1982 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1982 6–3 2nd NFC (also 2nd NFC East) Tom Landry Ernie Stautner Tex Schramm Clint Murchison, Jr. Texas Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Buccaneers) 30–17Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Packers) 37–26 Lost NFC Championship(at Redskins) 17–31 8 Cowboys seasons The 1982 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 23rd season in the National Football League. The Cowboys finished with a record of 6–3, placing them second in the NFC. It was the Cowboys 17th consecutive winning season, breaking the mark of 16 set by the Raiders. Dallas would eventually extend the record to 20 consecutive winning seasons. Only one team, the New England Patriots from 2001–2019 with 19 consecutive winning seasons has come the closest to matching it. After losing the season opener to the Pittsburgh Steelers (the first time the Cowboys lost a season opener in 17 years), the Cowboys won the next six, including five after the strike had ended. However, two losses at the end of the regular season cost them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. After beginning their playoff run with victories over the Buccaneers 30–17 and the Packers 37–26, the Cowboys traveled to Washington, where they met defeat at the hands of their arch-rival, the Redskins 31–17. It was the third straight season that the Cowboys lost in the NFC championship game. The Redskins would advance and won Super Bowl XVII.The Football Encyclopedia 0-312-11435-4 The Cowboys featured big-play capability on both sides of the ball in 1982. The offense relied on running back Tony Dorsett, who led the NFC in rushing (and during the season set an NFL record with a 99-yard run from scrimmage against Minnesota), and quarterback Danny White, who finished second in the NFL in passer rating. Despite the retirement of longtime starters Charlie Waters and D.D. Lewis before the season, the Cowboys still tied for the NFC lead in sacks, and cornerback Everson Walls led the league with seven interceptions.Total Football 0-06-270170-3 The Cowboys were the only team to defeat the Redskins in the 1982 season, winning a regular season matchup in Game 5 at RFK Stadium (the scheduled meeting at Texas Stadium was cancelled by the strike). The Cowboys were also the only team in the NFL who never trailed at halftime in '82. For the only time in franchise history, Dallas did not play the New York Giants, as both meetings fell victim to the strike.https://www.footballdb.com/teams/nfl/dallas-cowboys/teamvsteam?opp=21 Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants Results August 23, 2022 Offseason Tex Schramm and Gil Brandt, proposed to the NFL competition committee a centralization of the evaluation process for the NFL draft prospects. Before this, teams had to schedule individual visits with players to run them through drills and tests. This proposition created the NFL Scouting Combine, which was first held in Tampa, Florida, in 1982.Crouse, Karen Players Are Seen and Unseen At N.F.L. Scouting Combine https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E4DC103EF930A15751C0A9619C8B63 The New York Times February 23, 2007 2012-02-26 Coincidentally, the 1982 NFL draft was one of the worst in Dallas Cowboys history. It is mostly remembered because it was the year the Cowboys drafted cornerback Rod Hill in the first round. Hill would go on to become the symbol of the team's failed draft strategy of the eighties, when the Cowboys took too many gambles. From that draft only Jeff Rohrer and Phil Pozderac made contributions. NFL draft 1982 NFL draft 1982 Dallas Cowboys 1 25 Rod Hill CB Kentucky State yes 2 53 Jeff Rohrer LB Yale yes 3 81 Jim Eliopulos LB Wyoming yes 4 101 Brian Carpenter CB Michigan no 4 109 Monty Hunter S Salem yes 5 137 Phil Pozderac OT Notre Dame yes 6 143 Ken Hammond OG Vanderbilt no 6 165 Charles Daum DT Cal Poly no 7 193 Bill Purifoy DE Tulsa no 8 216 George Peoples RB Auburn yes 8 221 Dwight Sullivan RB North Carolina State no 9 249 Joe Gary DT UCLA no 10 277 Todd Eckerson OT North Carolina State no 11 295 George Thompson WR Albany State no 11 304 Michael Whiting RB Florida State no 12 332 Rich Burtness OG Montana no Undrafted free agents + 1982 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeAl StrandbergLinebackerMinnesota State-Moorhead Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 13, 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–36 0–1 Texas Stadium 63,431 Recap 2 September 19 at St. Louis Cardinals W 24–7 1–1 Busch Stadium 50,705 Recap 3 at Minnesota Vikings Rescheduled to January 3 4 New York GiantsCancelled due to the 1982 NFL strike 5 Washington Redskins 6 at Philadelphia Eagles 7 at Cincinnati Bengals 8 at New York Giants 9 St. Louis Cardinals 10 at San Francisco 49ers 11 November 21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–9 2–1 Texas Stadium 49,578 Recap 12 November 25 Cleveland Browns W 31–14 3–1 Texas Stadium 46,267 Recap 13 December 5 at Washington Redskins W 24–10 4–1 RFK Stadium 54,633 Recap 14 December 13, 1982 at Houston Oilers W 37–7 5–1 Houston Astrodome 51,808 Recap 15 December 19 New Orleans Saints W 21–7 6–1 Texas Stadium 64,506 Recap 16 December 26 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–24 6–2 Texas Stadium 46,199 Recap 17 January 3, 1983 F j, Y at Minnesota Vikings L 27–31 6–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,007 RecapNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1: vs Pittsburgh Steelers Dallas Cowboys 1982 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0) at Dallas Cowboys (0–0) September 13, 1982 Monday 9:00 p.m. EST Steelers 6 7 17 6 Cowboys 7 7 0 14 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 63,431 84 F C 1 Pat Haggerty ABC Frank Gifford, Don Meredith & Howard Cosell https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198209130dal.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com Pittsburgh Steelers at Dallas Cowboys — September 13th, 1982 First quarter PIT – John Stallworth 8-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (kick failed). Steelers 6–0. Drive: DAL – Drew Pearson 4-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick). Cowboys 7–6. Drive: Second quarter PIT – Jim Smith 7-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick). Steelers 13–7. Drive: DAL – Doug Cosbie 12-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick). Cowboys 14–13. Drive: Third quarter PIT – Frank Pollard 1-yard run (Gary Anderson kick). Steelers 20–14. Drive: PIT – Jim Smith 15-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick). Steelers 27–14. Drive: PIT – Gary Anderson 26-yard field goal. Steelers 30–14. Drive: Fourth quarter PIT – Gary Anderson 43–yard field goal. Steelers 33–14. Drive: DAL – Tony Hill 45-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick). Steelers 33–21. Drive: DAL – Billy Joe DuPree 5-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick). Steelers 33–28. Drive: PIT – Gary Anderson 40-yard field goal. Steelers 36–28. Drive: Top passers PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 17/28, 246 yards, 3 TD DAL – Danny White – 25/36, 347 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT Top rushers PIT – Franco Harris – 24 rushes, 103 yards DAL – Tony Dorsett – 11 rushes, 30 yards Top receivers PIT – John Stallworth – 7 receptions, 137 yards, TD DAL – Tony Hill – 6 receptions, 130 yards, TD Week 13: at Washington Redskins Dallas Cowboys 1982 2; text-align:center collapsed Dallas Cowboys (3–1) at Washington Redskins (4–0) Cowboys 0 7 10 7 Redskins 0 0 0 10 December 5, 1982 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 4:00 p.m. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198212050was.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins — December 5th, 1982 64 F 1, wind 9 mph km/h knots Jerry Markbreit Pat Summerall and John Madden CBS DAL WAS collapsed 2 Cowboys RecTD Ron Springs Danny White 8 good Rafael Septién 7 0 3 Cowboys FG 31 Rafael Septién 10 0 3 Cowboys RushTD Timmy Newsome 18 good Rafael Septién 17 0 4 Redskins FG 38 Mark Moseley 17 3 4 Redskins RecTD Charlie Brown Joe Theismann 17 good Mark Moseley 17 10 4 Cowboys RushTD Ron Springs 46 good Rafael Septién 24 10 24 10 Standings Roster Dallas Cowboys 1982 roster Quarterbacks 18 Glenn Carano 14 Gary Hogeboom 11 Danny White P 15 Brad Wright Running backs 33 Tony Dorsett 23 James Jones 44 Robert Newhouse 30 Timmy Newsome 22 George Peoples 20 Ron Springs Wide receivers 83 Doug Donley 80 Tony Hill 86 Butch Johnson 88 Drew Pearson Tight ends 84 Doug Cosbie 89 Billy Joe DuPree 87 Jay Saldi Offensive linemen 62 Brian Baldinger C/G 61 Jim Cooper T 67 Pat Donovan T 65 Kurt Petersen G 75 Phil Pozderac T 64 Tom Rafferty C 70 Howard Richards G 68 Herbert Scott G 63 Glen Titensor G/C 73 Steve Wright G Defensive linemen 76 Larry Bethea DE 78 John Dutton DT 72 Ed Jones DE 79 Harvey Martin DE 60 Don Smerek DT 54 Randy White DTLinebackers 53 Bob Breunig MLB 59 Guy Brown OLB 51 Anthony Dickerson OLB 58 Mike Hegman OLB 57 Angelo King OLB 50 Jeff Rohrer OLB 55 Danny Spradlin MLB Defensive backs 31 Benny Barnes SS 26 Michael Downs FS 47 Dextor Clinkscale SS 27 Ron Fellows CB 25 Rod Hill CB 34 Monty Hunter FS 32 Dennis Thurman CB 24 Everson Walls CB Special teams  1 Rafael Septién KReserve lists -- Jim Eliopulos LB (IR) 10px -- Scott McLean LB (IR) 10px 52 Robert Shaw C (IR) 10px 66 Norm Wells G (IR) 10px Rookies in italics 49 active, 4 inactive Postseason 1982–83 NFL playoffs Playoff schedule Week Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap First Round January 9, 1983 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7) W 30–17 Texas Stadium 65,042 Recap Second Round January 16, 1983 Green Bay Packers (3) W 37–26 Texas Stadium 63,972 Recap NFC Championship January 22, 1983 F j, Y at Washington Redskins (1) L 17–31 RFK Stadium 55,045 Recap First round text-align:center; NFC Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys – Game summary Buccaneers 0 10 7 0 Cowboys 6 7 3 14 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST 65 °F °C, sunny CBS Pat Summerall (play-by-play) and John Madden (color commentator) 65,042 Dick Jorgensen Scoring DAL – field goal Septién 33 DAL 3–0 DAL – field goal Septién 33 DAL 6–0 TB – Green 60 fumble return (Capece kick)TB 7–6 TB – field goal Capece 32 TB 10–6 DAL – Springs 6 pass from D. White (Septién kick) DAL 13–10 DAL – field goal Septién 19 DAL 16–10 TB – Jones 49 pass from Williams (Capece kick) TB 17–16 DAL – Hunter 19 interception return (Septién kick) DAL 23–17 DAL – Newsome 10 pass from D. White (Septién kick) DAL 30–17 Second round Packers 0 7 6 13 Cowboys 6 14 3 14 January 16 Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas 3:00 p.m. 63,972 38 F; wind 7 mph on Gene Barth CBS yes 1 DAL Rafael Septién 50 yard field goal DAL 3–0 1 DAL Rafael Septién 34 yard field goal DAL 6–0 2 GB James Lofton 6 yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick) GB 7–6 2 DAL Timmy Newsome 2 yard run (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 13–7 2 DAL Dennis Thurman 39 yard interception return (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 20–7 3 GB Jan Stenerud 30 yard field goal DAL 20–10 3 GB Jan Stenerud 33 yard field goal DAL 20–13 3 DAL Rafael Septién 24 yard field goal DAL 23–13 4 GB James Lofton 71 yard run (kick failed) DAL 23–19 4 DAL Doug Cosbie 7 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 30–19 4 GB Mark Lee 22 yard interception return (Jan Stenerud kick) DAL 30–26 4 DAL Robert Newhouse 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick) DAL 37–26 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com This would be the Cowboys last playoff win until they defeated the Chicago Bears in the 1991 NFC Wildcard round. Awards The Cowboys sent eight players to the Pro Bowl following the 1982 season: Bob Breunig, Pat Donovan, Tony Dorsett, Ed Jones, Harvey Martin, Herbert Scott, Everson Walls, and Randy White. Danny White and Tony Dorsett were named to the All-NFL second team by the Associated Press at quarterback and running back, respectively. On the defensive side of the ball, end Ed Jones and tackle Randy White were named to the first team, while end Harvey Martin and cornerback Everson Walls were named to the second team. Everson Walls, NFL Leader, Interceptions, (7) 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 Pro Football Hall of Fame Cowboys' 1982 season at NFL.com 1982 Dallas Cowboys season at Pro Football Reference 1982 season at Dallas Cowboys official site Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Dallas Dallas