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.
Simple Rating System: Total 11.0, Offense: 5.8, Defense: 5.2, SoS: -0.0, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Tom Landry (12-4-0)
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Reeves
Training Camp: California Lutheran College (Thousand Oaks, California)
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Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Roger Staubach* | 36 | 9 | 15 | 231 for 413, 3,190 yards, 25 td, 16 int, & 42 rushes for 182 yards and 1 td | Kansas City Chiefs / 16th / 122nd pick / 1964 Dallas Cowboys / 10th / 129th pick / 1964 |
| RB | Tony Dorsett* | 24 | 1 | 15 | 290 rushes for 1,325 yards, 7 td, & 37 catches for 378 yards and 2 td | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 2nd pick / 1977 |
| FB | Robert Newhouse | 28 | 6 | 12 | 140 rushes for 584 yards, 8 td, & 20 catches for 176 yards and 2 td | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 35th pick / 1972 |
| WR | Tony Hill* | 22 | 1 | 0 | 46 catches for 823 yards, 6 td, & 3 rushes for 17 yards and 0 td | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1977 |
| WR | Drew Pearson | 27 | 5 | 0 | 44 catches for 714 yards, 3 td, & 3 rushes for 29 yards and 0 td | |
| TE | Billy Joe DuPree* | 28 | 5 | 16 | 34 catches for 509 yards, 9 td, & 1 rush for 15 yards and 0 td | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 20th pick / 1973 |
| LT | Pat Donovan | 25 | 3 | 0 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 90th pick / 1975 | |
| LG | Herbert Scott | 25 | 3 | 0 | Dallas Cowboys / 13th / 330th pick / 1975 | |
| C | John Fitzgerald | 30 | 7 | 14 | 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 101st pick / 1970 |
| RG | Tom Rafferty | 24 | 2 | 16 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 119th pick / 1976 | |
| RT | Rayfield Wright | 33 | 11 | 11 | 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 182nd pick / 1967 |
| RT | Andy Frederick | 24 | 1 | 5 | 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 5th / 137th pick / 1977 |
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Too Tall Jones | 27 | 4 | 16 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 1st pick / 1974 | |
| LDT | Jethro Pugh | 34 | 13 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 11th / 145th pick / 1965 |
| RDT | Randy White*+ | 25 | 3 | 16 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 2nd pick / 1975 | |
| RDE | Harvey Martin* | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1973 |
| LLB | Thomas Henderson* | 25 | 3 | 13 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 18th pick / 1975 |
| LLB | Mike Hegman | 25 | 2 | 6 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 173rd pick / 1975 |
| MLB | Bob Breunig | 25 | 3 | 16 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 70th pick / 1975 |
| RLB | D.D. Lewis | 33 | 10 | 0 | Dallas Cowboys / 6th / 159th pick / 1968 | |
| LCB | Benny Barnes | 27 | 6 | 13 | 5 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| RCB | Aaron Kyle | 24 | 2 | 16 | 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 27th pick / 1976 |
| SS | Charlie Waters* | 30 | 8 | 0 | 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 66th pick / 1970 |
| FS | Cliff Harris*+ | 30 | 8 | 0 | 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Rafael Septien | 25 | 1 | 0 | 16 of 26 field goals & 46 of 47 extra points | New Orleans Saints / 10th / 258th pick / 1977 |
| P | Danny White | 26 | 2 | 1 | 76 punts for a 40.5 average, 1 blocked | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1974 |
| PR | Butch Johnson | 24 | 2 | 0 | 51 punt returns for a 7.9 average and 0 td | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 87th pick / 1976 |
| KR | Butch Johnson | 24 | 2 | 0 | 29 kick returns for a 20.8 average and 0 td | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 87th pick / 1976 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Benny Barnes | 27 | DB | 14 | 13 | 190 | 6-1 | Stanford | 3/3/1951 | 6 | |
| 76 | Larry Bethea | 22 | DT-DE | 16 | 0 | 251 | 6-2 | Michigan St. | 7/21/1956 | Rook | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 28th pick / 1978 |
| 24 | Alois Blackwell | 24 | RB | 13 | 0 | 195 | 5-10 | Houston | 11/12/1954 | Rook | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 110th pick / 1978 |
| 53 | Bob Breunig | 25 | LB | 16 | 16 | 226 | 6-2 | Arizona St. | 7/4/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 70th pick / 1975 |
| 36 | Larry Brinson | 24 | RB | 10 | 0 | 214 | 6-2 | Florida | 6/6/1954 | 1 | |
| 59 | Guy Brown | 23 | LB | 15 | 0 | 223 | 6-4 | Houston | 6/1/1955 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 108th pick / 1977 |
| 18 | Glenn Carano | 23 | QB | 2 | 0 | 201 | 6-3 | UNLV | 11/18/1955 | Rook | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 54th pick / 1977 |
| 63 | Larry Cole | 32 | DE-DT | 16 | 3 | 252 | 6-5 | Air Force,Houston,Hawaii | 11/15/1946 | 10 | Dallas Cowboys / 16th / 428th pick / 1968 |
| 61 | Jim Cooper | 23 | T-C-G | 14 | 2 | 262 | 6-5 | Temple | 9/28/1955 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 6th / 164th pick / 1977 |
| 21 | Doug Dennison | 27 | RB | 5 | 0 | 202 | 6-1 | Kutztown Pennsylvania | 12/18/1951 | 4 | |
| 67 | Pat Donovan | 25 | T | 16 | 0 | 253 | 6-5 | Stanford | 7/1/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 90th pick / 1975 |
| 33 | Tony Dorsett* | 24 | RB | 16 | 15 | 192 | 5-11 | Pittsburgh | 4/7/1954 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 2nd pick / 1977 |
| 89 | Billy Joe DuPree* | 28 | TE | 16 | 16 | 225 | 6-4 | Michigan St. | 3/7/1950 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 20th pick / 1973 |
| 62 | John Fitzgerald | 30 | C-G | 14 | 14 | 255 | 6-5 | Boston Col. | 4/16/1948 | 7 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 101st pick / 1970 |
| 71 | Andy Frederick | 24 | T | 16 | 5 | 257 | 6-6 | New Mexico | 7/25/1954 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 5th / 137th pick / 1977 |
| 43 | Cliff Harris*+ | 30 | DB | 16 | 0 | 188 | 6-0 | Ouachita Baptist | 11/12/1948 | 8 | |
| 58 | Mike Hegman | 25 | LB | 16 | 6 | 227 | 6-1 | Alabama A&M,Tennessee St. | 1/17/1953 | 2 | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 173rd pick / 1975 |
| 56 | Thomas Henderson* | 25 | LB | 15 | 13 | 221 | 6-2 | Langston | 3/1/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 18th pick / 1975 |
| 80 | Tony Hill* | 22 | WR | 16 | 0 | 199 | 6-2 | Stanford | 6/23/1956 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 62nd pick / 1977 |
| 42 | Randy Hughes | 25 | DB | 16 | 0 | 209 | 6-4 | Oklahoma | 4/3/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 96th pick / 1975 |
| 57 | Bruce Huther | 24 | LB | 16 | 0 | 221 | 6-1 | New Hampshire | 7/23/1954 | 1 | |
| 86 | Butch Johnson | 24 | WR | 16 | 0 | 187 | 6-1 | California-Riverside | 5/28/1954 | 2 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 87th pick / 1976 |
| 72 | Too Tall Jones | 27 | DE | 16 | 16 | 271 | 6-9 | Tennessee St. | 2/23/1951 | 4 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 1st pick / 1974 |
| 25 | Aaron Kyle | 24 | DB | 16 | 16 | 185 | 5-11 | Wyoming | 4/6/1954 | 2 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 27th pick / 1976 |
| 35 | Scott Laidlaw | 25 | RB | 16 | 4 | 206 | 6-0 | Stanford | 2/17/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 14th / 356th pick / 1975 |
| 66 | Burton Lawless | 25 | G | 16 | 0 | 253 | 6-4 | Florida | 11/1/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 44th pick / 1975 |
| 50 | D.D. Lewis | 33 | LB | 16 | 0 | 225 | 6-1 | Mississippi St. | 10/16/1945 | 10 | Dallas Cowboys / 6th / 159th pick / 1968 |
| 79 | Harvey Martin* | 28 | DE-DT | 16 | 0 | 260 | 6-5 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 11/16/1950 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1973 |
| 44 | Robert Newhouse | 28 | RB | 13 | 12 | 209 | 5-10 | Houston | 1/9/1950 | 6 | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 35th pick / 1972 |
| 88 | Drew Pearson | 27 | WR | 16 | 0 | 184 | 6-0 | Tulsa | 1/12/1951 | 5 | |
| 26 | Preston Pearson | 33 | RB | 16 | 0 | 205 | 6-1 | Illinois | 1/17/1945 | 11 | Baltimore Colts / 12th / 298th pick / 1967 |
| 75 | Jethro Pugh | 34 | DT-DE | 13 | 0 | 260 | 6-6 | Elizabeth City St. | 7/3/1944 | 13 | Dallas Cowboys / 11th / 145th pick / 1965 |
| 64 | Tom Rafferty | 24 | C-G | 16 | 16 | 256 | 6-3 | Penn St. | 8/2/1954 | 2 | Dallas Cowboys / 4th / 119th pick / 1976 |
| 60 | Tom Randall | 22 | G | 11 | 0 | 245 | 6-5 | Iowa St. | 8/3/1956 | Rook | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 194th pick / 1978 |
| 83 | Golden Richards | 28 | WR | 1 | 0 | 181 | 6-1 | Hawaii,BYU | 12/31/1950 | 5 | Dallas Cowboys / 2nd / 46th pick / 1973 |
| 87 | Jay Saldi | 24 | TE-WR | 4 | 0 | 225 | 6-3 | South Carolina | 10/8/1954 | 2 | |
| 68 | Herbert Scott | 25 | G-T | 16 | 0 | 254 | 6-2 | Virginia Union | 1/18/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 13th / 330th pick / 1975 |
| 1 | Rafael Septien | 25 | K | 16 | 0 | 176 | 5-10 | La-Lafayette | 12/12/1953 | 1 | New Orleans Saints / 10th / 258th pick / 1977 |
| 81 | Jackie Smith | 38 | TE | 12 | 0 | 235 | 6-4 | NW State (LA) | 2/23/1940 | 15 | St. Louis Cardinals / 10th / 129th pick / 1963 |
| 65 | Dave Stalls | 23 | DE-DT-NT | 16 | 0 | 250 | 6-5 | Northern Colorado | 9/19/1955 | 1 | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 191st pick / 1977 |
| 12 | Roger Staubach* | 36 | QB | 15 | 15 | 197 | 6-3 | New Mex. Mil. Inst.,Navy | 2/5/1942 | 9 | Kansas City Chiefs / 16th / 122nd pick / 1964 Dallas Cowboys / 10th / 129th pick / 1964 |
| 81 | Robert Steele | 22 | WR | 14 | 0 | 196 | 6-4 | North Alabama | 8/2/1956 | Rook | |
| 32 | Dennis Thurman | 22 | DB | 16 | 0 | 176 | 5-11 | USC | 4/13/1956 | Rook | Dallas Cowboys / 11th / 306th pick / 1978 |
| 46 | Mark Washington | 31 | DB | 13 | 0 | 188 | 5-10 | Morgan St. | 12/28/1947 | 8 | Dallas Cowboys / 13th / 335th pick / 1970 |
| 41 | Charlie Waters* | 30 | DB | 16 | 0 | 193 | 6-1 | Clemson | 9/10/1948 | 8 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 66th pick / 1970 |
| 11 | Danny White | 26 | QB-P | 16 | 1 | 193 | 6-2 | Arizona St. | 2/9/1952 | 2 | Dallas Cowboys / 3rd / 53rd pick / 1974 |
| 54 | Randy White*+ | 25 | DT-LB-DE | 16 | 16 | 257 | 6-4 | Maryland | 1/15/1953 | 3 | Dallas Cowboys / 1st / 2nd pick / 1975 |
| 70 | Rayfield Wright | 33 | T-TE | 15 | 11 | 255 | 6-6 | Fort Valley St. | 8/23/1945 | 11 | Dallas Cowboys / 7th / 182nd pick / 1967 |
| Team Total | 26.5 | 16 | 220.5 | 6-2.4 | 4.1 |