| 1991 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jerry Jones |
| General manager | Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson |
| Head coach | Jimmy Johnson |
| Home field | Texas Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (at Bears) 17–13 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Lions) 6–38 |
| Pro Bowlers | Emmitt Smith RB Michael Irvin WR Troy Aikman QB Jay Novacek TE |
The 1991 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the third year of the franchise under the ownership of Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson. This also marked Norv Turner's first year as offensive coordinator under head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys improved on their 7–9 record from 1990, finishing 11–5 (their first winning season in six years), made the playoffs for the first time since 1985, and won their first playoff game in 9 years (1982).
The young offensive nucleus of what soon became known as “The Triplets,” Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, continued to develop as did the offensive line and the defense also improved. Though the Cowboys would lose in the playoffs to the Detroit Lions in the divisional round, the season was considered a resounding success, and a glimpse of things to come. Notable additions to the team this year include defensive tackle Russell Maryland, wide receiver Alvin Harper, offensive tackle Erik Williams, linebacker Darrick Brownlow, cornerback Larry Brown and linebacker Dixon Edwards.
| 1991 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Russell Maryland * | DT | Miami (FL) | |
| 1 | 12 | Alvin Harper | WR | Tennessee | |
| 1 | 20 | Kelvin Pritchett | DT | Ole Miss | He was immediately traded to the Detroit Lions |
| 2 | 37 | Dixon Edwards | LB | Michigan State | |
| 3 | 62 | Godfrey Myles | LB | Florida | |
| 3 | 64 | James Richards | OG | California | |
| 3 | 70 | Erik Williams * | OT | Central State (OH) | |
| 4 | 97 | Curvin Richards | RB | Pittsburgh | |
| 4 | 106 | Bill Musgrave | QB | Oregon | |
| 4 | 108 | Tony Hill | DE | Tennessee-Chattanooga | |
| 4 | 110 | Kevin Harris | DE | Texas Southern | |
| 5 | 132 | Darrick Brownlow | LB | Illinois | |
| 6 | 153 | Mike Sullivan | OG | Miami (FL) | |
| 7 | 173 | Leon Lett * | DT | Emporia State | |
| 7 | 235 | Damon Mays | WR | Missouri | |
| 7 | 264 | Sean Love | OG | Penn State | |
| 7 | 291 | Tony Boles | RB | Michigan | |
| 7 | 320 | Larry Brown | CB | TCU | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 24–14 | 1–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 56,038 |
| 2 | August 12 | Los Angeles Raiders | L 12–17 | 1–1 | Texas Stadium | 55,981 |
| 3 | August 18 | at Houston Oilers | L 20–30 | 1–2 | Houston Astrodome | 53,314 |
| 4 | August 23 | Atlanta Falcons | W 20–17 (OT) | 2–2 | Texas Stadium | 53,689 |
The season began with a strong 26–14 victory over Cleveland and a close Monday night loss to Washington, 33–31. However, in Week Three the Cowboys were defeated at home by Philadelphia, 24–0. The Eagles sacked Troy Aikman eleven times, limited the Cowboys to just 90 yards of offense, and served notice that the Cowboys were still behind the "contenders" in the NFC East.
A narrow victory the next week over the Cardinals did little to change that contention. However, in Week 5, the Cowboys scored on a 23-yard touchdown to Michael Irvin and upset the defending Super Bowl champion Giants 21–16 (snapping a 6-game losing streak to the Giants).
The momentum from the Giants win carried the Cowboys to three wins in the next four games, besting the slumping Packers and winless Bengals. After a turnover-plagued humiliation at Detroit, the Cowboys manhandled the Cardinals again and now stood at 6–3.
But then the Cowboys lost to the Oilers in overtime (the Cowboys were driving close to field goal range in the overtime period when Emmitt Smith committed a rare fumble). The next week, they lost at the Giants in a game Jimmy Johnson said was "officiated as poorly" as any he had ever coached in.
At 6–5, the playoff chances seemed in serious jeopardy, especially with their upcoming opponent being a road game against the undefeated (and eventual Super bowl champion) Washington Redskins. However, Jimmy Johnson presented a gambling game plan for the Redskins game, including a first-half onside kick, several decisions to "go for it" on 4th down at unusual times, and opting to throw for the end zone on the final play of the first half even though the team was within field goal range at the Redskins' 34-yard line. Alvin Harper made the catch for a TD. The gambling game plan worked and the Cowboys completed a titanic 24–21 upset of the Redskins. Troy Aikman was injured in the Redskins game and was replaced early in the 2nd half by Steve Beuerlein (who had been signed late in the pre-season so as to avoid the problems at backup QB that plagued the Cowboys late in the 1990 season).
Aikman's injury was serious enough for him to miss the rest of the regular season. After the Washington win, Beuerlein led the Cowboys to four straight victories to end the season. In Dallas's final game against Chuck Noll, the Cowboys defeated the Steelers 20–10, then defeated Dallas's former starter Steve Walsh and the Saints 23–14. The Eagles were downed 25–13 and then the Cowboys edged the Falcons 31–27; Jimmy Johnson, fearing complacency in his young players, called a snap full pads practice in driving rain the Friday before.
The Cowboys' 11–5 record was good enough to earn a wildcard playoff berth. In most of the games, the Beuerlein-led offense was limited in passing yardage but the passing offense avoided serious mistakes and was helped by strong defensive performances and by Emmitt Smith, who finished the season with his first NFL rushing title. The biggest win of the Cowboys' late-season streak was a 25–13 win road win over the Philadelphia Eagles. It snapped a 7-game losing streak to the Eagles in "non-replacement games" and avenged the 24–0 loss back in week 3. In fairness, the Eagles were down to their third quarterback for this game (starter Randall Cunningham was lost for the season in week 1 and Jim McMahon, who had led the Eagles to their earlier win over Dallas, was also injured, leaving the reins to Jeff Kemp).
The special teams coached by Joe Avezzano were a strength of the Cowboys:
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | at Cleveland Browns | W 26–14 | 1–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,860 | |
| 2 | September 9 | Washington Redskins | L 31–33 | 1–1 | Texas Stadium | 63,025 | |
| 3 | September 15 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 0–24 | 1–2 | Texas Stadium | 62,656 | |
| 4 | September 22 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 17–9 | 2–2 | Sun Devil Stadium | 68,814 | |
| 5 | September 29 | New York Giants | W 21–16 | 3–2 | Texas Stadium | 64,010 | |
| 6 | October 6 | at Green Bay Packers | W 20–17 | 4–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 53,695 | |
| 7 | October 13 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 35–23 | 5–2 | Texas Stadium | 63,275 | |
| 8 | Bye | ||||||
| 9 | October 27 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–34 | 5–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 74,906 | |
| 10 | November 3 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 27–7 | 6–3 | Texas Stadium | 61,190 | |
| 11 | November 10 | at Houston Oilers | L 23–26 (OT) | 6–4 | Astrodome | 63,001 | |
| 12 | November 17 | at New York Giants | L 9–22 | 6–5 | Giants Stadium | 76,410 | |
| 13 | November 24 | at Washington Redskins | W 24–21 | 7–5 | RFK Stadium | 55,561 | |
| 14 | November 28 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 20–10 | 8–5 | Texas Stadium | 62,253 | |
| 15 | December 8 | New Orleans Saints | W 23–14 | 9–5 | Texas Stadium | 64,530 | |
| 16 | December 15 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 25–13 | 10–5 | Veterans Stadium | 65,854 | |
| 17 | December 22 | Atlanta Falcons | W 31–27 | 11–5 | Texas Stadium | 60,962 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | December 29, 1991 | at Chicago Bears (4) | W 17–13 | 1–0 | Soldier Field |
| Divisional | January 5, 1992 | at Detroit Lions (2) | L 6–38 | 1–1 | Pontiac Silverdome |
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (1) Washington Redskins | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 6–2 | 10–2 | 485 | 224 | L1 |
| (5) Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 342 | 310 | W5 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 285 | 244 | W1 |
| New York Giants | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 5–7 | 281 | 297 | W1 |
| Phoenix Cardinals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–7 | 3–11 | 196 | 344 | L8 |
Amid making the playoffs for the first time since 1985, there was controversy at the quarterback position. Troy Aikman was considered healthy enough to return for the playoffs. However, Beuerlein hadn't lost as a starter and there was an argument for "riding the hot hand". The "hot hand" argument won and Jimmy Johnson made the decision to play Beuerlein in the wildcard playoff game against the Chicago Bears, and the Cowboys won a hard-fought 17–13 decision at Soldier Field. It was the team's first playoff win since 1982 and first road playoff win since 1980.
After the Chicago win, some thought the Cowboys were Super Bowl contenders (since they had beaten the NFC favorite Redskins at RFK Stadium during the regular season, there was a belief they could do it again if they met the Redskins in the NFC Championship game). However, the Cowboys would first have to beat Detroit at the Silverdome, where the Lions had not lost in 1991.
Heading into the Detroit game, the QB controversy continued as the Cowboys prepared for their divisional playoff game. Pressure was mounting to return Aikman to the lineup but Beuerlein was announced as the starter. Beuerlein started but Aikman would replace him late in the first half with the Cowboys trailing 17–6. The other main issue in the Detroit game was stopping the Lions' running back Barry Sanders, one of the great players in the NFL. When the game began, the Cowboys defense did an excellent job stopping Sanders, holding him to one of his lowest outputs of the season. However, the Cowboys were torched by unheralded Lions quarterback Erik Kramer through the air, resulting in the final score being 38–6 in favor of Detroit.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Lions | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and has played its home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, since its opening in 2009. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, following the team's decision to sell the stadium's naming rights to telecommunications company AT&T. In January 2020, Mike McCarthy was hired as head coach of the Cowboys. He is the ninth in the team's history. McCarthy follows Jason Garrett, who coached the team from 2010 to 2019.
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Troy Kenneth Aikman is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from the Oklahoma Sooners, he played college football for the UCLA Bruins and won the Davey O'Brien Award as a senior. Aikman was selected first overall by the Cowboys in the 1989 NFL draft, went to six Pro Bowls, and won three Super Bowls. He was also named MVP of Super Bowl XXVII, the franchise's first title in over a decade. Aikman was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
This article contains an in-depth explanation of the history of the Dallas Cowboys, a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL).
The 2003 Dallas Cowboys season was the 44th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach Bill Parcells. For the first time since 1989, Emmitt Smith was not on the opening day roster, culminating with for the first time since 1987, neither Michael Irvin (1988-1999), Aikman (1989-2000) on the roster either. Coming off three consecutive 5–11 seasons, Dallas hired former New York Giants, New England Patriots, and New York Jets coach Bill Parcells. In a scheduling coincidence, the Cowboys faced all three said teams in the 2003 regular season. The team was vastly improved and posted a 10–6 record, clinching their first winning season since 1998 and clinching their first playoff berth since 1999. In the Wild Card round of the playoffs the team lost to the eventual NFC champion Carolina Panthers 29–10.
The 1996 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the third year under head coach Barry Switzer. Following their victory in Super Bowl XXX, the Cowboys endured a rough year failing to improve their 12–4 record from 1995 but still reached the playoffs with a 10–6 record. Star receiver Michael Irvin was suspended by the league for the first five games and before the playoffs was accused along with lineman Erik Williams of sexual assault. Controversy also took place when writer Skip Bayless published a scathing account of the Cowboys' 1995 season. Longtime trainer Mike Woicik also left the team after the season following a sideline dispute with coach Barry Switzer although Woicik returned in 2011. Additionally, late in the season; defensive tackle Leon Lett would be suspended for the last 3 games of the season and the first 13 of the following season after violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
The 1995 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 36th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the second year under head coach Barry Switzer and final of the three Super Bowl titles they would win during 1992 to 1995. Dallas would be the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a span of four seasons. Switzer guided the Cowboys to a fifth Super Bowl win by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27–17 in Super Bowl XXX.
The 1994 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 35th season in the National Football League (NFL). Following their second consecutive Super Bowl title, the Cowboys would see a multitude of changes. In March, months of setbacks finally reached its climax as team owner Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson held a press conference and announced Johnson's resignation.
The 1993 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the fifth and final year of the franchise under head coach Jimmy Johnson. During Johnson's tenure, the Cowboys made two of their three Super Bowl appearances between 1992 and 1995 and won back-to-back Super Bowl titles. The season is notable for seeing the Cowboys become the first team to start 0–2 and still reach the Super Bowl. The following off-season was marked by the surprising resignation of Johnson, who departed the Cowboys due to a dispute with owner Jerry Jones about who deserved more credit for the back-to-back Super Bowl wins. This would be Johnson's last head coaching job until 1996, when he became the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins to replace the retiring Don Shula, who had served as their head coach since 1970. They are, as of 2024, the most recent NFC team to repeat as Super Bowl Champions
The 1992 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the fourth year of the franchise under head coach Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys made the first of three Super Bowl appearances between 1992 and 1995.
The 1989 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 30th in the National Football League (NFL), their first under the ownership of Jerry Jones, their 19th playing their home games at Texas Stadium and their first season under head coach Jimmy Johnson. It was the team's first time in franchise history that Tom Landry was not the head coach, as he was fired by Arkansas oil executive Jerry Jones on February 25, 1989. Landry served as Cowboys' head coach since the team's inaugural 1960 season and led the team to 5 Super Bowl appearances, winning 2 of them in his 29 year tenure.
The 1996 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's second season in the National Football League, the second under head coach Dom Capers, and the first at Ericsson Stadium. They improved upon their 7–9 record in 1995, and made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
The 1991 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 62nd season in the National Football League, their 58th as the Detroit Lions. It stands as one of the team's best seasons since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, and the first time when the Lions made it to the NFC Championship Game.
The 2000 season was the New York Giants' 76th in the National Football League (NFL) and the fourth under head coach Jim Fassel.
The 2013 season was the Green Bay Packers' 95th season overall, 93rd in the National Football League (NFL) and eighth under head coach Mike McCarthy. This for first time since 1998 Donald Driver was not on the opening day roster and for first time since 2005 Greg Jennings and Charles Woodson was not on the opening day roster. The Packers came into the 2013 season looking to win the NFC North for the 3rd year in a row. They came off a 45–31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs the previous season. The Packers started the 2013 season in a rematch with the San Francisco 49ers, to whom they lost 34-28. After winning their home opener against the Redskins, Green Bay lost 34–30 in Cincinnati to the Cincinnati Bengals after holding a 30–14 lead in the 3rd quarter. Following the loss in Cincinnati, the Packers won 4 games in a row to sit at 5–2 before losing a Monday Night game at home to the Chicago Bears, 27–20. In that game, the Packers lost star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a broken collarbone in the 1st quarter. He would be replaced by backups Scott Tolzien and Matt Flynn during recovery. In Week 12, the Packers tied the Minnesota Vikings 26–26; it was Green Bay's first tie since 1987.
The 2014 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 55th season in the National Football League (NFL), the sixth playing their home games at AT&T Stadium and the fourth full season under head coach Jason Garrett.
