1971 Dallas Cowboys Team Season Highlights "World Champions"

the night of Super Bowl 5 was a grim reminder to the Dallas Cowboys of another dream drowned and defeat but bitter memories faded before the bright promise of a new season and a new stadium in 1971 Texas Stadium a jeweled mountains flatlands of Dallas was the finest football facility in the world and the new home of the Cowboys [Music] Dallas blazed through the preseason undefeated and the player sensed this was to be their year there was no talk about just going to the Superbowl again but winning it so on September 19th their path to a championship began in Buffalo while the defense fathered the many-splendored cowboy offense exploded for seven touchdowns that blitz the Bills 49 to 37 the next week in Philadelphia Tom Landry saw his team trampled the Eagles 42 to 7 [Music] while the offense scored with seeming ease the defense was simply devastating after two weeks the Dallas Cowboys had scored 91 points and looked unbeatable [Applause] the season's third week saw the Cowboys myth of invincibility shattered by the undefeated Washington Redskins who ran away with a 22 16 victory [Music] Monday night beckoned a huge national audience eagerly awaiting a blistering display by this super team from Dallas what they saw was less than awesome as the Cowboys eked out a lackluster 22:13 win over the New York Giants [Music] the growing doubts about cowboy superiority in the east became a reality when the saints led by rookie archie manning scramble past dallas 24 to 14th [Music] after 11 years dalla said farewell to the Cotton Bowl and began a new era at Texas Stadium the Cowboys record stood at 3 and 2 and the New England Patriots were burned at the home warming from the sudden surges of Walt garrison to the liquid grace of Dwayne Thomas Dallas used a dazzling array of runners to bludgeon the Patriots Dallas mustered a convincing 44 221 victory and they're clumsy trip to Super Bowl six was rerouted again but week seven brought the Chicago Bears who seemed to cash in the Cowboys last hand in the NFC East Chicago hit hard while Dallas did not while Bobby Douglas the untamed big blonde quarterback made every big play Dallas made nuttin [Music] [Music] the 23 to 19 loss left Dallas with a dismal form three record it was almost as if they were witnessing a grisly instant replay of all their past failures their collective collapse left them with only a scant hope of reaching the playoffs [Music] Dallas had been beaten in the past but they rarely had beaten themselves during the first half of 1971 the Cowboys made the brutal mistakes of also Rams not champions [Music] it now appeared that the bright glow of September and the promise of a Super Bowl championship were just fool's gold in their search for El Dorado 1971 a sweet season gone sour [Music] the second season of the Dallas Cowboys spawned the desperate fight to the finish they almost had to win all their games to survive in the East seven games remained they would play two at the Cardinals and one each with the Philadelphia Eagles the Washington Redskins the Los Angeles Rams the New York Jets and the New York Giants at quarterback a choice was made Roger Staubach replaced Craig Morton against the Cardinals Staubach's unscheduled flights left defenders dizzy as Dallas came from behind to win 16 to 13 [Music] a stubborn defense blended with a conservative offense combined to defeat the Eagles as Dallas won its second straight 20 to 7 [Music] and then there were two the Redskins grasp on first place was just a half game and the Cowboys came to crush this Cinderella team [Music] like two heavyweights they slugged it out for 60 minutes [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Applause] both teams left each other bruised and battered but through the stretch it was the Domesday defense that was dominant [Music] finally the war of nerves was settled by Staubach who led the cowboys and a furious race to glory [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Thanksgiving Day brought the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas ran on the rookie legs of Isaac Thomas [Music] Thomas's 89 yard touchdown provided the margin of victory as the Cowboys swept to their fourth straight win 28 to 21 [Music] against the New York Jets Thomas's touched down in the opening kickoff set the tone for a fantastic flurry during the final three games Dallas scored an incredible 125 points in these three games and clinched a championship [Music] using every weapon in their bottomless bag of tricks the Cowboys overwhelmed the Jets the next week in Yankee Stadium Alex Webster witnessed the thorough destruction of his Giants [Music] while the Cowboys mammoth running backs Calvin Hill and Dwayne Thomas tore through the guts of the Giants defense Roger Staubach twice unleash a tried and true cowboy tradition the bomb to Bob Hayes [Music] after the 42 to 14 rap over New York Donnell Smith the Cardinals in the season's final game the Cowboys blazed to a championship on the flashing feet of Dwayne Thomas who scored four touchdowns in the 31 to 12 route of st. Louis from the chaos at midseason the Cowboys had clawed back to win seven straight games the spirit came from their offense defense and specially teams from kickers Mike Clark and Tony Fritsch and punter Ron would be 40 men primed and tuned for the championship series the dealer of the Cowboys seven-game shuffle to the playoffs was Roger Staubach Ron experience but ripened leadership Staubach assumed command of Tom Landry's intricate offense [Music] the heart of the Dallas attack was its running game that was number 32 walt garrison who used his body to billy club tacklers on his runs up the middle like garrison number 35 Calvin Hill was a body beater at 64 and 230 pounds Hill was a forbidding figure to a cornerback in the open field [Music] [Music] when injuries robbed Hill of a half seasons worth of games Dallas and multitalented Dwayne Thomas to replace him Thomas was a resourceful winner who never hurried but float along on silky strides and then evaporated through the secondary [Music] [Applause] [Music] the other runner in the Dallas backfield was Roger Staubach a sixth sense told him when to abandon the pocket and bust out on plan runs dead withered defenses [Music] fronting Staubach was an unmatched offensive line at center was Dave Manders the guards were blamed I and all-pro John Nylund at the tackles with Tony liceo Ralph Neely an all-pro rate feel right these men were the sturdy ramparts behind which Staubach picked apart defenses piecemeal [Music] Staubach possessed of versatile variety of receivers there were the Siamese twins a tight end soft fingered Billy Truex number 87 and rock-hard Mike Ditka number 89 at one flank was Lance Alworth still the Bambi who bounded off the scrimmage line still running meticulous patterns ending in touchdowns for running under the rainbows there was Bob Hayes total concentration sure touch and spreader speed has made haze of finished receiver the cowboy offense pro football's pinball machine lighting up scoreboards for 406 points in 1971 the eyes of Texas also focused on Bob Lilley and the imposing doomsday defense Lily number 74 parlayed quickness instinct and a steel grip into the best of his 11 astonishing years working in tandem with Lily was tackle Jethro Pugh number 75 a mean man to meet in the open field at the ends were Pat Toomey and starters George and gray number 66 and Larry Cole number 63 who worked in deadly unison the middle linebacker was corporal quick Leroy Jordan number 55 [Music] the outside linebackers expertly infiltrated the passing lanes there was DD Lewis and starters Dave Edwards number 52 and all-pro Chuck Hawley number 54 the linebackers formed a perfect partnership Jordan number 55 Edwards number 52 and haole number 54 a vintage blend of old pros behind the linebackers was the deep defense at the corners protecting against the home run where Mel Renfro number 20 and herb Adderley number 26 roving over the middle and cutting off the run with safety cliff Harris number 43 blitzing up the middle was Cornell green who neck tied runners with reserve safety Charlie waters number 41 at the snap they all came hard 11 arrows flying straight to the bullseye [Music] so after 14 games both elements of the Dallas Cowboys were finally polished and fully motivated for the final test in the playoffs [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] in Minnesota the Cowboys plundered the purple with a defense that greedily glad handed every Viking mistake the defense bent the Vikings will then the offensive line caved in the Purple Gang and Dwayne Thomas ran through the breach [Music] Thomas's touched down to Mike Clark field goals and Staubach's scoring strike to Hayes in the clutch gave Dallas 20 big points but in the end it was their defense that did in the Minnesota Vikings [Music] after their 22:12 victory over the Vikings Dallas came in from the cold and met San Francisco in the first half of the NFC Championship the cowboy offense turned stale and was led to slaughter but it was another day for the defense and they played flawless football the turning point came when John Brodie sought out Ken Willard but found the looming specter of George and Ray instead [Music] Calvin Hill converted the turnover into a touchdown and then Roger Staubach cut through the 49er defense with a series of bold strokes [Music] [Applause] [Music] the 14 to 3 triumph was the last stepping-stone to their appointment with destiny in Super Bowl 6 in New Orleans the Cowboys met the Miami Dolphins and played what many called a perfect game on defense they came and crushed hidden hounded and never allowed dolphin runners a slice of freedom [Music] on offense Roger Staubach's leadership was never more evident as he passed the Cowboys to their first score in the first half Miami buckle in the second half they were buried as Staubach's and Garrison Thomasson Hill through holes as broad as a Boulevard [Music] dewayne Thomas scored the second touchdown and Mike Ditka the third as Dallas won this super slaughter twenty four two three for Dallas 1971 was the year that the big lie died after years of climbing they had reached the summit of their sport but to the Cowboys it may not be a summit at all but only a beginning this is the measure of a world's champion [Music]

Channel: Sports Odyssey

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Id: LSxWO7Oxm5U

Length: 24min 20sec (1460 seconds)

Published: Mon May 27 2019