1 play in 1983 epitomized a decade of frustration in Dallas

“No, Danny, no!”

If you were watching the Cowboys play on television on Dec. 11, 1983, as I was, you already know what happened. For those of you that weren’t, here’s the 411.

After three straight years of losing in the NFC Championship game, the Cowboys stormed out of the gate in 1983. Dallas won its first seven games and looked unstoppable.

But there was a bomb ticking in the defensive backfield and it would explode at the wrong time.

Dallas did draft defensive end Jim Jeffcoat in the first round that spring. Bus aside from signing undrafted free agent safety Bill Bates, they did little to shore up the defensive backfield.

The Path To Perfection

Danny White and Tony Hill connected on two long touchdown passes to open the season with a 31-30 win over the Redskins.

But Joe Theismann carved up the defense for 325 yards and two touchdowns of his own as Dallas barely held on for the win.

Rod Hill of the Dallas Cowboys circa 1983 rushes against the Washington Redskins at RFK Stadium in Washington DC. (Photo by Owen Shaw/Getty Images)

After easily dispatching the Cardinals (34-17) and the Giants (28-13) the Cowboys found themselves trailing 20-13 at home against the Saints in the final quarter.

Ron Fellows returned a blocked field goal 62 yards for a touchdown, only for Dallas to miss the extra-point. Anthony Dickerson would tackle Kenny Stabler in the end zone as Dallas escaped with a 21-20 win.

Dallas rebounded with a 37-24 win at Minnesota but found themselves in a tough game at home against Tampa Bay.

The winless Buccaneers took a 24-17 lead in the final quarter before White hit Timmy Newsome on a game-tying 52-yard touchdown pass. Rafael Septien hit a 42-yard field goal to win it in overtime.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jack Thompson (14) in action, making fumble recovery vs Dallas Cowboys at Texas Stadium.
Irving, TX 10/9/1983 CREDIT: Phil Huber (Photo by Phil Huber /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Dallas destroyed the Eagles 37-7 to go to 7-0 on the season. Cowboys fans were making reservations for the Super Bowl.

Bloody Pirates!

Pirate-themed teams seemed to be the bane of the Cowboys in 1983. After narrowly defeating the Buccaneers earlier, the Cowboys found themselves in a shootout with the Raiders at Texas Stadium.

The teams combined for 55 points in the first half alone and a Chris Bahr 24-yard field goal gave the Raiders a 34-24 lead going into the final quarter.

White connected with Doug Donely on a 17-yard touchdown pass and Mike Hegman returned a fumble nine yards to give Dallas a 38-34 lead.

But Bahr hit a pair of 26-yard field goals to give the Raiders a 40-38 victory and end Dallas’ perfect season.

The Cowboys rebounded with wins over the Giants (38-20) and Eagles (27-20) before heading west for San Diego. The Cowboys’ secondary gave up 340 passing yards to Chargers’ quarterback Ed Luther.

Yes, don’t panic, we all just said “Who?”

White tried to keep pace, throwing three touchdowns on 300 yards passing. But the Cowboys rally from 24-6 down fell just short in a 24-23 loss.

Dallas recovered with a three-game win streak over Kansas City (41-21) — I game I attended just as an FYI — St. Louis (35-17), and Seattle (35-10).

At 12-2 Dallas needed only to beat 12-2 Washington at home to secure the NFC East and the best record in the NFL. Then Danny White did the unthinkable.

No, Danny, no!

The Redskins jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, but Dallas recovered and closed the gap to 14-10 at halftime. In the third quarter, Dallas had the ball at midfield and faced a fourth-and-one.

The Cowboys lined up to go for it, but head coach Tom Landry wanted an attempt to draw the Redskins offsides and punt if they didn’t jump.

For whatever reason, White decided to run a play instead. Perhaps the pressure of not having gotten Dallas to a Super Bowl lurked in a dark corner of his mind.

IRVING, TX – DECEMBER 11: Quarterback Danny White #11 of the Dallas Cowboys passing in a game against the Washington Redskins on December 11, l983 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images)

The play failed to produce a first down. The instant the ball was snapped, the normally stoic Landry yelled out “No, Danny, no!”

The Redskins would score the next 21 points, winning the game 31-10, the NFC East, and securing the NFC’s top seed.

The Cowboys would get crushed the following week at San Francisco, 42-17, and settle for a wild card berth.

One And Done

Hosting the Rams in the wild card round, Dallas managed to grind out a 10-7 lead going into the final quarter. Vince Ferragamo tossed a pair of touchdowns to give Los Angeles a 21-10 lead early in the quarter.

White drove Dallas deep into Rams’ territory. But his pass to Butch Johnson was well underthrown and LeRoy Irvin returned the interception 94 yards to set up a Rams field goal.

White managed to find Doug Cosbie for a touchdown to cut the lead to seven with a minute left in the game. But the ensuing onside kick bounced out of bounds and the Rams won 24-17.

For the first time in the 1980s, the Cowboys would not play in an NFC Championship game. The 1984 season would end up even worse.