1986 Dallas Cowboys season

1986 Dallas Cowboys season
Head coach Tom Landry
Home field Texas Stadium
Results
Record 7–9
Division place 3rd NFC East
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1986 season Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 27th in the National Football League. The Cowboys concluded the year with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, finishing without a winning record for the first time since 1965.

The Cowboys, re-invigorated by the off-season acquisitions of running back Herschel Walker and passing coordinator Paul Hackett, got off to a strong 6–2 start, including a season opening win on Monday night over the New York Giants, which saw Walker score the winning touchdown late in the game, and a 30–6 blowout win over the Washington Redskins, which ended the Redskins 5–0 start. Quarterbacks Danny White and Steve Pelluer played well early in the season under Hackett's tutelage, who was brought over from the San Francisco 49ers to breathe new life into the passing game. However, White broke his wrist during a crucial loss to the New York Giants, and was ruled out for the season. Pelluer took over as the starting quarterback, and struggled mightily, throwing 17 interceptions over the course of the season, as well as seeing constant pressure from opposing pass rushers, including being sacked a team record 12 times in a game against San Diego. The Cowboys lost 7 out of their final 8 games, and suffered a five game losing streak to close out the season, including embarrassing losses to the Redskins (41–14) and the Seahawks in the annual Thanksgiving Day game (31–14). It was the Cowboys' first loss on Thanksgiving since 1979. During the third quarter of a late-season loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Tom Landry was forced to leave the field due to a threat against his life. Landry returned to the field later in the game wearing a bulletproof vest.

The Cowboys undoing certainly wasn't because of an inability to move the football, as the team ranked fourth in the NFL in total offense. Running back Herschel Walker rushed for 737 yards, caught 76 passes for 837 yards, and scored 14 touchdowns. Late in the season against the Eagles, Walker had a combined 292 yards rushing and receiving, breaking the team single game record. Running back Tony Dorsett added 748 yards rushing, and even though he was still the team's starting running back, he was clearly unhappy with his reduced role. This was the first non-strike season he hadn't rushed for 1000 yards. The passing game flourished under Danny White early in the year, but following White's injury, turnovers and an inability to protect the quarterback neutralized the passing attack. Wide receiver Tony Hill and tight end Doug Cosbie both began to show their age, and Mike Renfro was limited because of injury. Rookie wide receiver Mike Sherrard provided a deep threat, gaining 744 yards on just 41 receptions. Defensively, the team struggled to stop the run, finishing 23rd against the run, and the secondary, an opportunistic bunch in past seasons, only intercepted 17 passes during the season. The pass rush was still strong, despite defensive tackle Randy White finally beginning to slow down due to age and injury, as third year defensive end Jim Jeffcoat stepped up with 14 sacks. Overall, it was mistakes that would plague the team throughout the 1986 season. The offensive line gave up 60 sacks, the offense turned the ball over 41 times, and the team committed 112 penalties.

No Cowboys were selected for the Pro Bowl in 1986.

1986 NFL Draft

Round Pick Name Position School
1 18 Mike Sherrard Wide Receiver UCLA
2 33 Darryl Clack Running Back Arizona State
3 74 Mark Walen Defensive Tackle UCLA
4 100 Max Zendejas Placekicker Arizona
6 140 Thornton Chandler Tight End Alabama
6 150 Stan Gelbaugh Quarterback Maryland
6 158 Lloyd Yancey Offensive Guard Temple
7 185 Johnny Holloway Wide Receiver Kansas
8 212 Topper Clemons Running Back Wake Forest
9 242 John Ionata Offensive Guard Florida State
10 269 Bryan Chester Offensive Guard Texas
11 296 Garth Jax Linebacker Florida State
12 307 Chris Duliban Linebacker Texas
12 322 Tony Flack Defensive Back Georgia

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1986 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics
45 Active, 0 Inactive

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Game site NFL Recap Attendance
1 September 8, 1986 New York Giants W 31–28 Texas Stadium
59,804
2 September 14, 1986 at Detroit Lions W 31–7 Pontiac Silverdome
73,812
3 September 21, 1986 Atlanta Falcons L 35–37 Texas Stadium
62,880
4 September 29, 1986 at St. Louis Cardinals W 31–7 Busch Memorial Stadium
49,077
5 October 5, 1986 at Denver Broncos L 14–29 Mile High Stadium
76,082
6 October 12, 1986 Washington Redskins W 30–6 Texas Stadium
63,264
7 October 19, 1986 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 Veterans Stadium
68,572
8 October 26, 1986 St. Louis Cardinals W 37–6 Texas Stadium
60,756
9 November 2, 1986 at New York Giants L 14–17 Giants Stadium
74,871
10 November 9, 1986 Los Angeles Raiders L 13–17 Texas Stadium
61,706
11 November 16, 1986 at San Diego Chargers W 24–21 Jack Murphy Stadium
55,622
12 November 23, 1986 at Washington Redskins L 14–41 RFK Stadium
55,642
13 November 27, 1986 Seattle Seahawks L 14–31 Texas Stadium
58,020
14 December 7, 1986 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–29 Anaheim Stadium
64,949
15 December 14, 1986 Philadelphia Eagles L 21–23 Texas Stadium
46,117
16 December 21, 1986 Chicago Bears L 10–24 Texas Stadium
57,256

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants(1) 14 2 0 .875 7–1 11–1 371 236 W9
Washington Redskins(4) 12 4 0 .750 5–3 9–3 368 296 W1
Dallas Cowboys 7 9 0 .438 5–3 6–6 346 337 L5
Philadelphia Eagles 5 10 1 .344 1–6–1 3–8–1 256 312 L1
St. Louis Cardinals 4 11 1 .281 1–6–1 3–10–1 218 351 W1

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. New York Giants

1 2 34Total
Giants 0 14 7728
Cowboys 0 17 01431

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
  • NYG – Joe Morris 2 yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Giants 21–17
Fourth Quarter
  • DAL – Thornton Chandler 1 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) – Cowboys 24–21
  • NYG – Bobby Johnson 44 yard pass from Phil Simms (Bob Thomas kick) – Giants 28–24
  • DAL – Herschel Walker 10 yard run (Rafael Septien kick) – Cowboys 31–28
Giants
  • Phil Simms
    22/45, 300 Yds, 3 TD, INT
  • Joe Morris
    20 Rush, 87 Yds, TD
  • Bobby Johnson
    7 Rec, 105 Yds, 2 TD
Cowboys
  • Danny White
    23/39, 279 Yds, 2 TD
  • Herschel Walker
    10 Rush, 64 Yds, 2 TD
  • Tony Hill
    5 Rec, 107 Yds

Week 9: at New York Giants

1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 7 0714
Giants 3 7 0717

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: November 2
  • Game time: 12 noon CST
  • Game weather: 59°F, wind 14 mph
  • Game attendance: 74,871
  • Referee: Dick Hantak
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentary)

Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

1 234Total
Raiders 0 377 17
Cowboys 3 730 13

[1]

Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks

1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 17 0731
Seahawks 7 0 7014

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: November 27
  • Game time: 1:00pm local
  • Game weather: partly cloudy, 50 °F (10 °C), 61% humidity, wind N 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 58,020
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV: NBC
  • Gamebook
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
  • SEA – Steve Largent 11-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 7:04 (SEA 14–7)
  • SEA – Byron Franklin 19-yard pass from Dave Krieg (Norm Johnson kick), 1:56 (SEA 21–7)
  • SEA – Norm Johnson 42-yard field goal, 0:08 (SEA 24–7)
Third quarter
  • DAL – Herschel Walker 1-yard run (Rafael Septien kick), 6:54 (SEA 24–14)
Fourth quarter
  • SEA – Curt Warner 9-yard run (Norm Johnson kick), 10:06 (SEA 31–14)
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Team – passrushtotalto
  • SEA – 214 – 201 – 415 – 1
  • DAL – 201 – 127 – 328 – 1

Awards

For the first time in team history, the Cowboys had no players chosen to play in the pro bowl. They also had no players mentioned on the associated press' All-NFL team.

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. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-08.

External links

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