1982 Dallas Cowboys season


The Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 23rd season in the National Football League. The Cowboys finished with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses, placing them second in the NFC. After losing the season opener to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 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 and the Packers, the Cowboys traveled to Washington, 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 Redskins would advance to win the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys featured big-play capability on both sides of the ball in 1982. The offense relied on running back Tony Dorsett, who led the NFC in rushing, and quarterback Danny White, who finished second in the NFL in passer rating. Despite the retirement of longtime starters Charlie Waters and D.D. Lewis before the season, the Cowboys still tied for the NFC lead in sacks, and cornerback Everson Walls led the league with seven interceptions.
The Cowboys were the only team to defeat the Washington Redskins in the 1982 season, winning a regular season matchup in Game 5. The Cowboys were also the only team in the NFL who never trailed at halftime in '82.

Offseason

and Gil Brandt, proposed to the NFL competition committee a centralization of the evaluation process for the NFL draft 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, which was first held in Tampa, Florida, in 1982.
Coincidentally, the 1982 NFL Draft was one of the worst in Dallas Cowboys history. It is mostly remembered because it was the year the Cowboys drafted cornerback Rod Hill in the first round. Hill would go on to become the symbol of the team's failed draft strategy of the eighties, when the Cowboys took too many gambles. From that draft only Jeff Rohrer and Phil Pozderac made contributions.

NFL Draft

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 13

Standings

Roster

Postseason

Playoff schedule

Second Round

Awards

The Football Encyclopedia

Total Football

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