Fun with What If Sports: 1977 Cowboys vs. 1998 Vikings

Today’s feature, which should have been posted last evening had I not fallen asleep, matches the 1977 Dallas Cowboys with the 1998 Minnesota Vikings. I changed the rules slightly this week to create an NBA/MLB type of series. This was a seven-game series using WhatIfSports, with Minnesota hosting the first two games, Dallas hosting the next three, and Minnesota hosting the final two. Game seven was not necessary as Minnesota won in six. So, none of the Vikings fans can say that I fixed this, though I would imagine that Cowboys fans won’t be too happy.

Here are the teams from today’s game:

1977 Dallas Cowboys

By trading for Seatte’s first round darft pick, the Cowboys added halfback Tony Dorsett to their arsenal. Tom Landry brought the rookie from Pitt along slowly, but by midseason, Dorsett had given the Dallas offense a new dimension. The new running threat balanced the potent passing attack, with Roger Staubach throwing and Drew Pearson serving as the ace receiver. The Cowboys used the firepower to win their first eight games and their last four in repeating as NFC East Champions. Although Lee Roy Jordan retired, the defense prospered with star performances by Harvey Martin, Tom Henderson, Charlie Waters, and Cliff Harris. Randy White also became a major factor on defense after being moved to tackle.

The 1977 Cowboys routed the Chicago Bears 37-7 in the NFC divisional round before beating the defending NFC champion Vikings 23-6 in the NFC Championship Game. Dallas won its second Super Bowl by beating Denver 27-10 in Super Bowl XII.

1998 Minnesota Vikings

Cold, Hard Football Facts featured the 1998 Minnesota Vikings as the second almost-greatest team of all time. Here is the summary:

Coach: Dennis Green

Record: 15-1

Offense: 34.7 PPG (1st)

Defense: 18.5 PPG (6th)

Pro Bowlers: 9

Five best players: WR Randy Moss (17 TDs), WR Cris Carter (78 catches), DL John Randle, QB Randall Cunningham (34 TDs, 10 INTs), OL Randall McDaniel

Sob story: The Vikings scored 556 points, thanks in large part to the unstoppable receiving duo of veteran Cris Carter and rookie sensation Randy Moss. No team in NFL history has ever scored more points in a single season. Their only loss was a three-point job in Tampa, and they reached the NFC championship with ease. In the late stages of that game with Atlanta, Minnesota sent Gary Anderson out to kick a 39-yarder and take a 10-point lead – the same Anderson who was a perfect 35-for-35 on field goals in the regular season. What could go wrong? Of course, Anderson missed, and Atlanta went on to win in overtime. The Vikings’ quarterbacks and coaches have changed over the years, but their bridesmaid existence has continued – even their best teams have never been quite good enough.

The Series

Dallas won the first game to grab home-field advantage, but the Cowboys struggled throughout the rest of the series. Here are the results:

Game 1 (at Minnesota): Dallas 30, Minnesota 26
Game 2 (at Minnesota): Minnesota 17, Dallas 10
Game 3 (at Dallas): Minnesota 24, Dallas 21
Game 4 (at Dallas): Dallas 7, Minnesota 3
Game 5 (at Dallas): Minnesota 27, Dallas 20
Game 6 (at Minnesota): Minnesota 20, Dallas 17

Final Game: Minnesota 20, Dallas 17

This series featured the two rookies– Tony Dorsett of the 1977 Cowboys and Randy Moss of the 1998 Vikings. Unfortunately for Dallas, Moss prevailed.

Dallas opened the game with a 12-play, 72-yard drive capped off with a four-yard touchdown run by Dorsett. However, a 77-yard pass from Randall Cunningham to Moss at the end of the first quarter completed a 98-yard drive for the Vikings. Minnesota extended the lead to 20-7 in the second quarter, thanks in large part to two Dallas turnovers (a Staubach interception and a Robert Newhouse fumble).

Staubach, along with the Dallas defense, brought the Cowboys back in the third quarter. After Minnesota’s Gary Anderson missed a field goal, Dallas drove to the Viking 23 and kicked a field goal. Dallas held the Viking and, thanks to a 21-yard pass from Staubach to Dorsett, moved into Minnesota territory again. A three-yard touchdown pass from Staubach to Billy Joe Dupree cut the Viking lead to 20-17.

The Dallas offense could not move the ball in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys had one last chance to move into field goal range at the end of the game but could not move past midfield.

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
DAL	8:09	TD	Tony Dorsett 4 yd. run (Herrera kick)	7-0
MIN	0:49	TD	Randy Moss 77 yd. pass from Cunningham (Anderson kick)	7-7
2nd Quarter
MIN	10:01	FG	Gary Anderson 43 yds.	7-10
MIN	5:38	FG	Gary Anderson 31 yds.	7-13
MIN	1:45	TD	Leroy Hoard 3 yd. pass from Cunningham (Anderson kick)	7-20
3rd Quarter
DAL	6:53	FG	Efren Herrera 40 yds.	10-20
DAL	2:52	TD	Billy Joe Dupree 3 yd. pass from Staubach (Herrera kick)	17-20

Statistics

1977 Dallas
Cowboys

1998
Minnesota Vikings

First Downs

- Rushing

- Passing

- Penalty

3rd Down Eff

6/15

8/16

4th Down Eff

2/3

0/0

Rushes-Yards

37-131

34-100

Avg Rush

3.5

2.9

Comp-Att-Int

11-19-1

17-27-1

Passing Yards

121

199

Sacks-Yards

5-31

4-29

Fumbles-Lost

1-1

1-0

Punts-Avg

5-40.0

5-43.6

KR-Avg

5-21.8

4-21.8

PR-Avg

5-12.6

5-6.4

Penalties-Yard

3-15

5-25

Time of Possession

24:57

35:03

1977 Dallas Cowboys Individual Stats

1998 Minnesota Vikings Individual Stats

Rushing
	Att	Yds	20+	L	TD
’77 Robert Newhouse	14	56	1	45	0
’77 Tony Dorsett	16	45	0	11	1
’77 Roger Staubach	5	22	0	17	0
’77 Preston Pearson	2	8	0	4	0

Rushing
	Att	Yds	20+	L	TD
’98 Robert Smith	18	70	0	12	0
’98 Leroy Hoard	9	31	0	12	0
’98 Randy Moss	1	3	0	3	0
’98 David Palmer	3	-1	0	2	0
’98 Chuck Evans	1	-1	0	-1	0
’98 Randall Cunningham	2	-2	0	-1	0

Receiving
	Rec	Yds	20+	40+	L	TD
’77 Drew Pearson	4	66	1	0	25	0
’77 Tony Dorsett	2	26	1	0	21	0
’77 Butch Johnson	1	22	1	0	22	0
’77 Golden Richards	1	18	0	0	18	0
’77 Billy Joe Dupree	2	15	0	0	12	1
’77 Robert Newhouse	1	5	0	0	5	0

Receiving
	Rec	Yds	20+	40+	L	TD
’98 Randy Moss	5	135	2	1	77	1
’98 Cris Carter	5	46	0	0	12	0
’98 Matthew Hatchette	1	21	1	0	21	0
’98 Robert Smith	2	13	0	0	9	0
’98 David Palmer	1	5	0	0	5	0
’98 Andrew Glover	2	5	0	0	8	0
’98 Leroy Hoard	1	3	0	0	3	1

Passing
	Comp.	Att.	Yards	TD	INT
’77 Roger Staubach	11	19	152	1	1

Passing
	Comp.	Att.	Yards	TD	INT
’98 Randall Cunningham	17	27	228	2	1

Defensive
	Tackles	Sacks	INT
’77 Bob Breunig	10	1	0
’77 Thomas Henderson	7	1	1
’77 Aaron Kyle	6	0	0
’77 Randy Hughes	6	0	0
’77 Mark Washington	4	0	0
’77 D.D. Lewis	4	0	0
’77 Cliff Harris	4	0	0
’77 Charlie Waters	3	2	0
’77 Mike Hegman	3	0	0
’77 Mel Renfro	1	0	0

Defensive
	Tackles	Sacks	INT
’98 Stalin Colinet	7	0	0
’98 Anthony Phillips	5	0	0
’98 John Randle	4	2	0
’98 Duane Clemons	4	1	0
’98 Robert Tate	3	0	0
’98 Robert Griffith	3	0	0
’98 Torrian Gray	3	0	0
’98 Derrick Alexander	3	0	0
’98 Dwayne Rudd	2	0	0
’98 Ramos McDonald	2	0	0
’98 Jimmy Hitchcock	2	0	0
’98 Corey Fuller	2	1	0
’98 Ed McDaniel	1	1	0
’98 Orlando Thomas	0	0	1

Field Goals
	Made	Missed
’77 Efren Herrera	40	-

Field Goals
	Made	Missed
’98 Gary Anderson	43,31	46

Filed under Current Team News

1977 Dallas Cowboys

1998 Minnesota Vikings

The Series

Final Game: Minnesota 20, Dallas 17

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