1998 Dallas Cowboys season

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1998 Dallas Cowboys season
Cowboys wordmark.svg
OwnerJerry Jones
Head coachChan Gailey
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record10–6
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Cardinals) 7–20
Pro BowlersRB Emmitt Smith
G Larry Allen
OT Nate Newton
CB Deion Sanders

The 1998 Dallas Cowboys season was the Cowboys' 39th season in the NFL. The Cowboys were looking to improve on their 6-10 mark from the year before and return to the playoffs.

After the previous season, head coach Barry Switzer resigned after four seasons in which he led the Cowboys to the playoffs three times and won Super Bowl XXX. Chan Gailey, who had been offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was hired as his replacement.

The Cowboys did manage to record a 10-6 record and once again win the NFC East as they had done in the five seasons prior to 1997. However, the Cowboys did not advance beyond the Wild Card round as they were upset by the Arizona Cardinals, who had not recorded a playoff victory since the franchise was based in Chicago.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 1998 NFL Draft
1998 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 8 Greg Ellis *  Defensive end North Carolina
2 38 Flozell Adams *  Offensive Tackle Michigan State
4 100 Michael Myers  Defensive tackle Alabama
5 130 Darren Hambrick  Linebacker South Carolina
5 138 Oliver Ross  Tackle Iowa State from Seattle
6 188 Izell Reese  Safety UAB
7 223 Tarik Smith  Running back California
7 227 Antonio Fleming  Guard Georgia
7 237 Rod Monroe  Tight end Cincinnati
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Regular season[]

Gailey would revitalize the Cowboys offense, particularly the running game, which had seen a recent decline despite the presence of running back Emmitt Smith. The trio of Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin helped the Cowboys be the first ever NFC East team to sweep their division en route to capturing the NFC East title, the team's sixth of the 90's. The Cowboys would later encounter the Arizona Cardinals for the third time that season in the NFC Wild Card Game, but would lose in a stunning upset in the first round at Texas Stadium. Cornerback Deion Sanders suffered an injury to his toe in a regular season victory over Arizona and made a surprise return against them in the playoff loss.

Aikman was injured in a week two loss at Denver and missed the next five games. Future Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett started all games during Aikman's absence and went 3–2 as the starting quarterback.

Notable additions to the team that year include defensive end Greg Ellis and offensive tackle Flozell Adams. Ellis was drafted with the 8th pick in the first round, and many were stunned that the Cowboys didn't draft Randy Moss (most likely for off the field issues).

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 6 Arizona Cardinals W 38–10 1–0 Texas Stadium 63,602
2 September 13 at Denver Broncos L 23–42 1–1 Mile High Stadium 75,013
3 September 21 at New York Giants W 31–7 2–1 Giants Stadium 78,039
4 September 27 Oakland Raiders L 12–13 2–2 Texas Stadium 63,544
5 October 4 at Washington Redskins W 31–10 3–2 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium 72,284
6 October 11 Carolina Panthers W 27–20 4–2 Texas Stadium 64,181
7 October 18 at Chicago Bears L 12–13 4–3 Soldier Field 59,201
8 Bye
9 November 2 at Philadelphia Eagles W 34–0 5–3 Veterans Stadium 67,002
10 November 8 New York Giants W 16–6 6–3 Texas Stadium 64,316
11 November 15 at Arizona Cardinals W 35–28 7–3 Sun Devil Stadium 71,670
12 November 22 Seattle Seahawks W 30–22 8–3 Texas Stadium 64,142
13 November 26 Minnesota Vikings L 36–46 8–4 Texas Stadium 64,366
14 December 6 at New Orleans Saints L 3–22 8–5 Louisiana Superdome 65,065
15 December 13 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 8–6 Arrowhead Stadium 77,697
16 December 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 13–9 9–6 Texas Stadium 62,722
17 December 27 Washington Redskins W 23–7 10–6 Texas Stadium 63,565

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs[]

Main article: 1998-99 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue
Wild Card January 2, 1999 Arizona Cardinals (6) L 20-7 0-1 Texas Stadium

Standings[]

NFC East
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 W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Dallas Cowboys 10 6 0 .625 381 275 W2
(6) Arizona Cardinals 9 7 0 .563 325 378 W3
New York Giants 8 8 0 .500 287 309 W4
Washington Redskins 6 10 0 .375 319 421 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 13 0 .188 161 344 L3

Roster[]

Dallas Cowboys 1998 roster
Quarterbacks
  •  8 Troy Aikman
  • 17 Jason Garrett
  • 11 Mike Quinn

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
52 Active, 5 Inactive

Publications[]

  • The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
  • Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
  • Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References[]

External links[]

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