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1982 Dallas Cowboys season

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1982 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
General managerTex Schramm
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record6–3
Division place2nd NFC (also 2nd NFC East)
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Buccaneers) 30–17
Won Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Packers) 37–26
Lost NFC Championship
(at Redskins) 17–31
Pro Bowlers8

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 2003-2019 with 17 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.[1]

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.[2]

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.[3]

Offseason

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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.[4]

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

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1982 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 25 Rod Hill  CB Kentucky State
2 53 Jeff Rohrer  LB Yale
3 81 Jim Eliopulos  LB Wyoming
4 101 Brian Carpenter  CB Michigan
4 109 Monty Hunter  S Salem
5 137 Phil Pozderac  OT Notre Dame
6 143 Ken Hammond  OG Vanderbilt
6 165 Charles Daum  DT Cal Poly
7 193 Bill Purifoy  DE Tulsa
8 216 George Peoples  RB Auburn
8 221 Dwight Sullivan  RB North Carolina State
9 249 Joe Gary  DT UCLA
10 277 Todd Eckerson  OT North Carolina State
11 295 George Thompson  WR Albany State
11 304 Michael Whiting  RB Florida State
12 332 Rich Burtness  OG Montana
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 September 13 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 Giants Cancelled 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 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 at Minnesota Vikings L 27–31 6–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 60,007 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 1: vs Pittsburgh Steelers

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Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0) at Dallas Cowboys (0–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Steelers 6 7 17636
Cowboys 7 7 01428

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

Week 13: at Washington Redskins

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Dallas Cowboys (3–1) at Washington Redskins (4–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 7 10724
Redskins 0 0 01010

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

  • Date: December 5, 1982
  • Game weather: 64 °F (17.8 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
  • [6]


Standings

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NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Washington Redskins(1) 8 1 0 .889 6–1 8–1 190 128 W4
Dallas Cowboys(2) 6 3 0 .667 2–1 4–2 226 145 L2
St. Louis Cardinals(6) 5 4 0 .556 3–1 5–4 135 170 L1
New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 2–3 3–5 164 160 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 1–5 1–5 191 195 L1
# Team W L T PCT PF PA STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1 Washington Redskins 8 1 0 .889 190 128 W4
2 Dallas Cowboys 6 3 0 .667 226 145 L2
3 Green Bay Packers 5 3 1 .611 226 169 L1
4[a] Minnesota Vikings 5 4 0 .556 187 198 W1
5[a] Atlanta Falcons 5 4 0 .556 183 199 L2
6[a] St. Louis Cardinals 5 4 0 .556 135 170 L1
7[a] Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 4 0 .556 158 178 W3
8[b] Detroit Lions 4 5 0 .444 181 176 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9[b] New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 129 160 W1
10[b] New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 164 160 W1
11[c] San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 209 206 L1
12[c] Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 141 174 L1
13[c] Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 191 195 L1
14 Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 200 250 W1
Tiebreakers
  1. ^ a b c d Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games.
  2. ^ a b c Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5).
  3. ^ a b c San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5).

Roster

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Dallas Cowboys 1982 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
46 active, 4 inactive

Postseason

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Playoff schedule

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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 at Washington Redskins (1) L 17–31 RFK Stadium 55,045 Recap

First round

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 10 7017
Cowboys 6 7 31430

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information
  • 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

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1 234Total
Packers 0 7613 26
• Cowboys 6 14314 37
  • Date: January 16
  • Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 63,972
  • Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • Television network: CBS

[7]

Awards

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Publications

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The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References

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