1975 Season

The 1975 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's sixteenth season in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixteenth under head coach Tom Landry. They finished second in the National Football Conference (NFC) East division with a 10–4 regular season record and advanced through the playoffs to Super Bowl X, where they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Offseason

For all of the accolades that the Dallas Cowboys scouting department had received throughout the years, the team had never kept more than nine draft choices and the average number was keeping six. The 1975 draft is considered to be one of the best in league history because 12 picks made the roster, hence the nickname "The Dirty Dozen". This rookie class, didn't even include linebacker Mike Hegman, who was drafted that year but did not enter the NFL until 1976. Neither was included rookie undrafted free agentquarterback Jim Zorn who made the team, but was later cut to make room for running back Preston Pearson, who had been waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The infusion of new talent not only provided an immediate rebuilding process, but also changed the course of the team in a significant way. This group helped the team reached Super Bowl X that season, and would play a key role in the Cowboys being given the name "America's Team".

The NFL didn't start recognizing quarterback sacks as an official stat until 1982; however, the Cowboys have their own records and according to their stats, Roger Staubach got sacked a league high 45 times the previous season and 43 the year before that, to revert this trend Tom Landry revived the Shotgun formation which he called "the spread", providing the NFL with another long lasting innovation.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 21, 1975	Los Angeles Rams	W 18–7	49,091
2	September 28, 1975	St. Louis Cardinals	W 37–31	52,417
3	October 6, 1975	at Detroit Lions	W 36–10	79,384
4	October 12, 1975	at New York Giants	W 13–7	56,511
5	October 19, 1975	Green Bay Packers	L 19–17	64,189
6	October 26, 1975	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	64,889
7	November 2, 1975	at Washington Redskins	L 30–24	55,004
8	November 10, 1975	Kansas City Chiefs	L 34–31	63,539
9	November 16, 1975	at New England Patriots	W 34–31	60,905
10	November 23, 1975	Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–17	57,893
11	November 30, 1975	New York Giants	W 14–3	53,329
12	December 7, 1975	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 31–17	49,701
13	December 13, 1975	Washington Redskins	W 31–10	61,091
14	December 21, 1975	at New York Jets	W 31–21	37,279

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1975 roster
Quarterbacks 19 Clint Longley 12 Roger Staubach Running Backs 21 Doug Dennison 44 Robert Newhouse FB 26 Preston Pearson KR 30 Charley Young Wide Receivers 81 Percy Howard 88 Drew Pearson 83 Golden Richards PR Tight Ends 89 Billy Joe DuPree 84 Jean Fugett 87 Ron Howard		Offensive Linemen 57 Kyle Davis C 67 Pat Donovan T 62 John Fitzgerald C 66 Burton Lawless G 73 Ralph Neely T 61 Blaine Nye G 68 Herbert Scott G 78 Bruce Walton T/G 70 Rayfield Wright T Defensive Linemen 63 Larry Cole DT 77 Bill Gregory DT 72 Ed Jones DE 79 Harvey Martin DE 75 Jethro Pugh DT		Linebackers 53 Bob Breunig MLB 59 Warren Capone MLB 52 Dave Edwards OLB 56 Thomas Henderson OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 58 Cal Peterson OLB 54 Randy White MLB Defensive Backs 31 Benny Barnes CB 43 Cliff Harris FS 42 Randy Hughes SS 20 Mel Renfro CB/FS 46 Mark Washington CB 41 Charlie Waters SS 45 Roland Woolsey CB Special Teams 15 Toni Fritsch K  9 Mitch Hoopes P		Reserve Lists  1 Efren Herrera K (IR)  35 Scott Laidlaw FB (IR)  Rookies in italics 43 Active, 2 Inactive