1968 Dallas Cowboys

it was the dawn of a new season for the Dallas Cowboys 1967 had ended for them like the year before it with a saddening loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL championship game the new season was full of promise but bitter memories of a frozen December still lingered with the Cowboys somewhat was 1968 and the throne that had eluded Dallas for the past two seasons was again within their reach the story of the Cowboys quest for pro football supremacy began on September 15th and their opening day game with the Detroit Lions in a spectacular display of defensive and offensive football the Cowboys crushed Detroit 59 to 13 rookie lion quarterback Greg Landry suffered four interceptions one of which linebacker Chuck Holly returned for a touchdown offensively Dallas euros were many but quarterback Don Meredith was the most prominent as he completed 14 of his first 17 passes and gave the Cowboys a huge 31 to 6 halftime lead [Applause] when the final gun sounded seven different Cowboys had crossed the Detroit goal the new season had started with a glorious bang the Cleveland Browns were the Cowboys second opponent a withering rush left Browns quarterback Frank Ryan bruised and battered on the floor of the Cotton Bowl for Ryan there was no escape from the doomsday defense and no more vivid memory than watching the awesome sight of 265-pound Willie towns rumbling to a touchdown and the Cowboys second straight victory [Music] Dallas then traveled north to meet the Philadelphia Eagles through the years it's been an emotional series marked by unpredictable happenings and ruptured feelings after a succession of fumbles interceptions and odd plays the Cowboys stole the game from the Eagles and left them completely frustrated victory number four was a costly one for Dallas game-breaking halfback Dan Reeves number thirty was injured and lost for the year [Music] less shy filled in superbly for eaves and placekicker Mike Clark boomed the 50-yard field goal to ensure a hard-earned twenty seven to ten win the bright glow of four straight victories was tempered by the loss of Reeves Dallas would have to replace the irreplaceable in a game of specialists he was a genuine triple threat who ran past and caught with equal effect in just four years Reeves helped lead the Cowboys to two consecutive Eastern Conference championships he played a vital part in both NFL title games against Green Bay and almost won the 1967 championship by throwing for the Cowboys lone offensive scorer [Music] Reeves always seem to find the right place when a game needed to be won and in the Cowboys first three victories of 1968 he had scored at least once in every game as the fifth game of the season approached Dallas fans asked the question could the Cowboys run and win without Dan Reeves in a rematch with the Eagles the question was answered as four different cowboy backs ran wild [Music] less shy Don Perkins Walt garrison and finally Craig bainham led Dallas to a convincing 34 to 14 rout of Philadelphia [Music] the Cowboys next met the Minnesota Vikings in the season six game head coach Tom Landry saw his team sputter install and barely managed to collect victory number six and remain undefeated [Music] for tom landry and his cowboys the first real test was just one week away on Monday night October 28th the Green Bay Packers came to Dallas though the Packers were suffering the rigors of a dismal season and they're thrown apparently lay in a shambles they were still world champions for those very reasons over 70,000 fans in the Cotton Bowl and millions more on national television saw what pro football was all about after all the touchdowns the long runs and the breath robbing tackles it was not green baize thrown but Dallas perfect record that now lay in a shambles the loss to the Green Bay Packers had drained the emotions of Dallas and the next week they played an uninspired game against the New Orleans Saints and we're lucky to escape with a victory [Music] [Applause] a week later against the Giants the cowboy stumbled backwards in a horrible nightmare and lost again after a furious start everything was now going wrong the Cowboys had been beaten twice in the last three weeks and their lead in the capital division had dissipated for Tom Landry the only thing that had remained steadfast through nine weeks was his defense which stood tired but unyielding the most unyielding of all was defensive tackle Bob Lilley number 74 an all-pro just about every year since he graduated from college [Music] when defensive end Willie towns was injured he was replaced by rookie Larry Cole from the University of Hawaii Cole and veteran and George and Ray number 66 let a helmet busting charge on opposing quarterbacks Jethro Pugh was Bob Lilly's partner at tackle he possessed all of Lilly's speed but had more size and led all Cowboys and trampoline quarterbacks [Music] his emergence as a full-fledged star made Alice front for as feared as any in pro football [Music] backing up the front for were three veteran linebackers in the middle was Leroy Jordan a master at diagnosing any type of play and stopping it cold the outside linebackers were number 52 Dave Edwards whose speed and strength made him a raging Blitzer and number 54 Chuck Holley wise and tough after a decade of playing in the Sunday Wars the last line of the defense was the secondary their mission was to stop the play any way possible [Music] the deep defense was led by Cornell green a college basketball all-american who became a football all-pro [Music] green lanten eternity to young Mike Johnson number 23 and number 21 Nick Daniels [Music] safety mic dektor number 27 hits as hard as any man in football and is a spectacular defender versatile Mel Renfro number 20 who started the season as an all-pro safety ended the year at quarterback and may also become an all-pro at that position as a unit the cowboy defense was the toughest to run against in the NFL so destructive was their pursuit that only twice during the regular season hit an opponent crossed their goal line by rushing the football so for nine games the defense had remained resolute while the offense was sometimes inconsistent through the remaining five games two things would remain constant the defense would maintain its excellence and the Dallas Cowboys would never lose [Music] the one thing that did change was that the offense regained its luster and against the Redskins in DC Stadium had exploded for 44 points Cowboys setbacks ran through the Washington defense and will their success set up Meredith's throws to Lance rensil and Bob Hayes as the Cowboys beat the Redskins with a barrage of points full-back Don Perkins was Dallas main offensive weapon as he rammed and bucked his way for over 100 yards rushing as the Cowboys fashioned their most impressive victory since their opening game win over the Lions even an injury to cowboy quarterback Don Meredith didn't affect Dallas fortunes the next week against the Chicago Bears Craig Morton directed them to an equally impressive 34 to 3 triumph [Music] [Applause] [Music] on Thanksgiving night Jethro Pugh destroyed the Washington Redskins and personally gift-wrapped victory number 10 Pew spent the whole night in the Redskins backfield and accounted for nine cowboy points on one safety and a deflected pass that Larry Cole turned into a touchdown all in all it was a big night for defense in Dallas the Pittsburgh Steelers were the Cowboys fourth straight victim since the loss to the Giants quarterback Don Meredith and the cowboy offense showcased the NFL's highest scoring machine and Bob Hayes treated Dallas fans to a dazzling display of flat-out speed the Cowboys not only won their 11th game of the year but more importantly wrapped up the capital Division title only one game remain it was with the Giants in New York with nothing at stake but revenge Yankee Stadium home of the scrambling man Fran Tarkenton two wins over Dallas would salvage the Giants season victory number 12 would not be an easy one [Music] the last quarter was played in the trenches and would bring victory with vengeance [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the aftermath of 60 minutes of furious collision had given Dallas its 12th victory in 14 games and the Cowboys best record in their short nine-year history while the defense had carried the team through the first half of 1968 it was the offense led by quarterback Don Meredith that had endured some perilous moments yet produced another division title the Cowboys look to Meredith for leadership he provides that leadership by ignoring pressure and when Meredith is healthy he can throw a football as well as any man alive but injuries have often blighted Meredith's career and it's lucky that the Cowboys had a number two quarterback like number 14 Craig Morton who would step in and never let the offense miss a beat Morton is big strong and blessed with enormous physical gifts only time separates him from stardom [Music] there were five reasons why Dallas led the NFL in scoring their names were Ralph Neely Tony liceo John Nylund John Wilber and Malcolm Walker these men formed the Cowboys offensive line behind them were three talented setbacks there was number 32 Walt garrison who guaranteed the Cowboys at least six yards every time he touched the ball the two men who filled in for the injured Dan Reeves were less shy a swift and elusive setback and Craig bainham who is a slashing runner an excellent receiver and as a natural instinct for the end zone [Music] cheyanne bainham both had the ability to produce the game busting play but the real key to the Cowboys running attack was fullback Don Perkins the NFL's fifth all-time leading rusher at 510 and 200 pounds Perkins doesn't seem suited to running over people but that's exactly what he does by launching his body like a missile perkins doesn't go around people he goes through them [Music] injuries didn't affect the Dallas receivers because was at the ends that the Cowboys had their greatest depth anti ten were veterans pedis Norman a clutch receiver and Pete gent who can withstand any amount of punishment and still hang out of the ball the most dangerous sprint and catch experts were smooth striding rookie Dennis Holman from Alabama and Lance rensil number 19 who has few peers at being alone when the ball arrives Frenzel is a man of many moves and knows exactly what to do with the football after he catches it he has the flair for the spectacular play and catches just about anything he touches although is very fast lance rensil is not often called on to catch the bomb because that is what the Cowboys have Bob Hayes for pro-football has not eroded his Olympic speed in fact Hayes claims that every year he gets even faster these is the leader of football's Jet Set and just about everything he catches turns into points haze led the Cowboys with 12 touchdowns and led the NFL in punt returns he personified the Dallas offense in 1968 sophisticated varied and quick striking the offense have the ability to score points in clusters from anywhere on the field through 14 League games Tom Landry saw the Cowboys win in many marvelous ways they had escaped tumbled and squirmed to win [Music] they had won by a kick when they were injured and by inches they had gambled with a flair they had won passing and they had won receiving they had turned a loss into a first down and that first down into a touchdown they were 40 men dedicated to a single purpose now as those 40 men prepared to meet the Cleveland Browns in the Eastern Conference playoff they would have to blend all the ways that they had won into one game in Cleveland they would face a team that they had humiliated the year before in the same game 52 to 14 within one game of the NFL championship the cowboys watch the elusive thrown slip away from them once again there was too much Cleveland defense too much Leroy Kelly and not enough time to reclaim victory after so much had been accomplished there now seemed to be so little it was a harsh realization for the cowboys and their coach that for the third straight year there would be no championship for cowboy fans the sadness was just as great but for the thousands that had poured into the Cotton Bowl each Sunday there was still one more game in the playoff Bowl in Miami the Cowboys rebounded from their defeat to triumph over the Minnesota Vikings [Music] the offense overcame a 14 to nothing deficit and in the last few seconds the defense held on to win out of the despair they had endured in Cleveland came victory and the faith that next year the magic of the elusive throne may yet be theirs you

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Id: IFNq7lIASAo

Length: 24min 9sec (1449 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 28 2018