1971: Staubach takes command, gets Dallas that elusive title

Coming off the stinging loss in Super Bowl V in January, the Dallas Cowboys were hearing one common refrain. The Cowboys can’t win the big game.

The loss hung over the team for the entire offseason. Even the fact that a new stadium in Irving was nearing completion couldn’t chase away the doom and gloom.

The Cowboys draft was nothing to write home about either. Of the team’s 19 picks that year, only defensive lineman Bill Gregory (3rd round) had any impact on the team on the field.

The first two picks, Tody Smith (1st) and Ike Thomas (2nd), as well as 9th-rounder Honor Jackson would contribute off the field however.

In separate trades, the players would be exchanged for future draft picks. Those three picks would become Robert Newhouse, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, and Danny White.

The Duane Thomas Problem

Adding to the Cowboys woes was running back Duane Thomas. Coming off an incredible rookie year, Thomas wanted his three-year contract re-worked.

The Cowboys front office politely told Thomas to pound sand in so many words. Thomas unloaded on Tex Schramm, Gil Brandt and Tom Landry and refused to report to training camp.

The Cowboys shipped off Thomas to the New England Patriots along with Halvor Hagen and Jackson, in exchange for Carl Garrett and the Patriots’ first choice in the 1972 NFL Draft.

Football: Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys Duane Thomas (33) in action, rushing vs Miami Dolphins. Cover. New Orleans, LA 1/16/1972 CREDIT: Walter Iooss Jr. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images/Getty Images) (Set Number: X16492 )

Thomas lasted in Boston all of a week before the Patriots decided they’d had enough of him. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle stepped in and voided part of the trade.

The move returned Thomas to Dallas and Garrett back to the Patriots but kept the rest of the trade intact. The move would pay off for Dallas in 1971 and in the future.

The 1972 draft pick Dallas retained became Robert Newhouse. The player that would take over Thomas’ role when he departed Dallas at the end of the 1971 season.

A Tale Of Two Seasons

The 1971 season was eerily similar to the 1970 run. Dallas jumped out to a 2-0 start once again, outlasting the Bills 49-37 to open the season before trouncing the Eagles 42-7. The Redskins upended Dallas 20-16 for the Cowboys first loss of the year.

In the final Cowboys’ game at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 11th the Cowboys rebounded with a 20-13 win over the Giants in Roger Staubach’s first start of the year.

Morton was back as the starter the next week, but Dallas fell behind 17-0 to the Saints. Staubach rallied the team off the bench but Dallas fell 24-14.

In the Cowboys first game at Texas Stadium on Oct. 24th, Staubach threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another in a 44-21 rout over the Patriots. Duane Thomas scored the first touchdown in the new stadium, a 56-yard run in the first quarter.

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the New England Patriots 44-21 on Oct. 24, 1971 in the first-ever game played at Texas Stadium in Irving, TX.

In what turned out to be Craig Morton’s final start as a Cowboys’ quarterback, he tossed three interceptions in a 23-19 loss to the Bears.

The defeat dropped the Cowboys to 4-3 at the midway point of the season. But just like the previous year, the Cowboys found their stride in the second half.

Unbeatable Cowboys

The Cowboys would run the table over their second half of the schedule. The Cowboys began the seven-game win streak with a 13-10 win over the Cardinals.

They downed the Eagles 20-7 then blanked the Redskins 13-0. The Rams nearly snapped the streak but a late touchdown by Thomas sealed a 28-21 win at Texas Stadium.

The final three games saw Dallas throttle Joe Namath and the Jets 52-10, crush the Giants 42-14 at Yankee Stadium before rolling over the Cardinals 31-12 at home.

At 11-3, Dallas tied Minnesota with the best record in the NFL. But they would open the playoffs at the Vikings the following week with a very large monkey on their backs.

Two Wins To New Orleans

After taking a 6-3 lead into the half, the Cowboys came out firing in the second half. Thomas scored on a 13-yard run and Staubach hit Bob Hayes on a nine-yard pass for a 20-3 lead.

The Vikings answered with a safety and a touchdown in the final quarter but the rally fell short as Dallas won 20-12.

Football: NFC Playoffs: Dallas Cowboys Lee Roy Jordan (55) and Larry Cole (63) in action, tackle vs Minnesota Vikings Clint Jones (26) at Metropolitan Stadium. Bloomington, MN 12/25/1971
CREDIT: Neil Leifer (Photo by Neil Leifer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images/Getty Images)

In the NFC Championship game at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys defense tormented 49ers quarterback John Brodie. The Cowboys picked off three Brodie passes and kept the 49ers out of the end zone.

Staubach played a conservative game and the Cowboys’ ground attack scored twice on 172 yards rushing. Thomas’ two-yard rush in the fourth quarter sealed Dallas’ second-straight NFC crown.

The Cowboys were on their way to New Orleans for their second-straight Super Bowl appearance. Dallas’ fans wondered: Was this the year the Cowboys would finally break through and win “The Big Game?”

Champions At Last

Maybe it was kismet? But in the Cowboys’ 12th season, led by its quarterback wearing the No. 12 on his back, and having moved into a new stadium, they finally grabbed the glory.

Rushing for 252 yards, with Staubach throwing a pair of touchdowns and Thomas adding a three-yard run for a third, the Cowboys dominated the Dolphins 24-3.

Dallas Cowboys defensive back Cornell Green (34) leaps to deflect a Bob Griese pass intended for Paul Warfield in the second quarter of Super Bowl VI in New Orleans, Jan. 16, 1972. Coming off their Super Bowl defeat the previous year, the Cowboys dominated this game, beating the Miami Dolphins 24-3. Green would later say, “The difference between the Dolphins and Cowboys was that the Dolphins were just happy to be in the game, and the Cowboys came to win the game.” (AP Photo)

With the Cowboys’ offense pitching a perfect game, the defense bottled up Miami’s potent attack. The rushing duo of Jim Kiick and Larry Csonka were held to 40 yards rushing each.

Bob Griese was hounded all game, throwing an interception to Chuck Howley. Griese suffered an iconic sack at the hands of Bob Lilly that ended with a 29-yard loss.

The Cowboys had finally won that elusive NFL championship, and did so in impressive fashion. The city of Dallas would celebrate for a very long time.

But the winds of change were already blowing in Dallas and it would be four long years before the Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl.