1982 Dallas Cowboys season

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1982 Dallas Cowboys season
Head coach Tom Landry
General manager Tex Schramm
Owner Clint Murchison, Jr.
Home field Texas Stadium
Results
Record 6–3
Division place 2nd in NFC
Playoff finish Won First Round (Buccaneers) 30–17
Won Second Round (Packers) 37–26
Lost Conference Championship (at Redskins) 31–17

The 1982 Dallas Cowboys season was a strike-shortened nine game season, which the Cowboys finished with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses, placing them second in the NFC. After losing the season opening game against 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 homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. After beginning their playoff run at home with victories over the Buccaneers and the Packers, the Cowboys traveled to Washington, where they met defeat at the hands of their arch-rival, the Redskins. It was the third straight season that the Cowboys lost in the NFC championship game. The Redskins would advance to win the Super Bowl.[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 long time 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 Washington Redskins in the 1982 season, winning a regular season matchup in Game 5. The Cowboys were also the only team in the NFL who never trailed at halftime in '82.

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.[3]

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.

1982 NFL Draft

Round Pick Name Position School
1 25 Rod Hill Cornerback Kentucky State
2 53 Jeff Rohrer Linebacker Yale
3 81 Jim Eliopulos Linebacker Wyoming
4 101 Brian Carpenter Defensive Back Michigan
4 109 Monty Hunter Defensive Back Salem (WV)
5 137 Phil Pozderac Offensive Tackle Notre Dame
6 143 Ken Hammond Offensive Guard Vanderbilt
6 165 Charles Daum Defensive Tackle Cal Poly-SLO
7 193 Bill Purifoy Defensive End Tulsa
8 216 George Peoples Running Back Auburn
8 221 Dwight Sullivan Running Back North Carolina State
9 249 Joe Gary Defensive Tackle UCLA
10 277 Todd Eckerson Offensive Tackle North Carolina State
11 295 George Thompson Tight End Albany State (GA)
11 304 Mike Whiting Running Back Florida State
12 332 Rich Burtness Offensive Guard Montana

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Game site NFL Recap Attendance
1 September 13, 1982 Pittsburgh Steelers L 28–36 Texas Stadium [1]
63,431
2 September 19, 1982 at St. Louis Cardinals W 24–7 Busch Memorial Stadium [2]
50,705
3 November 21, 1982 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–9 Texas Stadium [3]
49,578
4 November 25, 1982 Cleveland Browns W 31–14 Texas Stadium [4]
46,267
5 December 5, 1982 at Washington Redskins W 24–10 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium [5]
54,633
6 December 13, 1982 at Houston Oilers W 37–7 Astrodome [6]
51,808
7 December 19, 1982 New Orleans Saints W 21–7 Texas Stadium [7]
64,506
8 December 26, 1982 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–24 Texas Stadium [8]
46,199
9 January 3, 1983 at Minnesota Vikings L 27–31 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [9]
60,007

Game summaries

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total
• Cowboys 0 7 10 7 24
Redskins 0 0 0 10 10

[4]

Standings

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 1–4 1–5 191 195 L1
National Football Conference
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Washington Redskins(1) 8 1 0 .889 190 128 W4
Dallas Cowboys(2) 6 3 0 .667 226 145 L2
Green Bay Packers(3) 5 3 1 .611 226 169 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 5 4 0 .556 187 198 W1
Atlanta Falcons(5) 5 4 0 .556 183 199 L2
St. Louis Cardinals(6) 5 4 0 .556 135 170 L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) 5 4 0 .556 158 178 W3
Detroit Lions(8) 4 5 0 .444 181 176 W1
New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 129 160 W1
New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 164 160 W1
San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 209 206 L1
Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 141 174 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 191 195 L1
Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 200 250 W1

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1982 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
48 Active, 0 Inactive

Postseason

Playoff schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Game site NFL Recap Attendance
First Round January 9, 1983 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 30–17 Texas Stadium [10]
65,042
Second Round January 16, 1983 Green Bay Packers W 37–26 Texas Stadium [11]
63,972
NFC Championship January 23, 1983 at Washington Redskins L 17–31 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium [12]
55,045

Second Round

1 2 3 4 Total
Packers 0 7 6 13 26
• Cowboys 6 14 3 14 37

[5]

Awards

Publications

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

  1. The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
  2. Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links