The

Dallas Cowboys 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 divisi ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

was the franchise's 23rd season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. The Cowboys finished with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses, placing them second in the

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

. After losing the season opener to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

(the first time the Cowboys lost a season opener in 17 years), the Cowboys won the next six, including five after the strike had ended. However, two losses at the end of the regular season cost them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. After beginning their playoff run with victories over the

Buccaneers Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688, ...

and the

Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...

, the Cowboys traveled to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, where they met defeat at the hands of their arch-rival, the Redskins. It was the third straight season that the Cowboys lost in the

NFC championship game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

. The Redskins would advance to win the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

. The Cowboys featured big-play capability on both sides of the ball in 1982. The offense relied on

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. From Western Pennsylvania, Dorsett attended the ...

, who led the NFC in rushing (and during the season set an NFL record with a 99-yard run from scrimmage against Minnesota), and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks' ...

, who finished second in the NFL in

passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leag ...

. Despite the retirement of longtime starters

Charlie Waters Charlie Tutan Waters (born September 10, 1948) is a former American football player, a safety in the National Football League for twelve seasons, all with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Clemson University. Early years Born in M ...

and D.D. Lewis before the season, the Cowboys still tied for the NFC lead in sacks, and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Everson Walls Everson Collins Walls (born December 28, 1959) is a former American football defensive back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. During his 14 se ...

led the league with seven

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. The Cowboys were the only team to defeat the Redskins in the 1982 season, winning a regular season matchup in Game 5 at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the w ...

(the scheduled meeting at

Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof (Cowboy ...

was cancelled by the strike). The Cowboys were also the only team in the NFL who never trailed at halftime in '82. For the only time in franchise history, Dallas did not play the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, as both meetings fell victim to the strike.

Offseason

Tex Schramm Texas Earnest Schramm Jr. (June 2, 1920 – July 15, 2003) was an American football executive who was the original president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys franchise of the National Football League (NFL). Schramm, usually referred to ...

and

Gil Brandt Gil Brandt (born March 4, 1932) is an American former football executive who was the vice president of player personnel in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsi ...

, proposed to the

NFL competition committee The National Football League Competition Committee was created in 1968 following the announcement of the AFL-NFL merger. It replaced the NFL Rules Committee, which was formed in 1932 when the NFL adopted its own rulebook. Prior to 1932 the NFL us ...

a centralization of the evaluation process for the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

prospects. Before this, teams had to schedule individual visits with players to run them through drills and tests. This proposition created the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

, which was first held in

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. Coincidentally, the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 27–28, 1982, at the New York She ...

was one of the worst in Dallas Cowboys history. It is mostly remembered because it was the year the Cowboys drafted cornerback

Rod Hill Rodrick Hill (born March 14, 1959) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Raiders. After his NFL career he played five seasons with the Win ...

in the first round. Hill would go on to become the symbol of the team's failed

strategy of the eighties, when the Cowboys took too many gambles. From that

only

Jeff Rohrer Jeffrey Charles Rohrer (born December 25, 1958) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Yale University and was NFL Draft, drafted in the second round of ...

and

Phil Pozderac Philip Maurice Pozderac (born December 19, 1959) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame. Early years Pozderac attended ...

made contributions.

NFL Draft

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Steelers

Week 13

Standings

Roster

Postseason

Playoff schedule

First round

Second round

Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Awards

* The Cowboys sent eight players to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

following the 1982 season:

Bob Breunig Robert Paul Breunig (born July 4, 1953) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Arizona State University. Early years Breunig attended Alhambra High School i ...

Pat Donovan Patrick Emery Donovan (born July 1, 1953) is a former American football Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Stanford University. ''Spor ...

, Ed Jones,

Harvey Martin Harvey Banks Martin (November 16, 1950 – December 24, 2001) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He starred at South Oak Cliff ...

Herbert Scott Herbert Carnell Scott (born January 18, 1953) is a former American football guard and offensive tackle in the National Football League. He attended Floyd E. Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, and went on to star at the Virginia Union Unive ...

, and Randy White. *

and

were named to the All-NFL second team by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and

, respectively. On the defensive side of the ball,

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

Ed Jones and tackle Randy White were named to the first team, while

and

were named to the second team. *

, NFL Leader, Interceptions, (7)

Publications

The Football Encyclopedia
Total Football
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes

References

External links

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Cowboys' 1982 season at NFL.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:1982 Dallas Cowboys Season Dallas Cowboys seasons

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...