1988 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1988 3–13 5th NFC East Tom Landry Tex Schramm Bum Bright Texas Stadium Did not qualify RB Herschel Walker Cowboys seasons The 1988 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their 7–8 record from 1987, finishing at 3–13 and missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season. The 3–13 record in the 1988 season was the Cowboys' second worst season to that point in team history, surpassed only by its winless inaugural season in 1960. The 1988 season was the final year for head coach Tom Landry, general manager Tex Schramm, and owner Bum Bright. It also featured the rookie season debut of Michael Irvin, one of the franchise's most accomplished players and a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.July 2023 Offseason NFL draft 1988 NFL draft 1988 Dallas Cowboys 1 11 Michael Irvin WR Miami (FL) yes yes yes 2 41 Ken Norton LB UCLA yes yes 3 67 Mark Hutson OG Oklahoma yes 4 94 Dave Widell OT Boston College yes 6 151 Scott Secules QB Virginia yes 7 178 Owen Hooven OT Oregon State no 8 205 Mark Higgs RB Kentucky yes 9 232 Brian Bedford WR California no 10 263 Billy Owens DB Pittsburgh yes 11 290 Chad Hennings DE Air Force yes 12 317 Ben Hummel LB UCLA no Undrafted free agents + 1988 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJean AustinCornerbackRutgersSanjay BeachWide receiverColorado StateKenny BlacknellLinebackerAppalachian StateRodney BranchCornerbackGrambling StateAlvin BriggsSafetyAuburnChase BrownWide receiverIdaho StateCraig BurnettQuarterbackWyomingDavid CaylorKickerLong Beach StateCurtis ChappellWide receiverHowardMatt ClarkWide receiverBaylorRay ColemanDefensive lineFlorida A&MJason CooperTight endDukeJames CrawfordRunning backEastern KentuckyKent DeanTight endKansas StateDavid DemoreLinebackerDukeDavid DenBraberQuarterbackFerris StateBob DriscollTight endNorthwesternTommy DuhartDefensive tackleSoutheastern Oklahoma StateJerry DunlapDefensive backYoungstown StateTodd FriewaldDefensive endVMIJohn GarrettWide receiverPrincetonAl HugeDefensive tackleHillsdaleJohn KropkeDefensive tackleIllinois StateJim MaloskyQuarterbackMinnesota DuluthStanley MonkRunning backDukeKelly RyanQuarterbackYaleDewayne TerrySafetyDukeSean WashingtonCornerbackRutgers Summary The 1988 season was the last of the Tom Landry era. After the 1988 season, the team would undergo drastic changes including a new head coach, and change of ownership from Bum Bright to current owner Jerry Jones. Notable additions to the team in 1988 included wide receiver Michael Irvin and linebacker Ken Norton Jr. Defensive tackle Chad Hennings was also drafted in 1988 but, due to his obligations to the U.S. Air Force, he would not join the team until 1992. The 1988 season was the first time since 1976 that future hall-of-fame running back Tony Dorsett was not on the Dallas roster. Dorsett had been relegated to a backup role to Herschel Walker for most of 1987 and was traded to the Denver Broncos during the offseason. The 1988 season faced hardship from the release of the schedule. In 1987, Dallas had finished at 7–8, in a 3-way tie for second place in the NFC East and tiebreaking rules gave Dallas the “second place position”, even though Dallas finished fifth (last) in the NFC East in 1987 in “union games” (a strong replacement team, one which included several regulars who crossed picket lines, had inflated the Cowboys' record). As a result, their 1988 schedule was primarily against teams that were strong in 1987 (and also in 1988). Steve Pelluer had won the starting quarterback job from veteran Danny White late in the 1987 season and won the job in training camp for 1988. Early in the season, White appeared briefly in relief roles before suffering a season-ending injury in week 7, which elevated Kevin Sweeney to the backup position. Sweeney briefly took over the starting job for Pelluer in weeks 11 and 12, but the results were poor and Pelluer regained the job. In the season opener, Dallas lost to Pittsburgh, 24–21. The Cowboys had the ball inside the Pittsburgh 10 in the game's closing seconds in position to tie or win the game, but Pelluer was intercepted. After a close win over Phoenix in week two, Dallas lost to the New York Giants, 12–10 (the margin of defeat being a strange safety on the opening kickoff). A last-second goal line stand brought victory over Atlanta in week four but the following week, the Cowboys lost to New Orleans on a last-second Morten Andersen field goal. Two convincing losses followed and at 2–5, the season was in jeopardy. In week 8, Dallas traveled to Philadelphia. Bad blood still existed from 1987, when Philadelphia coach Buddy Ryan, in the game's closing seconds, called a deep pass play when the Eagles were already leading the game by 10 points. The Cowboys roared to a 20–0 lead in the first half, but the Eagles came back to win 24–23 by scoring a touchdown on the game's final play. The next week, Dallas blew a 10–0 second-half lead to lose to the Phoenix Cardinals and fell to 2–7. The losing streak extended to 10 games before Dallas upset the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in week 15 in RFK Stadium, which eliminated the Redskins from 1988 playoff contention. The Redskins win marked the end of an era (and Landry's last win) but was also a harbinger as rookie (and future hall-of-fame) wide receiver Irvin caught three touchdown passes. The team lost the next week at Texas Stadium to the Philadelphia Eagles to finish the season 3–13, the worst record in the entire NFL and the team's worst record since 1960, the Cowboys' first season as an expansion team. A bright spot for the season was Walker, who led the NFC in rushing yards. In addition to Landry, this was also the final season for long-time Cowboys such as president-general manager Tex Schramm, personnel director Gil Brandt, defensive tackle Randy White, quarterback Danny White, linebacker Mike Hegman, and defensive coordinator Ernie Stautner. Roster Dallas Cowboys 1988 roster Quarterbacks 16 Steve Pelluer 10 Scott Secules 19 Kevin Sweeney Running backs 42 Darryl Clack KR 46 Todd Fowler FB 21 Mark Higgs 30 Timmy Newsome FB 34 Herschel Walker Wide receivers 87 Ray Alexander 82 Cornell Burbage KR 80 Everett Gay 88 Michael Irvin 83 Kelvin Martin KR/PR Tight ends 89 Thornton Chandler 85 Steve Folsom Offensive linemen 62 Bob Brotzki T 66 Kevin Gogan T 68 Crawford Ker G 61 Nate Newton G 64 Tom Rafferty C 79 Daryle Smith T 63 Glen Titensor G 65 Bob White C 78 Dave Widell T Defensive linemen 99 Kevin Brooks DT 77 Jim Jeffcoat DE 72 Ed Jones DE 73 Danny Noonan DT 95 Mark Walen DT 54 Randy White DELinebackers 57 Ron Burton OLB 59 Garry Cobb OLB 55 Steve DeOssie MLB/LS 53 Garth Jax OLB 56 Eugene Lockhart MLB 51 Ken Norton Jr. OLB 50 Jeff Rohrer OLB Defensive backs 36 Vince Albritton SS 40 Bill Bates SS 26 Michael Downs FS 38 Ron Francis CB 45 Manny Hendrix CB 31 Billy Owens FS 24 Everson Walls CB 23 Robert Williams CB Special teams  9 Roger Ruzek K  4 Mike Saxon P Reserve lists -- Rod Barksdale WR (IR) 10px 84 Doug Cosbie TE (IR) 10px 81 Kelvin Edwards WR (IR) 10px -- Chad Hennings DT (Military Reserve) 10px 52 Jeff Hurd LB (IR) 10px 79 Mark Hutson G (IR) 10px 22 Victor Scott S (IR) 10px 86 Mike Sherrard WR (IR) 10px 71 Mark Tuinei T (IR) 10px 11 Danny White QB (IR) 10px 76 Jeff Zimmerman G (IR) 10px Rookies in italics 47 active, 11 inactive Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 4 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–24 0–1 Three Rivers Stadium 56,813 Recap 2 September 12, 1988 at Phoenix Cardinals W 17–14 1–1 Sun Devil Stadium 67,139 Recap 3 September 18 New York Giants L 10–12 1–2 Texas Stadium 55,325 Recap 4 September 25 Atlanta Falcons W 26–20 2–2 Texas Stadium 39,702 Recap 5 October 3, 1988 at New Orleans Saints L 17–20 2–3 Louisiana Superdome 68,474 Recap 6 October 9 Washington Redskins L 17–35 2–4 Texas Stadium 63,325 Recap 7 October 16 at Chicago Bears L 7–17 2–5 Soldier Field 64,759 Recap 8 October 23 at Philadelphia Eagles L 23–24 2–6 Veterans Stadium 66,309 Recap 9 October 30 Phoenix Cardinals L 10–16 2–7 Texas Stadium 42,196 Recap 10 November 6 at New York Giants L 21–29 2–8 Giants Stadium 75,826 Recap 11 November 13 Minnesota Vikings L 3–43 2–9 Texas Stadium 57,830 Recap 12 November 20 Cincinnati Bengals L 24–38 2–10 Texas Stadium 37,865 Recap 13 November 24 Houston Oilers L 17–25 2–11 Texas Stadium 50,845 Recap 14 December 4 at Cleveland Browns L 21–24 2–12 Cleveland Stadium 77,683 Recap 15 December 11 at Washington Redskins W 24–17 3–12 RFK Stadium 51,526 Recap 16 December 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 7–23 3–13 Texas Stadium 46,131 Recap Division opponents are in bold text Game summaries Week 1 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 1: Dallas Cowboys at Pittsburgh Steelers September 4, 1988 12 Noon CST Cowboys 7 0 7 7 Steelers 10 0 7 7 Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 56,813 Gordon McCarter CBS Tim Brant (play-by-play) and Hank Stram (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Steelers DAL PIT collapsed 21 24 Week 2 at Cardinals Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Two: Dallas Cowboys (0–1) at Phoenix Cardinals (0–1) September 12, 1988 9:00 p.m. EDT Cowboys 3 7 0 7 Cardinals 0 7 0 7 Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona 67,139 Sunny, 89 F C Red Cashion ABC Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, and Frank Gifford Box Score left Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Phoenix Cardinals Cardinals Steve Pelluer 12/24, 162 Yds, INT Herschel Walker 29 Rush, 149 Yds, TD Kelvin Martin 5 Rec, 72 Yds Neil Lomax 20/34, 266 Yds, 2 TD Earl Ferrell 11 Rush, 65 Yds Jay Novacek 4 Rec, 78 Yds, TD DAL PHO collapsed 1 6:55 Cowboys FG 47 Luis Zendejas 3 0 2 12:18 Cardinals RecTD Earl Ferrell Neil Lomax 16 good Al Del Greco run/pass good/failed/incomplete 3 7 2 4:35 Cowboys RushTD Herschel Walker 3 good Luis Zendejas run/pass good/failed/incomplete 10 7 4 5:23 Cowboys RushTD Steve Pelluer 1 good Luis Zendejas run/pass good/failed/incomplete 17 7 4 3:52 Cardinals RecTD Jay Novacek Neil Lomax 23 good Al Del Greco run/pass good/failed/incomplete 17 14 17 14 Week 3 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 3: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys September 18, 1988 3:00 p.m. CDT Giants 5 0 7 0 Cowboys 3 0 7 0 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 55,325 82 F; Wind 16 mph on Pat Haggerty CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Giants Cowboys NYG DAL collapsed 12 10 Week 4 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 4: Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys September 25, 1988 12 Noon CDT Falcons 7 10 3 0 Cowboys 14 0 2 10 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 39,702 Bob McElwee CBS Greg Gumbel (play-by-play) and Ken Stabler (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Falcons Cowboys ATL DAL collapsed 20 26 Week 5 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 5: Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints October 3, 1988 8:00 p.m. CDT Cowboys 0 7 7 3 Saints 7 7 3 3 Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana 68,474 Gene Barth ABC Frank Gifford (play-by-play) and Dan Dierdorf (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Saints DAL NO collapsed 17 20 Week 6 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 6: Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys October 9, 1988 12 Noon CDT Redskins 7 21 0 7 Cowboys 7 3 0 7 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 63,255 Gordon McCarter CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Redskins Cowboys WSH DAL collapsed 35 17 Week 7 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 7: Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears October 16, 1988 12 Noon CDT Cowboys 0 0 0 7 Bears 0 17 0 0 Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois 64,759 Jim Tunney CBS Tim Ryan (play-by-play) and Dan Jiggetts (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Bears DAL CHI collapsed 7 17 Week 8 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 8: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles October 23, 1988 12 Noon CDT Cowboys 17 3 3 0 Eagles 0 7 3 14 Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 66,309 Dick Hantak CBS Verne Lundquist (play-by-play) and Dan Jiggetts (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Eagles DAL PHI collapsed 23 24 Week 9 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 9: Phoenix Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys October 30, 1988 12 Noon CST Cardinals 0 0 3 13 Cowboys 0 0 10 0 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 42,196 Bob McElwee CBS Dick Stockton (play-by-play) and Dan Fouts (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cardinals Cowboys PHO DAL collapsed 16 10 Week 10 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 10: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants November 6, 1988 12 Noon CST Cowboys 0 0 7 14 Giants 10 16 0 3 Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, New Jersey 75,826 Johnny Grier CBS Verne Lundquist (play-by-play) and Terry Bradshaw (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Giants DAL NYG collapsed 21 29 Week 11 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys November 13, 1988 7:00 p.m. CST Vikings 17 0 17 9 Cowboys 0 3 0 0 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 57,830 Red Cashion ESPN Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Joe Theismann (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Vikings Cowboys MIN DAL collapsed 43 3 Week 12 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 12: Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys November 20, 1988 12 Noon CST Bengals 7 17 7 7 Cowboys 3 0 7 14 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 37,865 Gordon McCarter NBC Jim Donovan (play-by-play) and Ken Anderson (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Bengals Cowboys CIN DAL collapsed 38 24 Until 2024, this was the last home loss to the Bengals. Week 13 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 13: Houston Oilers at Dallas Cowboys November 24, 1988 3:00 p.m. CST Oilers 0 10 3 12 Cowboys 7 3 7 0 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 50,845 Gene Barth NBC-blacked out locally Dick Enberg (play-by-play) and Merlin Olsen (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Oilers Cowboys HOU DAL collapsed 25 17 This was the last home loss to the Houston-based team until 2024. Week 14 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 14: Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns December 4, 1988 12 Noon CST Cowboys 0 14 0 7 Browns 7 3 0 14 Cleveland Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio 77,683 Jerry Seeman CBS Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Ken Stabler (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Browns DAL CLE collapsed 21 24 Week 15 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 15: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins December 11, 1988 12 Noon CST Cowboys 3 7 7 7 Redskins 3 0 14 0 RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C. 51,526 Jerry Markbreit CBS Tim Ryan (play-by-play) and Dan Jiggetts (color commentator) Pro-Football-Reference.com Cowboys Redskins DAL WSH collapsed 24 17 Week 16 Dallas Cowboys 1988 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 16: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys December 18, 1988 12 Noon CST Eagles 0 10 7 6 Cowboys 7 0 0 0 Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas 46,131 Jim Tunney CBS Tim Brant (play-by-play) and Hank Stram (color commentator) (blacked out locally) Pro-Football-Reference.com Eagles Cowboys PHI DAL collapsed 23 7 Standings NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 293 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 1988 Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Dallas Cowboys