1974 Dallas Cowboys

[CSKreager]

The only year in the 70s DAL missed the playoffs and the only time from 1966-1983

Their two most well known games in 74: one they won (Clint Longley on Thanksgiving), one they lost (First time ever they played Oakland, only time we saw Landry vs Madden)

Made SB 10 a year later

But in 1974…… what went wrong?

[JohnTurney]

But in 1974…… what went wrong?

Maybe getting old on defense at a few positions, and replacements maybe a year away.

Mostly, a rash of turnovers early in games they could have won if they'd taken care of the ball. Had they won a couple of them, rather than losing (could have gone either way) they'd have been 10-4 and in PO

Got in a hole, almost climbed out of it.

[74_75_78_79_]

Down-the-stretch, no, maybe still not as good as the surrounding years, but playoff-caliber by then just the same. But the 1-4 start did them in. Losing at the Vet, MNF? Sort of a bit understandable in that the Eagles started well that year, and they were due to have their way with them if just for a moment, but losing AT HOME to a Giants team that'd finish 2-12? Yes, they should have been on-the-ball for those!

If only that Dallas/Raiders match would have been scheduled just a few weeks earlier as the 'Boys were coming on! We would have had that meaningful Landry/Staubach VS Madden/Snake showdown that we never got to enjoy! And on Monday Night!

[Jay Z]

The only year in the 70s DAL missed the playoffs and the only time from 1966-1983

Their two most well known games in 74: one they won (Clint Longley on Thanksgiving), one they lost (First time ever they played Oakland, only time we saw Landry vs Madden)

Made SB 10 a year later

But in 1974…… what went wrong?

Only time Staubach vs Stabler as well. In the regular season. The oft mooted SB matchup that never came. Six times both teams were in the conference or league championship game. Though they played each other in a rookie game in 1969 that also featured Eldridge Dickey. That was Staubach's first game.

Raiders Cowboys wound up being the last of the 169 interconference matchups played after the leagues merged in 1970. Then they managed to schedule it for the last week, when it didn't matter for either team. Whoops. Raiders used four different QBs in the game, wonder if that has been done since. So they didn't play until they re-did the schedule, then had NFC East/AFC West in the last year of those matchups.

[Brian wolf]

Tough year for them on both sides of the ball. Like John said, aging defense with the young depth taking time to adjust. The pass rush wasn't dominant once Andrie retired.

Staubach had a rare, bad season, but its hard to win games when the wide receivers collectively only score eight TDs in a deadball year. Pearson had a very good year but only two TDs. His heroics on dead turkey day kept their winning streak of seasons alive.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

They had 9 games decided by a touchdown or less in the 14-game regular season. They lost 5 of those games. They lost 6 total all year. The other loss was an 8-point loss to the Giants. So, close games were a factor.

They started 1-4, so that was also a factor. 3 of those first four losses were by a field goal or less. In their first two losses, their kicker went 1-4 in a 3 pt loss to the Eagles, then missed an extra point and field goal in the 8 pt loss to the Giants, Dallas then replaced him with Effren Herrera. So, that awful start was probably a lot of it, and they may have defeated the Eagles and Giants with a better kicking game.

Still, it's tough to make the playoffs in that era when you have two 10-4 teams in your division. They had the best record of NFC teams that didn't make the playoffs. That might have been the biggest factor. Don't forget they were a wildcard when they made SB 10.

[Jay Z]

It was mostly little things. They had a big edge in yardage gained. #1 offense in yardage.

But. They changed out both their kicking and punting specialists during the year. Not great. Staubach got sacked a lot, too many INT and not enough TD passes. Despite Pearson having a great year, as others pointed out. Not enough TDs in this season. Instability at CB. Both Waters and Renfro had injuries, replaced by Barnes and Mark Washington. Whereas if you look at the Cardinals, not nearly as talented a defense, but a lot stronger at CB with Wehrli and Norm Thompson. That matters in a late, close game. Mainly little things that the Cowboys were not very good at in this particular season.