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1983 Dallas Cowboys season
Head Coach Tom Landry
Home Field Texas Stadium
Results
Record 12–4
Place 2nd NFC East
Playoff Finish Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 24–17
Timeline
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1982 1984

The Dallas Cowboys completed the 1983 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, finishing second in the NFC East. The team started the season with seven straight victories, including a memorable Monday night win over the Washington Redskins in which the team erased a 20 point halftime deficit and prevailed, 31–30. The Cowboys were particularly strong on offense, led by quarterback Danny White and running back Tony Dorsett. The Cowboys scored a team record 479 points, and staged a few come-from-behind victories during the season. However, the defense gave up several points, despite strong play from Randy White, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and Everson Walls. In particular, the young secondary was guilty of giving up many big plays throughout the season.

Late in the season, the Cowboys met the Redskins at Texas Stadium with the NFC East crown up for grabs. Both teams entered the game with 12–2 records, but the defending champion Redskins proved too much for the Cowboys, and emerged with a 31–10 victory, giving them the NFC East title. After a 42–17 drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers the following week, the Cowboys faced the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card game of the NFC playoffs. Despite having the homefield advantage, the Cowboys fell, 24–17.

During the Redskins loss with the score 14–10 in the third quarter, the Cowboys failed on a fourth and one at midfield that was a key turning point. There appeared to be a miscommunication between quarterback Danny White and Tom Landry as to whether to run the play. The failed play led to a rare emotional outburst from Landry as he yelled "No Danny No!"

1983 NFL Draft[]

Round Pick Name Position School
1 23 Jim Jeffcoat Defensive End Arizona State
2 50 Michael Walter Linebacker Oregon
3 77 Bryan Caldwell Defensive End Arizona State
4 108 Chris Faulkner Tight End Florida
5 135 Chuck McSwain Running Back Clemson
6 162 Reggie Collier Quarterback Southern Mississippi
7 189 Chris Schultz Offensive Tackle Arizona
8 220 Lawrence Ricks Running Back Michigan
9 246 Al Gross Defensive Back Arizona
10 273 Eric Moran Offensive Guard Washington
11 300 Dan Taylor Offensive Tackle Idaho State
12 331 Lorenzo Bouier Running Back Maine

Roster[]

Dallas Cowboys 1983 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

  • 31 Gary Allen
  • 33 Tony Dorsett
  • 44 Robert Newhouse FB
  • 30 Timmy Newsome RB/FB
  • 20 Ron Springs FB

Wide Receivers

  • 83 Doug Donley
  • 80 Tony Hill
  • 86 Butch Johnson
  • 88 Drew Pearson

Tight Ends

  • 84 Doug Cosbie
  • 89 Billy Joe DuPree
  • 82 Cleo Simmons
Offensive Linemen
  • 62 Brian Baldinger G/T
  • 61 Jim Cooper T
  • 67 Pat Donovan T
  • 65 Kurt Petersen G
  • 75 Phil Pozderac T
  • 64 Tom Rafferty C
  • 70 Howard Richards G
  • 66 Chris Schultz T
  • 68 Herbert Scott G
  • 63 Glen Titensor C/G

Defensive Linemen

  • 76 Larry Bethea DT
  • 78 John Dutton DT
  • 77 Jim Jeffcoat DE
  • 72 Ed Jones DE
  • 79 Harvey Martin DE
  • 60 Don Smerek DE/DT
  • 71 Mark Tuinei DT/OT
  • 54 Randy White DT
Linebackers
  • 53 Bob Breunig MLB
  • 51 Anthony Dickerson OLB
  • 58 Mike Hegman OLB
  • 55 Bruce Huther MLB
  • 57 Angelo King OLB/MLB
  • 50 Jeff Rohrer OLB
  • 59 Michael Walter MLB

Defensive Backs

  • 40 Bill Bates SS
  • 47 Dextor Clinkscale SS
  • 26 Michael Downs FS
  • 27 Ron Fellows CB/KR
  • 25 Rod Hill CB/PR
  • 32 Dennis Thurman CB
  • 24 Everson Walls CB

Special Teams

  •  3 Jim Miller P
  •  1 Rafael Septien K
Reserve Lists

Vacant

Rookies in italics
49 Active, 0 Inactive

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Game site NFL Recap Attendance
1 September 5, 1983 at Washington Redskins W 31–30 RFK Stadium [1]
55,045
2 September 11, 1983 at St. Louis Cardinals W 34–17 Busch Memorial Stadium [2]
48,532
3 September 18, 1983 New York Giants W 28–13 Texas Stadium [3]
62,347
4 September 25, 1983 New Orleans Saints W 21–20 Texas Stadium [4]
62,136
5 October 2, 1983 at Minnesota Vikings W 37–24 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome [5]
60,774
6 October 9, 1983 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–24 OT Texas Stadium [6]
63,308
7 October 16, 1983 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–7 Texas Stadium [7]
63,070
8 October 23, 1983 Los Angeles Raiders L 38–40 Texas Stadium [8]
64,991
9 October 30, 1983 at New York Giants W 38–20 Giants Stadium [9]
76,142
10 November 6, 1983 at Philadelphia Eagles W 27–20 Veterans Stadium [10]
71,236
11 November 13, 1983 at San Diego Chargers L 23–24 Jack Murphy Stadium [11]
46,192
12 November 20, 1983 Kansas City Chiefs W 41–21 Texas Stadium [12]
64,103
13 November 24, 1983 St. Louis Cardinals W 35–17 Texas Stadium [13]
60,974
14 December 4, 1983 at Seattle Seahawks W 35–10 Kingdome [14]
63,352
15 December 11, 1983 Washington Redskins L 10–31 Texas Stadium [15]
65,074
16 December 19, 1983 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–42 Candlestick Park [16]
59,957

Standings[]

NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Washington Redskins 14 2 0 .875 541 332 W-9
Dallas Cowboys 12 4 0 .750 479 360 L-2
St. Louis Cardinals 8 7 1 .531 374 428 W-3
Philadelphia Eagles 5 11 0 .313 233 322 L-2
New York Giants 3 12 1 .219 267 347 L-4

Playoffs[]

Week Date Opponent Result Game site NFL Recap Attendance
Wild Card December 26, 1983 Los Angeles Rams L 17–24 Texas Stadium [17]
43,521

Awards[]

Five players represented the Cowboys in the 1984 Pro Bowl: Doug Cosbie, Tony Dorsett, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Everson Walls, and Randy White. White and Walls were voted to the Associated Press' All-NFL first team, while Dorsett was voted to the AP's All-NFL second team.

References[]

Notes[]

  1. The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
  2. Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3

External links[]

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