1968 Dallas Cowboys season
NFL team season
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The 1968 Dallas Cowboys season was their ninth in the National Football League (NFL) and won the Capitol division by five games with a 12–2 record (tied with 1977 for the best record in the Landry era). In the first round of the playoffs, Dallas met the Cleveland Browns (10–4) in the Eastern Conference title game, held at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. In this era, the host sites were rotated, home field advantage was not adopted for the playoffs until 1975. Dallas had won the regular season game 28–7 in September, and had routed the Browns 52–14 in the previous year's playoffs, but both were played at the Cotton Bowl.
The Browns upset the favored Cowboys 31–20,[1][2][3] sending Dallas to the third place Playoff Bowl at the Orange Bowl in Miami,[4] where they rallied to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, 17–13.[5][6]
The team averaged 30.8 points per game during the regular season, and holds the record for most points scored through the first three games of a season.[7]
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1968 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Dennis Homan | Wide receiver | Alabama | |
| 2 | 45 | Dave McDaniels | Wide receiver | Mississippi Valley State | |
| 3 | 71 | Ed Harmon | Linebacker | Louisville | |
| 4 | 97 | John Douglas | Linebacker | Missouri | |
| 5 | 130 | Blaine Nye * | Guard | Stanford | |
| 6 | 159 | D. D. Lewis | Linebacker | Mississippi State | |
| 7 | 185 | Bob Taucher | Tackle | Nebraska | |
| 8 | 211 | Frank Brown | Defensive tackle | Albany State | |
| 9 | 241 | Ken Kmiec | Defensive back | Illinois | |
| 10 | 266 | Ben Olison | Wide receiver | Kansas | |
| 11 | 292 | Ron Shotts | Running back | Oklahoma | |
| 12 | 321 | Wilson Whitty | Linebacker | Boston University | |
| 13 | 347 | Carter Lord | Wide receiver | Harvard | |
| 14 | 373 | Ron Williams | Defensive back | West Virginia | |
| 15 | 402 | Tony Lunceford | Kicker | Auburn | |
| 16 | 428 | Larry Cole | Defensive end | Hawaii | yes |
| 17 | 454 | George Nordgren | Running back | Houston | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | Detroit Lions | W 59–13 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | 61,382 | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | Cleveland Browns | W 28–7 | 2–0 | Cotton Bowl | 68,733 | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 45–13 | 3–0 | Franklin Field | 60,858 | Recap |
| 4 | October 6 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 27–10 | 4–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48,296 | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 34–14 | 5–0 | Cotton Bowl | 72,083 | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 20–7 | 6–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–28 | 6–1 | Cotton Bowl | 74,604 | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | at New Orleans Saints | W 17–3 | 7–1 | Tulane Stadium | 84,728 | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | New York Giants | L 21–27 | 7–2 | Cotton Bowl | 72,163 | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | at Washington Redskins | W 44–24 | 8–2 | D.C. Stadium | 50,816 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | at Chicago Bears | W 34–3 | 9–2 | Wrigley Field | 46,667 | Recap |
| 12 | November 28 | Washington Redskins | W 29–20 | 10–2 | Cotton Bowl | 66,076 | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 28–7 | 11–2 | Cotton Bowl | 55,069 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | at New York Giants | W 28–10 | 12–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,617 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 3
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Week 14
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Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference | December 21, 1968 | at Cleveland Browns | L 20–31 | Cleveland Stadium | 81,497 | Recap |
| Playoff Bowl | January 5, 1969 | vs Minnesota Vikings | W 17–13 | Orange Bowl | 22,961 |
Standings
| NFL Capitol | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 9–1 | 431 | 186 | W5 |
| New York Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 7–3 | 294 | 325 | L4 |
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 249 | 358 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0–6 | 1–9 | 202 | 351 | L1 |
Roster
| Dallas Cowboys 1968 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Taxi squad
Rookies in italics | |||
References
- ^ Bledsoe, Terry (December 22, 1968). "Browns' interceptions beat Dallas". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Livingston, Pat (December 22, 1968). "Browns jolt Cowboys, 31-20". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 3.
- ^ Taylor, Jim (December 22, 1968). "Browns smash Dallas, earn shot at NFL title". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. D1.
- ^ 1968 Dallas Cowboys
- ^ "Vikings 13-0 lead withers before Dallas rush, 17-13". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. January 6, 1969. p. 11, part 2.
- ^ "Cowboys rally, capture Playoff Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 6, 1969. p. 26.
- ^ "Mind-blowing stats for week 4 of the 2013 season". National Football League. September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-15.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
