Remembering, or Still Trying to Forget, the 1983 Playoffs
I found a short clip of the 1983 playoff game between the Cowboys and Rams, one in which the Cowboys lost 24-17. I cannot embed this clip, but if you click on the image below, it will take you to the file:
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Below are a few notes about that game:
The Cowboys of 1983
Dallas started 12-2 in 1983 and appeared to be a possible Super Bowl contender. But a collapse against the Redskins on December 11, followed by another blowout loss to San Francisco, left the Cowboys at 12-4.
The L.A. Rams of 1983
The Rams finished the season 9-7 but– much like they did in 1979– came into Texas Stadium and stunned the Cowboys. There are two very good reasons that to this day, I hate Vince Ferragamo. The Rams followed this win by losing to Washington, 51-7.
Drew Pearson
This was Drew Pearson’s final NFL game. You can see him making the first of two receptions at the beginning of the clip.
Tony Dorsett
After the interception by LeRoy Irvin, Dorsett only carried the ball one more time for two yards.
Danny White
1983 was the season that Danny White broke all team records (just recently surpassed by Tony Romo) for pass completions, yards, and touchdowns. He also threw 23 interceptions. In the wildcard round, White completed 32 of 53 passes for 330 yards and 2 TDs. However, his three interceptions, especially the one shown on this clip, really hurt.
Ron Springs
Anyone remember Ron Springs being so fast? He ran down Irvin from about 10 yards behind.
The Rest of the Game
The Cowboys trailed 21-10 when Irvin picked White off and returned the pick inside the Dallas 5. Dallas held the Rams to a field gold and scored later in the quarter to cut the lead to 24-17, which was the final score.
The Aftermath
White lost his job before the 1984 season in favor of Gary Hogeboom. The next season started in very good fashion, with Hogeboom leading Dallas to a 20-13 win over these Rams in Anaheim. However, Dallas struggled all year, and though White regained the starting job, Dallas missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record.
I was one of the 40,000 in the stands that day (20K no-shows).
It wasn’t because we thought the Rams would win — it was because that was one of the coldest days in Dallas history! The toilets were frozen over and weren’t working — it took an hour to get coffee or hot chocolate, etc.
If it wasn’t bad enough losing to the Rams in the freezing weather, a week later, No. 2 Texas lost to Georgia on a muffed punt in the Cotton Bowl. UT might’ve won the national championship that year had they beaten the ‘Dawgs!
Thanx for reminding me!
July 24th, 2008 at 4:00 pm