"THROUGH THE EYES OF A FAN"
THE LONG ROAD BACK TO THE TOP
FOR THE DALLAS
The 1982 season was greatly affected by a players strike. The usual 16 game schedule was cut down to only nine games. The first two weeks of the season were played before the strike happened. The Cowboys opened the season at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. The Steelers came to town with an aging Terry Bradshaw, John Stallworth and Franco Harris, but no one would have noticed in this game. Even though many players were different for both teams, there was still something about seeing the Cowboys and Steelers playing that brought back memories of the 1970s. Danny White and Bradshaw put on an offensive show throughout the game. White threw for 347 yards and four touchdown passes. Bradshaw threw three touchdowns of his own and the Steelers won the shootout, 36-28.
Because the strike lasted two months, the NFL decided on a nine game season as well as removing all the divisions from play. The 1982 season was simply the AFC vs the NFC. The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs. The Cowboys and Redskins battled for the conference title all season long. The Redskins were playing great football and ended the 1982 season with a league best 8-1 record. Their only loss came in week five at RFK Stadium. That week it was the Cowboys who came to town and beat them soundly, 24-10. These two rivals would end up meeting again in the playoffs and it was certain that Redskins or their fans would not forget about their only loss.
The Cowboys played last game of the 1982 season against the Vikings in Minnesota. The fact that the Cowboys lost to the Vikings 31-27 to finish with a 6-3 record took a backseat to what happened to Tony Dorsett in this game. The Vikings were leading 24-13 in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys found themselves sitting on their own one-yard line. Hoping to get some space between them and the goal line, Danny White handed off to Tony Dorsett who turned it into a run of a lifetime. Over the years I've heard stories that Dorsett wasn't even supposed to be in the game on that play. It really should have been Ron Springs who got the handoff from Danny White. Dorsett took the handoff and exploded through a hole straight up the middle, then cut to the right sideline. He was off to the races as two Viking defenders tried to run him down. Drew Pearson was trying to block as Dorsett ran by him. Dorsett did a tightrope act on the sideline and scored from 99 1/2 yards. After the game Dorsett said that he didn't even realize what he had done with his history making run and as he spiked the ball after he scored.
The Cowboys finished the 1982 season second in the NFC behind the Redskins. They started the playoffs by hosting Tampa Bay as they did in 1981. Tony Dorsett ran for 110 yards and Danny White passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns. They went on to beat the Buccaneers for the second straight season, 30-17.
Beating the Buccaneers sent the Cowboys to the second round of the playoffs against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys defense sacked Packers quarterback Lynn Dickey four times and intercepted him three times, returning one for a touchdown by cornerback Dennis Thurman. Tony Dorsett rushed for 99 yards in the game and Tony Hill had a great game with 142 yards receiving. The Cowboys beat the Packers, 37-26 to set up the highly anticipated re-match with the Redskins for the NFC Championship. It would also be the Cowboys third straight trip to the NFC Championship game. After losing the first two in 1980 and 1981, they were hoping for a different outcome against the Redskins.
The 1982 NFC Championship game ended up being not so memorable. The Cowboys jumped in front of the Redskins 3-0, but the Redskins took over after that. With the power running of John Riggins, who rushed for 140 yards and scored twice the Redskins had their way most of the game. Redskin’s defensive end Dexter Manley knocked Danny White out of the game with a vicious sack in the first half causing a concussion. Tony Dorsett was held to only 57 yards rushing. After White left the game the Cowboys backup quarterback Gary Hogeboom came in to try and bring the Cowboys back. He threw for 162 yards and two touchdowns. He played very well, but he made one very costly mistake in the game.
With the Cowboys down 24-17 in the fourth quarter, Hogeboom attempted a pass deep in Cowboys territory. The ball was tipped and Darryl Grant of the Redskins intercepted the ball and ran it back ten yards for the clinching touchdown. The Cowboys lost for the third straight year in the NFC Championship game, this time to Washington, 31-17.
With the performance of Gary Hogeboom, a heated quarterback controversy started in Dallas that would last for a while. Danny White was my favorite player on the Cowboys, but what Hogeboom did against the Redskins, outside of his late interception did impress me. He brought the Cowboys back after being down 14-3. He seemed to take control of the offense and brought them to another level. In the end the Cowboys lost again in the NFC Championship game. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt. Sure my friends always reminded me that the Cowboys were three-time losers and still do to this day, but I was loyal to my team then just like I am now and I wore my colors proud no matter what happened to them. Through thick and thin, I would always support the Cowboys.
The Cowboys opened the 1983 season back in RFK Stadium to play the now defending Super Bowl Champion Redskins on Monday Night Football. The first half was like a replay of the 1982 Championship game. The Redskins were dominating the Cowboys and took a 23-3 lead at halftime. The Cowboys looked to be playing in slo-motion compared to the Redskins, but a different team came out of the locker room for the second half. Danny White led the way with two quick touchdown passes to Tony Hill for 75 and 51 yards. The 75-yard touchdown was a beautiful one-handed catch by Hill. The Cowboys went on to outscore the Redskins 28-7 in the second half and came away with a 31-30 victory. Tony Dorsett ran for 151 yards and Tony Hill ended up with 133 yards receiving. It was an incredible victory and a great way to start off the 1983 season.
The Cowboys had one of their best starts to a season in 1983 as they won their first seven games of 1983. Some of the teams they dominated and in the close games they always seemed to find a way to win. A good example of finding a way to win in 1983 was a Week 4 game at Texas Stadium against the Saints. Late in the game the Saints had a 20-13 lead. Ron Fellows of the Cowboys returned a blocked field goal attempt 62 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was missed and the Saints still led 20-19. Then Anthony Dickerson of the Cowboys sacked Saints quarterback Kenny Stabler for a safety and the Cowboys won the game 21-20. But in Week 8 those kids of close wins caught up to the Cowboys.
The 5-2 L.A. Raiders came into Texas Stadium to take on the 7-0 Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. It was not a night for the defenses to shine for either team. Both offenses' seemed to score whenever they touched the ball. The score at halftime was more like a final score of most games as the Raiders led the Cowboys 31-24. It would be the first close game of 1983 that the Cowboys could not find a way to win in the final seconds. Raider’s kicker Chris Bahr nailed the winning field goal late in the game to hand the Cowboys their first loss of 1983. On the play it was Michael Downs of the Cowboys, who came within inches of blocking the kick, but it wasn't meant to be in this game and Raiders defeated the Cowboys 40-38.
A week after losing to the Raiders the Cowboys traveled to Giants Stadium to take on the Giants. The big news in this game was Danny White. He completed only 15 out of 33 passes for 304 yards, but five of those completions were for touchdowns. The Cowboys defense forced six Giants turnovers and sacked Giants quarterback Jeff Rutledge six times. The Cowboys beat the Giants 38-20 and improved to 8-1.
The Cowboys ended the 1983 regular season with losses in their final two games to the Redskins (31-10) and 49ers (42-17). They finished the season with a 12-4 record and came in second place in the NFC East behind the Redskins again.
The Cowboys hosted the L.A. Rams in the 1983 NFC Wildcard game. The Rams were in control of this game from the very start. Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo threw three touchdown passes. Danny White played from behind all day and ended up throwing 53 passes, while throwing three interceptions despite throwing for 330 yards. Tony Dorsett was held to just 59 yards rushing and the Rams won the game 24-17. Another season came to close with a heartbreaking playoff loss.
The Cowboys put up some good numbers in 1983 as Tony Dorsett rushed for 1,321 yards and scored nine touchdowns. But again, he fell short of the NFL rushing title. Danny White threw for 3,980 yards and 29 touchdowns. The defense recorded 56 sacks with Randy White leading the team with 13 1/2. Also during the season Cowboys legend Roger Staubach was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. It reminded many people of everything Staubach did for the Cowboys and what he meant for the team while making them winners and also that Danny White was still coming up short.
Danny White was a great quarterback in my opinion. He was a team leader and was impressive most times considering the pressure he must have been going through in replacing the great Roger Staubach. If you look back over the Danny White’s first years as a starter I don’t believe he can be blamed for not getting the Cowboys to the next level.
To be continued...
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