Plankton
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As the Dallas Cowboys get ready to face the Los Angeles Rams, a team with which the Cowboys has a long, rich playoff history, it has gotten me to think a little bit of how this current team can be viewed from a historical context. Playing on the road at the Los Angeles Coliseum, another venue that screams history, it has gotten me to think as well about a time where road playoff games were tenuous for this franchise.
Going into the 1970 season, the Dallas Cowboys were known as Next Year’s Champions; a backhand way of saying that the team was all hype, and no substance when it came to winning big games.
The Cowboys of the 21st Century have been given no such nickname, but are viewed through a similar lens.
When looking at the Cowboys in 2018, and for the better part of the last two decades, the team has been a disappointment to many, a punchline to its haters, and generally, underachieving compared to the storied teams of the past. With four playoff victories since their last Super Bowl championship in the 1995 season, the Cowboys from an on-field standpoint have lived up to the Texas adage of big hat, no cattle.
While this may seem sacrilegious to many fans, this edition of the Cowboys shares some things in common with the team from 1970.
Entering the 1970 season, the Cowboys had not won a road playoff game in their history. They had lost the NFL Championship Game in 1967 to the Green Bay Packers in the Ice Bowl, as well as the Eastern Conference Championship Game to the Cleveland Browns in the last game played by Don Meredith in the NFL.
The 2018 Dallas Cowboys are part of a string for the franchise without a road playoff victory since the 1992 season, when a young, ascending Cowboy team went to San Francisco, and knocked off the “Team of the 80’s” in the 49ers, and launched a dynasty.
Both teams had head coaches with major detractors within the fan base who had blind devotion from the owner of the franchise, which caused rancor amongst said fan bases.
And, for both teams, a horrendous loss on Monday Night Football in Week Nine of the regular season, followed by a divisional win on the road, served as a major turning point in the seasons that led to playoff berths.
Back in 1970, the Cowboys went into Week Nine in a tie for second place following a loss to the New York Giants. Playing on the new venture of Monday Night Football (the TV franchise started in 1970), the Cowboys had a home game against the division leading St. Louis Cardinals at the Cotton Bowl. Featured in the booth that night was a former face of the franchise who retired after demonstrating otherworldly toughness, and left the game without a ring.
In 2018, the Cowboys came into Week 9 in third place following a bye week, and played on Monday Night Football against the Tennessee Titans at AT&T Stadium. Featured in the booth that night was a former face of the franchise who also retired after demonstrating otherworldly toughness, and also left the game without a ring.
The Cowboys of 1970 promptly went out and laid an egg. They were gouged on the ground, and completely listless on offense. In the 38-0 defeat, they had all of the appearances of a team on the brink of a collapse. Fans booed the team mercilessly, and even chanted “We want Don!!!” in a plea to their former quarterback, Meredith, to come back and help reverse their fortunes. Head coach Tom Landry was increasingly under fire from the fan base, and the season appeared to be lost, with the team mired in third place.
The Cowboys of 2018 got off to a hot start, but let the game slip through their grasp in a slumber like performance. The defense grew increasingly leaky as the game progressed, the offense was lethargic, and the fans booed the team. In the 28-14 defeat, the team also looked like they were on the brink of a total collapse, and the coach, Jason Garrett, was firmly in the crosshairs of the media and fan base as a target for losing his job at season’s end. The team had apparently went as far as to reach out to Jason Witten, now an analyst on Monday Night Football to gauge his interest in returning to the Cowboys at tight end. The season appeared to be lost, with the team also mired in third place.
For both teams, a funny thing happened. They came together as units, played for themselves, and saved their seasons.
The Cowboys of 1970 had a meeting following the debacle against the Cardinals. In the meeting, Tom Landry got emotional at his inability to reach his team, and proceeded to throw his clipboard into the middle of the locker room, and tell his team to go play touch football. The team took their coach up on his frustrated request, and bonded over a goof off session. With the pressure now released, the Cowboys went to Washington, and won a big game on the road to steady themselves. After that, they swept the rest of the regular season and stole the NFC East title out from under the Cardinals and Giants.
The Cowboys of 2018 didn’t have a seminal locker room moment like Landry getting emotional, and tossing a clipboard, but they were under fire locally as well as nationally. Going into Philadelphia to meet the defending champion Eagles in a game that looked like a slaughter waiting to happen, the team had no choice but to come together to save their season. Written off by many, the Cowboys rallied around their embattled coach, and won a big game on the road to steady themselves. From that point forward, they would only lose one more game as they stole the NFC East title out from under the Commanders and Eagles.
Both editions of the Cowboys relied on strong running games (Calvin Hill and Duane Thomas in 1970, Ezekiel Elliott in 2018), and strong defenses to complete the surge in the back end of the season. They entered the playoffs without a playoff win in at least three seasons (four for the 2018 Cowboys), and proceeded to win their first playoff game at home in games dominated by the defense and running game.
To take the next step would require the teams to do something that either hadn’t been done before, or hasn’t happened in a long time: win a road playoff game.
The 1970 Dallas Cowboys did just that, going to Kezar Stadium in San Francisco and defeating the 49ers 17-10 in the final NFL game played at the old stadium in Golden Gate Park. This surge carried them all the way to their first Super Bowl berth.
The 2018 Dallas Cowboys’ destiny has not yet been defined, but like their 1970 brethren, they will go west to face off with a rival in an old, historic venue. The Cowboys will meet up with the Rams at the Coliseum, and the Rams feature a wide-open passing attack, much like the 49ers of 1970, and a solid defense led by a former Cowboy coach (Wade Phillips).
The 49ers of 1970? Also led by a former Cowboy coach who ran their defense – Dick Nolan.
Seasons can turn on a dime, sometimes without anyone realizing it. While fans aren’t privy per se to what exactly turned fortunes around for teams when their play suddenly goes from aimless to laser sharp, where it all starts is in the locker room, and with the unity of the team.
If what we have seen from the 2018 Cowboys is any indication, it’s that of a unified team. A team that has rallied around its coach, and has been on an upward trajectory since a desultory performance on a Monday Night against a legendary former teammate. It remains to be seen whether this Cowboy team has the stuff and mettle to continue this run all the way to the Super Bowl, but the prospect of winning a playoff game when it hasn’t been done is not the impossible task that many pundits think it is.
After all, in looking back at the 1970 Dallas Cowboys, we can safely say that it has been done before.
With the season turning around following a bad loss on Monday Night Football in Week Nine.
Going into the 1970 season, the Dallas Cowboys were known as Next Year’s Champions; a backhand way of saying that the team was all hype, and no substance when it came to winning big games.
The Cowboys of the 21st Century have been given no such nickname, but are viewed through a similar lens.
When looking at the Cowboys in 2018, and for the better part of the last two decades, the team has been a disappointment to many, a punchline to its haters, and generally, underachieving compared to the storied teams of the past. With four playoff victories since their last Super Bowl championship in the 1995 season, the Cowboys from an on-field standpoint have lived up to the Texas adage of big hat, no cattle.
While this may seem sacrilegious to many fans, this edition of the Cowboys shares some things in common with the team from 1970.
Entering the 1970 season, the Cowboys had not won a road playoff game in their history. They had lost the NFL Championship Game in 1967 to the Green Bay Packers in the Ice Bowl, as well as the Eastern Conference Championship Game to the Cleveland Browns in the last game played by Don Meredith in the NFL.
The 2018 Dallas Cowboys are part of a string for the franchise without a road playoff victory since the 1992 season, when a young, ascending Cowboy team went to San Francisco, and knocked off the “Team of the 80’s” in the 49ers, and launched a dynasty.
Both teams had head coaches with major detractors within the fan base who had blind devotion from the owner of the franchise, which caused rancor amongst said fan bases.
And, for both teams, a horrendous loss on Monday Night Football in Week Nine of the regular season, followed by a divisional win on the road, served as a major turning point in the seasons that led to playoff berths.
Back in 1970, the Cowboys went into Week Nine in a tie for second place following a loss to the New York Giants. Playing on the new venture of Monday Night Football (the TV franchise started in 1970), the Cowboys had a home game against the division leading St. Louis Cardinals at the Cotton Bowl. Featured in the booth that night was a former face of the franchise who retired after demonstrating otherworldly toughness, and left the game without a ring.
In 2018, the Cowboys came into Week 9 in third place following a bye week, and played on Monday Night Football against the Tennessee Titans at AT&T Stadium. Featured in the booth that night was a former face of the franchise who also retired after demonstrating otherworldly toughness, and also left the game without a ring.
The Cowboys of 1970 promptly went out and laid an egg. They were gouged on the ground, and completely listless on offense. In the 38-0 defeat, they had all of the appearances of a team on the brink of a collapse. Fans booed the team mercilessly, and even chanted “We want Don!!!” in a plea to their former quarterback, Meredith, to come back and help reverse their fortunes. Head coach Tom Landry was increasingly under fire from the fan base, and the season appeared to be lost, with the team mired in third place.
The Cowboys of 2018 got off to a hot start, but let the game slip through their grasp in a slumber like performance. The defense grew increasingly leaky as the game progressed, the offense was lethargic, and the fans booed the team. In the 28-14 defeat, the team also looked like they were on the brink of a total collapse, and the coach, Jason Garrett, was firmly in the crosshairs of the media and fan base as a target for losing his job at season’s end. The team had apparently went as far as to reach out to Jason Witten, now an analyst on Monday Night Football to gauge his interest in returning to the Cowboys at tight end. The season appeared to be lost, with the team also mired in third place.
For both teams, a funny thing happened. They came together as units, played for themselves, and saved their seasons.
The Cowboys of 1970 had a meeting following the debacle against the Cardinals. In the meeting, Tom Landry got emotional at his inability to reach his team, and proceeded to throw his clipboard into the middle of the locker room, and tell his team to go play touch football. The team took their coach up on his frustrated request, and bonded over a goof off session. With the pressure now released, the Cowboys went to Washington, and won a big game on the road to steady themselves. After that, they swept the rest of the regular season and stole the NFC East title out from under the Cardinals and Giants.
The Cowboys of 2018 didn’t have a seminal locker room moment like Landry getting emotional, and tossing a clipboard, but they were under fire locally as well as nationally. Going into Philadelphia to meet the defending champion Eagles in a game that looked like a slaughter waiting to happen, the team had no choice but to come together to save their season. Written off by many, the Cowboys rallied around their embattled coach, and won a big game on the road to steady themselves. From that point forward, they would only lose one more game as they stole the NFC East title out from under the Commanders and Eagles.
Both editions of the Cowboys relied on strong running games (Calvin Hill and Duane Thomas in 1970, Ezekiel Elliott in 2018), and strong defenses to complete the surge in the back end of the season. They entered the playoffs without a playoff win in at least three seasons (four for the 2018 Cowboys), and proceeded to win their first playoff game at home in games dominated by the defense and running game.
To take the next step would require the teams to do something that either hadn’t been done before, or hasn’t happened in a long time: win a road playoff game.
The 1970 Dallas Cowboys did just that, going to Kezar Stadium in San Francisco and defeating the 49ers 17-10 in the final NFL game played at the old stadium in Golden Gate Park. This surge carried them all the way to their first Super Bowl berth.
The 2018 Dallas Cowboys’ destiny has not yet been defined, but like their 1970 brethren, they will go west to face off with a rival in an old, historic venue. The Cowboys will meet up with the Rams at the Coliseum, and the Rams feature a wide-open passing attack, much like the 49ers of 1970, and a solid defense led by a former Cowboy coach (Wade Phillips).
The 49ers of 1970? Also led by a former Cowboy coach who ran their defense – Dick Nolan.
Seasons can turn on a dime, sometimes without anyone realizing it. While fans aren’t privy per se to what exactly turned fortunes around for teams when their play suddenly goes from aimless to laser sharp, where it all starts is in the locker room, and with the unity of the team.
If what we have seen from the 2018 Cowboys is any indication, it’s that of a unified team. A team that has rallied around its coach, and has been on an upward trajectory since a desultory performance on a Monday Night against a legendary former teammate. It remains to be seen whether this Cowboy team has the stuff and mettle to continue this run all the way to the Super Bowl, but the prospect of winning a playoff game when it hasn’t been done is not the impossible task that many pundits think it is.
After all, in looking back at the 1970 Dallas Cowboys, we can safely say that it has been done before.
With the season turning around following a bad loss on Monday Night Football in Week Nine.
