Cowboys Finish '82 Season at 6-3 After Player Strike Ends

This post is part of the 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks Series.The Cowboys returned from the player strike of 1982 on November 21. The remainder of the season was odd to say the least, given that teams were rusty from the two-month hiatus. With so many games canceled, the league came up with a modified playoff format under which eight teams from each conference made the playoffs. The Cowboys secured the number 2 seed in the NFC playoff tournament by finishing with a 6-3 record.November 21: Dallas 14, Tampa Bay 9Dallas trailed the Buccaneers 9-7 in the third quarter, but a Robert Newhouse touchdown in the third gave Dallas the lead. The Newhouse score was rather ironic. He was the team's union representative and was booed by the small crowd of under 50,000 (the game marked the first home non-sellout in 45 games).With just a five-point lead, Dallas held off Tampa Bay to pull out the win. The Buccaneers outgained the Cowboys by nearly 200 yards.November 25: Dallas 31, Cleveland 14The Dallas offense looked sharp against the Browns, gaining 299 rushing yard in routing Cleveland, 31-14. Tony Dorsett had 116 yards on 20 carries.December 5: Dallas 24, Washington 10In a preview of the NFC Championship Game, Dallas travelled to Washington and beat the Redskins 24-10. The Dallas defense sacked Joe Theismann seven times, and Ron Springs had the longest touchdown run of his career when he scampered 46 yards for a touchdown that put the game away for Dallas. Washington had been unbeaten prior to game, but both teams stood at 4-1 after the Dallas win.December 13: Dallas 37, Houston 7Danny White threw three touchdown passes, including two to Butch Johnson, as the Cowboys destroyed the Oilers, 37-7. White finished with 279 yards passing.December 19: Dallas 21, New Orleans 7Dallas scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, enough to give Dallas a 21-7 win over the Saints. Tony Dorsett scored two of those touchdowns to go along with 105 rushing yards. The win secured a playoff spot for Dallas.The bad news was that Dallas played a poor second half, and the sloppy play continued for the rest of the regular season.December 26: Philadelphia 24, Dallas 20Dallas ran out to a 20-14 lead over the Eagles, but a Ron Jaworski touchdown pass to Harold Carmichael in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles the lead. The Eagles extended their lead to 24-20 in a Tony Franklin field goal, and Dallas could not come back.January 3: Minnesota 31, Dallas 27In a game that the Cowboys and Vikings were supposed to play on September 26, Dallas lost thanks to a Minnesota comeback. Dallas had a 10-0 lead thanks to a Dennis Thurman interception for a touchdown, but the Vikings roared back to take a 24-13 lead. With the Cowboys backed up to their own one-yard line in the third quarter, Tony Dorsett burst through the Minnesota defense for a 99-yard touchdown run, which is (of course) the longest in NFL history. Dallas took a 27-24 lead later in the 4th quarter on a Ron Springs touchdown run, but Tommy Kramer brought the Vikings from behind to win 31-27.The shortened season resulted in Tony Dorsett failing to reach 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. However, he managed to lead the NFC in rushing for the only time in his career, even though in finished with just 745 rushing yards. Here is a link to a YouTube video showing a few of Dorsett's most famous Monday Night Football plays, including the 99-yarder against the Vikings.More references...Box ScoresDMN Stories