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1978 Dallas Cowboys

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Record: 12-4-0, Finished 1st in NFC East Division
NFL Season Summary

1978 NFC Champions

Scored 384 points (24.0/g), 1st of 28 in the NFL.
 Allowed 208 points (13.0/g), 3rd.
 Differential of 176 points (11.0/g), 1st.
 Expected W-L: 13.0-3.0.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +1 (0.1/g), 11th.

Coached by Tom Landry (12-4-0)

1978 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Mon September 4 box W 1-0 Baltimore Colts 38 0 25 583 305 278 3 9 181 82 99 3
2 Sun September 10 box W 2-0 @ New York Giants 34 24 32 401 212 189 2 22 343 243 100 4
3 Sun September 17 box L 2-1 @ Los Angeles Rams 14 27 21 319 223 96 5 16 317 219 98 2
4 Sun September 24 box W 3-1 St. Louis Cardinals 21 12 21 389 173 216 2 16 310 195 115
5 Mon October 2 box L 3-2 @ Washington Redskins 5 9 19 309 200 109 2 16 251 124 127 1
6 Sun October 8 box W 4-2 New York Giants 24 3 21 357 200 157 2 10 142 40 102 2
7 Sun October 15 box W 5-2 @ St. Louis Cardinals 24 21 24 418 287 131 4 21 372 236 136 3
8 Sun October 22 box W 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles 14 7 15 278 87 191 15 262 145 117 1
9 Thu October 26 box L 6-3 Minnesota Vikings 10 21 13 239 147 92 4 21 281 137 144
10 Sun November 5 box L 6-4 @ Miami Dolphins 16 23 19 328 239 89 5 13 206 152 54
11 Sun November 12 box W 7-4 @ Green Bay Packers 42 14 32 537 224 313 2 9 142 76 66 3
12 Sun November 19 box W 8-4 New Orleans Saints 27 7 17 304 106 198 15 277 215 62 4
13 Thu November 23 box W 9-4 Washington Redskins 37 10 26 507 218 289 2 11 201 120 81 1
14 Sun December 3 box W 10-4 New England Patriots 17 10 17 329 230 99 1 16 363 150 213 3
15 Sun December 10 box W 11-4 @ Philadelphia Eagles 31 13 17 315 169 146 11 224 85 139 5
16 Sun December 17 box W 12-4 @ New York Jets 30 7 23 346 156 190 1 11 137 69 68 4
Playoffs
Division Sat December 30 box W 13-4 Atlanta Falcons 27 20
ConfChamp Sun January 7 box W 14-4 @ Los Angeles Rams 28 0
SuperBowl Sun January 21 box L 14-5 N Pittsburgh Steelers 31 35

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 384 5959 1107 5.4 342 251 449 3176 25 17 6.6 167 625 2783 22 4.5 146 35 18 29
Team Defense 208 4009 967 4.1 381 202 432 2288 11 23 4.7 128 477 1721 13 3.6 232 36 13 21
Lg Rank Offense 1 2 2 8 3 3 4 3 5 3 3 3 7 15
Lg Rank Defense 3 2 2 14 5 4 11 2 1 1 8 5 23 26

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
Roger Staubach* 36 QB 15 15 231 413 55.9 3190 25 6.1 16 3.9 91 7.7 6.6 13.8 212.7 84.9 32 219 6.7 5.6 7.2
Danny White 26 P 16 1 20 34 58.8 215 0 0.0 1 2.9 35 6.3 5.0 10.8 13.4 65.2 1 10 5.9 4.6 2.9
Tony Dorsett* 24 RB 16 15 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Tony Hill* 22 WR 16 0 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Team Total 26.5 16 251 449 55.9 3405 25 5.6 17 3.8 91 7.6 6.4 13.6 212.8 83.1 33 229 6.6 5.5 6.8
Opp Total 16 202 432 46.8 2288 11 2.5 23 5.3 5.3 3.2 11.3 143.0 49.4 58 442 4.7 1.9

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
Tony Dorsett* 24 RB 16 15 290 1325 7 63 4.6 82.8 18.1 37 378 10.2 2 91 2.3 23.6 1703 9 12
Robert Newhouse 28 FB 13 12 140 584 8 24 4.2 44.9 10.8 20 176 8.8 2 24 1.5 13.5 760 10 1
Scott Laidlaw 25 16 4 75 312 3 59 4.2 19.5 4.7 6 108 18.0 1 44 0.4 6.8 420 4 3
Roger Staubach* 36 QB 15 15 42 182 1 23 4.3 12.1 2.8 182 1 5
Preston Pearson 33 16 0 25 104 0 18 4.2 6.5 1.6 47 526 11.2 0 34 2.9 32.9 630 0 0
Larry Brinson 24 10 0 18 96 2 39 5.3 9.6 1.8 96 2 1
Doug Dennison 27 5 0 14 75 1 23 5.4 15.0 2.8 1 6 6.0 0 6 0.2 1.2 81 1 0
Alois Blackwell 24 13 0 9 37 0 13 4.1 2.8 0.7 37 0 0
Danny White 26 P 16 1 5 7 0 4 1.4 0.4 0.3 7 0 2
Tony Hill* 22 WR 16 0 3 17 0 14 5.7 1.1 0.2 46 823 17.9 6 54 2.9 51.4 840 6 1
Drew Pearson 27 WR 16 0 3 29 0 33 9.7 1.8 0.2 44 714 16.2 3 53 2.8 44.6 743 3 0
Billy Joe DuPree* 28 TE 16 16 1 15 0 15 15.0 0.9 0.1 34 509 15.0 9 38 2.1 31.8 524 9 3
Butch Johnson 24 RET 16 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 12 155 12.9 0 23 0.8 9.7 155 0 5
Jay Saldi 24 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 3 8 2.7 2 5 0.8 2.0 8 2 0
Golden Richards 28 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 1 2 2.0 0 2 1.0 2.0 2 0 0
Team Total 26.5 16 625 2783 22 63 4.5 173.9 39.1 251 3405 13.6 25 91 15.7 212.8 6188 47 36
Opp Total 16 477 1721 13 3.6 107.6 29.8 202 2288 11.3 11 12.6 143.0 4009 24 27

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
Butch Johnson 24 RET 16 0 51 401 0 23 7.9 29 603 0 56 20.8 1159
Tony Hill* 22 WR 16 0 11 101 0 20 9.2 941
Larry Brinson 24 10 0 6 93 0 31 15.5 189
Dennis Thurman 22 16 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 3 42 0 20 14.0 42
Alois Blackwell 24 13 0 3 70 0 31 23.3 107
Doug Dennison 27 5 0 3 63 0 24 21.0 144
Burton Lawless 25 16 0 1 10 0 10 10.0 10
Jay Saldi 24 4 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 8
Randy White*+ 25 RDT 16 16 1 15 0 15 15.0 15
Team Total 26.5 16 63 502 0 23 8.0 47 896 0 56 19.1 7586
Opp Total 16 40 0 73 1709 0 23.4

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0--19 20--29 30--39 40--49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
Danny White 26 P 16 1 76 3076 56 1 40.5
Rafael Septien 25 K 16 0 3 2 8 8 5 3 10 3 26 16 61.5% 47 46 97.9%
Team Total 26.5 16 3 2 8 8 5 3 10 3 26 16 61.5% 47 46 97.9% 76 3076 56 1 40.5
Opp Total 16 22 11 50.0% 25 23 92.0% 108 4255 39.4

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
Benny Barnes 27 LCB 14 13 5 72 0 38 0 2 14 0
Bob Breunig 25 MLB 16 16 1 2 0 2 0 1 0 0
Larry Brinson 24 10 0 1 0 0 0
Larry Cole 32 16 3 1 13 0 13
Tony Dorsett* 24 RB 16 15 12 4 54 1
Billy Joe DuPree* 28 TE 16 16 3 0 0 0
John Fitzgerald 30 C 14 14 1 1 0 0
Andy Frederick 24 rt 16 5 0 1 0 0
Cliff Harris*+ 30 FS 16 0 4 26 0 23 0 2 17 0
Mike Hegman 25 llb 16 6 0 2 0 0
Thomas Henderson* 25 LLB 15 13 0 1 0 0
Tony Hill* 22 WR 16 0 1 0 0 0
Randy Hughes 25 16 0 2 80 0 56 0 1 0 0
Butch Johnson 24 RET 16 0 5 1 0 0
Aaron Kyle 24 RCB 16 16 3 20 0 17 0 2 0 0
Scott Laidlaw 25 16 4 3 2 0 0
Harvey Martin* 28 RDE 16 0 1 7 0 7
Robert Newhouse 28 FB 13 12 1 0 0 0
Jethro Pugh 34 LDT 13 0 0 1 0 0
Roger Staubach* 36 QB 15 15 5 2 -2 0
Dennis Thurman 22 16 0 2 35 0 23 2 2 0 0
Mark Washington 31 13 0 0 1 0 0
Charlie Waters* 30 SS 16 0 4 61 0 22 1
Danny White 26 P 16 1 2 2 -8 0
Rayfield Wright 33 RT 15 11 0 1 0 0
Team Total 26.5 16 23 316 0 56 36 29 75 1 1
Opp Total 16 33 27 14 1

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
Rafael Septien 25 K 16 0 46 16 94
Tony Dorsett* 24 RB 16 15 7 2 1 60
Robert Newhouse 28 FB 13 12 8 2 60
Billy Joe DuPree* 28 TE 16 16 9 54
Tony Hill* 22 WR 16 0 6 36
Scott Laidlaw 25 16 4 3 1 24
Drew Pearson 27 WR 16 0 3 18
Larry Brinson 24 10 0 2 12
Jay Saldi 24 4 0 2 12
Doug Dennison 27 5 0 1 6
Roger Staubach* 36 QB 15 15 1 6
Charlie Waters* 30 SS 16 0 1 2
Team Total 26.5 16 22 25 1 46 16 1 384
Opp Total 16 13 11 23 11 1 208