 St. Louis Cardinals W 31–17 9–2–1 Cotton Bowl 76,965 Recap 14 December 11 Washington Redskins L 31–34 9–3–1 Cotton Bowl 64,198 Recap 15 December 18 at New York Giants W 17–7 10–3–1 Yankee Stadium 62,735 Recap Conference opponents are in bold text A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week. This year was the first time the Dallas Cowboys played on Thanksgiving Day Game summaries Week 2 vs. New York Giants Week Two: New York Giants (0-0-1) at Dallas Cowboys (0-0) Dallas Cowboys 1966 2; text-align:center 14 0 7 0 0 7 7 24 Cowboys Giants Cotton Bowl, Dallas September 18 73 °F °C Box Score First quarter Dallas – Don Perkins 1-yard rush (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 7–0. Second quarter New York – Homer Jones 20-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Gogolak kick) 7–7. Dallas – Bob Hayes 74-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 14–7. Dallas – Danny Villanueva 12-yard field goal, Cowboys 17–7. Dallas – Dan Reeves 2-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 24–7. Dallas – Dan Reeves 1-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 31–7. Third quarter Dallas – Bob Hayes 39-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 38–7. Dallas – Dan Reeves 19-yard pass from Don Meredith (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 45–7. Fourth quarter Dallas – Cornell Green 41-yard interception return (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 52–7 Top Passers Giants – Earl Morrall: 9/25, 106 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT Cowboys – Don Meredith: 14/24, 358 yds, 5 TD Top rushers Giants – Chuck Mercein: 11 car, 83 yds Cowboys – Don Perkins: 16 car, 52 yds, 1 TD Top receivers Giants – Homer Jones: 4 rec, 46 yds. 1 TD Cowboys – Bob Hayes: 6 rec, 195 yds. 2 TD Week 8 vs Steelers Dallas Cowboys 1966 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Eight: Pittsburgh Steelers (1–4–1) at Dallas Cowboys (4–1–1) October 30 Steelers 7 7 7 0 Cowboys 0 24 21 7 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas 58,453 64 F C Box Score First quarter PIT – Marv Woodson 56-yard interception return (Mike Clark kick), Steelers 7–0. Second quarter DAL – Dan Reeves 1-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick), 7–7. DAL – Lee Roy Jordan 49-yard interception return (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 14–7. DAL – Danny Villanueva 12-yard field goal, Cowboys 17–7. DAL – Dan Reeves 8-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick), Cowboys 24–7. PIT – Jim Butler 93-yard kickoff return (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 24–14. Third quarter DAL – Mel Renfro 87-yard kickoff return (Danny Villanueva kick), Cowboys 31–14. DAL – Frank Clarke 22-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick), Cowboys 38–14. PIT – John Hilton 4-yard pass from Ron Smith (Mike Clark kick), Cowboys 38–21. DAL – Pete Gent 84-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick), Cowboys 45–21. Fourth quarter DAL – J.D. Smith 1-yard run (Danny Villanueva kick), Cowboys 52–21. Top passers PIT – Ron Smith – 8/25, 115 yards, TD DAL – Don Meredith – 11/25, 226 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT Top rushers PIT – Jim Butler – 5 rushes, 9 yards DAL – Dan Reeves – 13 rushes, 66 yards Top receivers PIT – Roy Jefferson – 4 receptions, 74 yards DAL – Pete Gent – 1 reception, 84 yards, TD Week 10 at Redskins Dallas Cowboys 1966 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Ten: Dallas Cowboys (5–2–1) at Washington Redskins (5–4) November 13, 1966 Cowboys 7 7 7 10 Redskins 6 0 17 7 District of Columbia Stadium, Washington, D.C. 50,927 40 F C Box Score Don Meredith played through a broken rib left Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Washington Redskins Redskins Don Meredith 21/29, 406 Yds, 2 TD, INT Dan Reeves 13 Rush, 59 Yds Bob Hayes 9 Rec, 246 Yds, 2 TD Sonny Jurgensen 26/46, 347 Yds, 3 TD A.D. Whitfield 7 Rush, 17 Yds Charley Taylor 11 Rec, 199 Yds, 2 TD DAL WAS collapsed 1 Redskins FG 35 Charlie Gogolak 0 3 1 Cowboys RushTD Don Meredith 1 good Danny Villanueva run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 3 1 Redskins FG 33 Charlie Gogolak 7 6 2 Cowboys RecTD Bob Hayes Don Meredith 52 good Danny Villanueva run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 6 3 Cowboys RecTD Bob Hayes Don Meredith 95 good Danny Villanueva run/pass good/failed/incomplete 21 6 3 Redskins RecTD Jerry Smith Sonny Jurgensen 4 good Charlie Gogolak run/pass good/failed/incomplete 21 13 3 Redskins RecTD Charley Taylor Sonny Jurgensen 78 good Charlie Gogolak run/pass good/failed/incomplete 21 20 3 Redskins FG 11 Charlie Gogolak 21 23 4 Cowboys RushTD Dan Reeves 1 good Danny Villanueva run/pass good/failed/incomplete 28 23 4 Redskins RecTD Charley Taylor Sonny Jurgensen 18 good Charlie Gogolak run/pass good/failed/incomplete 28 30 4 0:15 Cowboys FG 20 Danny Villanueva 31 30 31 30 Week 12 vs Browns 1966 Cleveland Browns season Dallas Cowboys 1966 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Twelve: Cleveland Browns (7–3) at Dallas Cowboys (7–2–1) November 24 Thursday Browns 0 14 0 0 Cowboys 6 7 6 7 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas 80,259 71 F C Box Score First quarter DAL – Danny Villanueva 11-yard field goal. Cowboys 3-0. DAL – Danny Villanueva 31-yard field goal. Cowboys 6-0. Second quarter CLE – Leroy Kelly 1-yard run (Lou Groza kick). Browns 7-6. DAL – Dan Reeves 6-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 13-7. CLE – Ernie Green 16-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Lou Groza kick). Browns 14-13. Third quarter DAL – Danny Villanueva 12-yard field goal. Cowboys 16-14. DAL – Danny Villanueva 13-yard field goal. Cowboys 19-14. Fourth quarter DAL – Don Perkins 9-yard run (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 26-14. Top passers CLE – Frank Ryan – 12/26, 190 yards, TD DAL – Don Meredith – 16/24, 131 yards, TD Top rushers CLE – Leroy Kelly – 15 rushes, 115 yards, TD DAL – Don Perkins – 23 rushes, 111 yards, TD Receiving CLE – Gary Collins – 5 receptions, 92 yards DAL – Bob Hayes – 6 receptions, 54 yards Week 15 at New York Giants Week Fifteen: Dallas Cowboys (9-3-1) at New York Giants (1-11-1) Dallas Cowboys 1966 2; text-align:center 0 0 7 10 7 0 0 0 Giants Cowboys Yankee Stadium, New York City December 18 50 °F °C Box Score First quarter Dallas – George Andrie 6-yard interception return (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 7–0. Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter New York – Joe Morrison 1-yard rush (Gogolak kick), 7–7. Dallas – Bob Hayes 41-yard pass from Craig Morton (Villanueva kick), Cowboys 14–7. Dallas – Danny Villanueva 10-yard field goal, Cowboys 17–7. Top Passers Cowboys – Craig Morton: 6/9, 88 yds, 1 TD Giants – Gary Wood: 14/28, 198 yds, 2 INT Top rushers Cowboys – Don Perkins: 10 car, 41 yds Giants – Allen Jacobs: 11 car, 28 yds Top receivers Cowboys – Bob Hayes: 7 rec, 99 yds,1 TD Giants – Joe Morrison: 6 rec, 131 yds Postseason 1966 NFL Championship Game Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap NFL Championship January 1, 1967 Green Bay Packers L 27–34 Cotton Bowl 75,504 Recap NFL Championship Game text-align:center; background:#eee Green Bay Packers 34, Dallas Cowboys 27 Packers 14 7 7 6 Cowboys 14 3 3 7 Sunday, January 1 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas 74,152 Box Score First quarter GB – Elijah Pitts 17-yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick) GB – Jim Grabowski 18-yard fumble return (Don Chandler kick) DAL – Dan Reeves 3-yard run (Danny Villanueva kick) DAL – Don Perkins 23-yard run (Danny Villanueva kick) Second quarter GB – Carroll Dale 51-yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick) DAL – Danny Villanueva 11-yard field goal Third quarter DAL – Danny Villanueva 32-yard field goal GB – Boyd Dowler 16-yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick) Fourth quarter GB – Max McGee 28-yard pass from Bart Starr (kick blocked) DAL – Frank Clarke 68-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick) Passing GB – Bart Starr 19/28, 304 yards, 4 TD DAL – Don Meredith 15/31, 238 yards, TD, INT Rushing GB – Elijah Pitts 12 att, 66 yards DAL – Don Perkins 17 att, 108 yards, TD Receiving GB – Carroll Dale 5 rec, 128 yards, TD DAL – Frank Clarke 3 rec, 102 yards, TD Green Bay took an early 14–0 lead on two first-quarter scores; a 17-yard touchdown pass from Bart Starr to Elijah Pitts and an 18-yard fumble return by Jim Grabowski on the ensuing kickoff. The Cowboys tied the score with two touchdowns towards the end of the quarter. Starr's third touchdown pass of the game gave the Packers a 34–20 lead with 5:20 left in the game, but the Cowboys responded with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Don Meredith to Frank Clarke. Dallas advanced to the Green Bay 22-yard line on their next drive, when a pass interference penalty gave the Cowboys a first down at the Packer 2-yard line. Green Bay's Tom Brown intercepted a Meredith pass in the end zone with 28 seconds left to play to preserve the victory for the Packers. Standings Season recap With the growth in popularity of televised NFL games, the league began looking for a second team in addition to the Detroit Lions, to host an annual Thanksgiving Day game. Every team turned down the offer, except for the Dallas Cowboys. General Manager Tex Schramm recognized this as an opportunity for the franchise to increase its popularity and establish its own Thanksgiving Day game tradition. In 1966, the Cowboys who had been founded six years earlier, adopted the practice of hosting Thanksgiving games. It is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one (since games on days other than Sunday were uncommon at the time and thus high attendance was not a certainty). Since then, the two "traditional" Thanksgiving Day pro football games have been in Detroit and Dallas. Statistics Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Rank Passing yards Don Meredith 2,805 4th Passing touchdowns Don Meredith 24 3rd Rushing yards Dan Reeves 757 6th Rushing touchdowns Dan Reeves/Don Perkins 8 t2nd Receiving yards Bob Hayes1,232 2nd Receiving touchdowns Bob Hayes 13 1st Points Danny Villanueva107 2nd Kickoff return yards Mel Renfro487 12th Punt return yards Mel Renfro 123 8th Interceptions Cornell Green 4 t6thSacksGeorge Andrie18.5 1st Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/2021/07/pre-1982-sacks-added-to-pro-football-reference/ 2023-12-18 Sports-Reference.com en Awards and honors Don Meredith, Bert Bell Awardhttp://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm Maxwell Football Club June 28, 2019 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090619081037/http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm June 19, 2009 References 30em External links It Was 1966 . . . 1934 - THE FIRST NFL GAME IS BROADCAST NATIONALLY Dallas Cowboys Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Cowboys