1981 Dallas Cowboys (NFL) |
| 1st place • National Football Conference • Eastern Division • 12-4-0 .750 |
| Playoff Statistics |
| Head Coach: Tom Landry |
| Ermal Allen | Special Assistant-Research and Development |
| Mike Ditka | Special Teams/Tight Ends |
| Al Lavan | Running Backs |
| Jim Myers | Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line |
| Gene Stallings | Defensive Backs |
| Ernie Stautner | Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line |
| Jerry Tubbs | Linebackers |
| Bob Ward | Conditioning |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/8/1981 | H | Green Bay Packers | 17-21 | L | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 55987 | |
| Sat | 8/15/1981 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 21-33 | L | Anaheim, CA | Anaheim Stadium | 61459 | |
| Sat | 8/22/1981 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 24-14 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63504 | |
| Sat | 8/29/1981 | H | Houston Oilers | 28-20 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63799 | |
| Sun | 9/6/1981 | A | Washington Redskins | 26-10 | W | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 55045 | |
| Sun | 9/13/1981 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 30-17 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63602 | |
| Mon | 9/21/1981 | A | New England Patriots | 35-21 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 60311 | |
| Sun | 9/27/1981 | H | New York Giants | 18-10 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63449 | |
| Sun | 10/4/1981 | A | St. Louis Cardinals | 17-20 | L | St. Louis, MO | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49477 | |
| Sun | 10/11/1981 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 14-45 | L | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 57574 | |
| Sun | 10/18/1981 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 29-17 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64649 | |
| Sun | 10/25/1981 | H | Miami Dolphins | 28-27 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64221 | |
| Sun | 11/1/1981 | A | Philadelphia Eagles | 17-14 | W | Philadelphia, PA | Veterans Stadium | 72111 | |
| Mon | 11/9/1981 | H | Buffalo Bills | 27-14 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 62583 | |
| Sun | 11/15/1981 | A | Detroit Lions | 24-27 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 79694 | |
| Sun | 11/22/1981 | H | Washington Redskins | 24-10 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64583 | |
| Thu | 11/26/1981 | H | Chicago Bears | 10-9 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63499 | |
| Sun | 12/6/1981 | A | Baltimore Colts | 37-13 | W | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 54871 | |
| Sun | 12/13/1981 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 21-10 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64955 | |
| Sat | 12/19/1981 | A | New York Giants | 10-13 | L | East Rutherford, NJ | Giants Stadium | 73009 | |
| NFC Divisional Playoff | |||||||||
| Sat | 1/2/1982 | H | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 38-0 | W | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 64848 | |
| NFC Championship | |||||||||
| Sun | 1/10/1982 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 27-28 | L | San Francisco, CA | Candlestick Park | 60525 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Benny Barnes | 31 | FS | 6-1 | 190 | 30 | Contra Costa JC; Stanford | 16 | 1 |
| Larry Bethea | 76 | DT | 6-5 | 251 | 25 | Michigan State | 16 | 0 |
| Bob Breunig | 53 | MLB | 6-2 | 236 | 28 | Arizona State | 16 | 16 |
| Guy Brown | 59 | LLB | 6-4 | 223 | 26 | Houston | 16 | 6 |
| Glenn Carano | 18 | QB | 6-3 | 201 | 26 | Nevada-Las Vegas | 5 | 1 |
| Jim Cooper | 61 | ROT | 6-5 | 265 | 26 | Temple | 16 | 16 |
| Doug Cosbie | 84 | TE | 6-6 | 238 | 25 | Holy Cross; DeAnza JC; Santa Clara | 16 | 0 |
| Anthony Dickerson | 51 | LB | 6-2 | 222 | 24 | Trinity Valley CC; Southern Methodist | 16 | 0 |
| Doug Donley | 83 | WR | 6-0 | 180 | 22 | Ohio State | 11 | 0 |
| Pat Donovan | 67 | LOT | 6-5 | 260 | 28 | Stanford | 16 | 16 |
| Tony Dorsett | 33 | RB | 5-11 | 189 | 27 | Pittsburgh | 16 | 16 |
| Michael Downs | 26 | FS | 6-3 | 200 | 22 | Rice | 15 | 15 |
| Billy Joe DuPree | 89 | TE | 6-4 | 225 | 31 | Michigan State | 16 | 15 |
| John Dutton | 78 | LDT | 6-7 | 261 | 30 | Nebraska | 16 | 16 |
| Ron Fellows | 27 | CB | 6-0 | 173 | 23 | Butler CC; Missouri | 16 | 0 |
| Andy Frederick | 71 | OT | 6-6 | 265 | 27 | New Mexico | 16 | 0 |
| Mike Hegman | 58 | LLB | 6-1 | 227 | 28 | Alabama A&M; Tennessee State | 11 | 10 |
| Tony Hill | 80 | WR | 6-2 | 205 | 25 | Stanford | 16 | 9 |
| Gary Hogeboom | 14 | QB | 6-4 | 208 | 23 | Central Michigan | 1 | 0 |
| Butch Johnson | 86 | WR | 6-1 | 187 | 27 | UC Riverside | 16 | 7 |
| Ed Jones | 72 | LDE | 6-9 | 277 | 30 | Tennessee State | 16 | 16 |
| James Jones | 23 | RB | 5-10 | 203 | 23 | Mississippi State | 16 | 0 |
| Angelo King | 57 | LB | 6-1 | 222 | 23 | South Carolina State | 15 | 0 |
| D.D. Lewis | 50 | RLB | 6-2 | 218 | 36 | Mississippi State | 16 | 16 |
| Harvey Martin | 79 | RDE | 6-5 | 260 | 31 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 16 | 16 |
| Robert Newhouse | 44 | FB | 5-10 | 219 | 31 | Houston | 16 | 0 |
| Timmy Newsome | 30 | FB | 6-1 | 236 | 23 | Winston-Salem State | 15 | 0 |
| Drew Pearson | 88 | WR | 6-0 | 182 | 30 | Tulsa | 16 | 15 |
| Kurt Petersen | 65 | ROG | 6-4 | 270 | 24 | Missouri | 16 | 14 |
| Tom Rafferty | 64 | C-ROG | 6-3 | 262 | 27 | Penn State | 16 | 15 |
| Howard Richards | 70 | OT | 6-6 | 265 | 22 | Missouri | 16 | 0 |
| Jay Saldi | 87 | TE | 6-3 | 227 | 27 | South Carolina | 16 | 5 |
| Herbert Scott | 68 | LOG | 6-2 | 260 | 28 | Virginia Union | 16 | 16 |
| Rafael Septien | 1 | K | 5-9 | 171 | 28 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 16 | 0 |
| Robert Shaw | 52 | C | 6-4 | 261 | 25 | Tennessee | 3 | 3 |
| Don Smerek | 60 | DE | 6-7 | 256 | 24 | Nevada-Reno | 2 | 0 |
| Danny Spradlin | 55 | LB | 6-1 | 238 | 22 | Tennessee | 16 | 0 |
| Ron Springs | 20 | FB | 6-1 | 224 | 25 | Coffeyville CC; Ohio State | 16 | 13 |
| Bruce Thornton | 77 | D | 6-5 | 265 | 23 | Illinois | 12 | 0 |
| Dennis Thurman | 32 | RCB | 5-11 | 178 | 25 | Southern California | 16 | 16 |
| Glen Titensor | 63 | OG | 6-4 | 270 | 23 | UCLA; Brigham Young | 16 | 0 |
| Everson Walls | 24 | LCB | 6-1 | 193 | 22 | Grambling State | 16 | 12 |
| Charlie Waters | 41 | SS | 6-2 | 200 | 33 | Clemson | 16 | 16 |
| Danny White | 11 | QB-P | 6-3 | 195 | 29 | Arizona State | 16 | 15 |
| Randy White | 54 | RDT | 6-4 | 260 | 28 | Maryland | 16 | 16 |
| Steve Wilson | 45 | LCB | 5-10 | 195 | 24 | Howard | 16 | 4 |
| Steve Wright | 73 | OT | 6-6 | 273 | 22 | Northern Iowa | 16 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 26 | Howard Richards | T | Missouri |
| 2 | 53 | Doug Donley | WR | Ohio State |
| 3 | 81 | Glen Titensor | DE | Brigham Young |
| 4 | 91 | Scott Pelluer | LB | Washington State |
| 4 | 108 | Derrie Nelson | LB | Nebraska |
| 5 | 137 | Danny Spradlin | LB | Tennessee |
| 6 | 163 | Vince Skillings | DB | Ohio State |
| 7 | 173 | Ron Fellows | DB | Missouri |
| 7 | 191 | Ken Miller | DB | Eastern Michigan |
| 8 | 218 | Paul Piurowski | LB | Florida State |
| 9 | 246 | Mike Wilson | WR | Washington State |
| 10 | 273 | Pat Graham | DT | California |
| 11 | 302 | Tim Morrison | G | Georgia |
| 12 | 329 | Nate Lundy | WR | Indiana |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 91 | 115 | 57 | 104 | 0 | 367 |
| Opponents Totals | 61 | 81 | 79 | 53 | 3 | 277 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 32:08 | 321 | 137 | 158 | 26 | 99/244 40.6% | 5/11 45.5% | 103 | 839 |
| Opponents Totals | 27:52 | 286 | 106 | 162 | 18 | 72/211 34.1% | 7/15 46.7% | 104 | 837 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Septien | 0 | 40 | 40 | 100.0 | 27 | 35 | 77.1 | 0 | 121 |
| Ron Springs | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | ||
| Tony Dorsett | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Doug Cosbie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Butch Johnson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Tony Hill | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Drew Pearson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Billy Joe DuPree | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Benny Barnes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| James Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Jay Saldi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| John Dutton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Harvey Martin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 40 | 40 | 40 | 100.0 | 27 | 35 | 77.1 | 3 | 367 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 31 | 34 | 91.2 | 14 | 29 | 48.3 | 0 | 277 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Septien | 27 | 35 | 77.1 | 0 | 47 | 1/1 | 11/11 | 8/9 | 7/12 | 0/2 |
| Team Totals | 27 | 35 | 77.1 | 0 | 47 | 1/1 | 11/11 | 8/9 | 7/12 | 0/2 |
| Opponents Totals | 14 | 29 | 48.3 | 2/2 | 2/5 | 3/6 | 7/14 | 1/2 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Dorsett | 342 | 1646 | 4.8 | 75t | 4 |
| Ron Springs | 172 | 625 | 3.6 | 16 | 10 |
| James Jones | 34 | 183 | 5.4 | 59t | 1 |
| Danny White | 38 | 104 | 2.7 | 17 | 0 |
| Timmy Newsome | 13 | 38 | 2.9 | 7 | 0 |
| Doug Cosbie | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 15 | 0 |
| Robert Newhouse | 14 | 33 | 2.4 | 6 | 0 |
| Drew Pearson | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 25 | 0 |
| Billy Joe Dupree | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Glenn Carano | 8 | 9 | 1.1 | 11 | 0 |
| Tony Hill | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 630 | 2711 | 4.3 | 75t | 15 |
| Opponents Totals | 468 | 2049 | 4.4 | 67t | 16 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny White | 391 | 223 | 223 | 155 | 3098 | 7.9 | 13.9 | 73t | 22 | 5.6 | 13 | 3.3 | 30 | 234 | 2864 | 87.5 |
| Glenn Carano | 45 | 16 | 16 | 28 | 235 | 5.2 | 14.7 | 55 | 1 | 2.2 | 1 | 2.2 | 1 | 11 | 224 | 51.6 |
| Drew Pearson | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 81 | 40.5 | 40.5 | 59 | 1 | 50.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 158.3 |
| Ron Springs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Team Totals | 439 | 241 | 241 | 183 | 3414 | 7.8 | 14.2 | 73t | 24 | 5.5 | 15 | 3.4 | 31 | 245 | 3169 | 84.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 511 | 236 | 236 | 238 | 3717 | 7.3 | 15.8 | 85t | 17 | 3.3 | 37 | 7.2 | 42 | 347 | 3370 | 51.8 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Hill | 46 | 953 | 20.7 | 63t | 4 |
| Ron Springs | 46 | 359 | 7.8 | 32t | 2 |
| Drew Pearson | 38 | 614 | 16.2 | 42t | 3 |
| Tony Dorsett | 32 | 325 | 10.2 | 73t | 2 |
| Butch Johnson | 25 | 552 | 22.1 | 55 | 5 |
| Billy Joe Dupree | 19 | 214 | 11.3 | 33t | 2 |
| Doug Cosbie | 17 | 225 | 13.2 | 28 | 5 |
| Jay Saldi | 8 | 82 | 10.3 | 18 | 1 |
| James Jones | 6 | 37 | 6.2 | 16 | 0 |
| Doug Donley | 3 | 32 | 10.7 | 17 | 0 |
| Robert Newhouse | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 241 | 3414 | 14.2 | 73t | 24 |
| Opponents Totals | 236 | 3717 | 15.8 | 85t | 17 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everson Walls | 11 | 133 | 12.1 | 33 | 0 |
| Dennis Thurman | 9 | 187 | 20.8 | 96 | 0 |
| Michael Downs | 7 | 81 | 11.6 | 25 | 0 |
| Charlie Waters | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 21 | 0 |
| Bob Breunig | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Steve Wilson | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guy Brown | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 |
| Benny Barnes | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 |
| D.D. Lewis | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 37 | 482 | 13.0 | 96 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 124 | 8.3 | 41t | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny White | 79 | 3222 | 40.8 | 60 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 231 | 2851 | 36.1 |
| Rafael Septien | 2 | 62 | 31.0 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 31.0 |
| Team Totals | 81 | 3284 | 40.5 | 60 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 231 | 2913 | 36.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 80 | 3293 | 41.2 | 57 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 235 | 2918 | 36.5 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Jones | 33 | 2 | 188 | 5.7 | 17 | 0 |
| Ron Fellows | 11 | 1 | 44 | 4.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Doug Donley | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Dennis Thurman | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Steve Wilson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 45 | 5 | 235 | 5.2 | 17 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 38 | 8 | 231 | 6.1 | 21 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Jones | 27 | 0 | 517 | 19.1 | 33 | 0 |
| Timmy Newsome | 12 | 0 | 228 | 19.0 | 27 | 0 |
| Ron Fellows | 8 | 0 | 170 | 21.3 | 31 | 0 |
| Robert Newhouse | 3 | 0 | 34 | 11.3 | 15 | 0 |
| Steve Wilson | 2 | 0 | 32 | 16.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Doug Cosbie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 53 | 0 | 981 | 18.5 | 33 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 71 | 1508 | 21.2 | 65 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Harvey Martin | 9.5 | |
| Ed Jones | 8.5 | |
| Randy White | 8.5 | |
| John Dutton | 4.5 | |
| Anthony Dickerson | 4.0 | |
| Charlie Waters | 3.0 | |
| Larry Bethea | 2.0 | |
| D.D. Lewis | 1.0 | |
| Benny Barnes | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 42.0 | 347.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 31.0 | 245.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benny Barnes | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 72 | 1 | |
| Glenn Carano | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 0 | |
| Doug Cosbie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Anthony Dickerson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Donovan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Dorsett | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Michael Downs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Hill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ed Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| James Jones | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Angelo King | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| D.D. Lewis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | |
| Harvey Martin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Timmy Newsome | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Drew Pearson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kurt Petersen | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Tom Rafferty | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -30 | 0 | |
| Jay Saldi | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Springs | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 0 | |
| Dennis Thurman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Titensor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Everson Walls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Waters | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny White | 14 | 8 | 0 | 8 | -34 | 0 | |
| Steve Wilson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 45 | 23 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 14 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 43 | 16 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 0 |
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