The 1990 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 31st season in NFL. The Cowboys rebounded from a 1–15 season in 1989 to a 7–9 record. Jimmy Johnson won AP's NFL coach of the year honors.
The season began with a win over San Diego, breaking a 14-game home losing streak. The Cowboys showed some early season fight with two wins over Tampa Bay and a near-miss against Philadelphia, but still stood only 3–7 after ten weeks, and were seemingly out of playoff contention. However, the team caught fire in late November, winning four games in a row (including impressive wins over the Redskins and Saints, and a blowout win over the Cardinals). The Cowboys entered the season's final two weeks needing only one win or Saints' loss to make the playoffs as a wildcard. However, in game 15 quarterback Troy Aikman separated his shoulder early against the Eagles and was replaced by Babe Laufenberg (The Cowboys had traded backup Steve Walsh early in the season and Lauferberg was elevated from 3rd string to backup). With Aikman injured, the Cowboys mustered little offense against the Eagles and lost, 17–3. Meanwhile, the Saints upset the 49ers (handing the Niners only their second loss) to keep the Cowboys from clinching in game 15. The next week, with Laufenberg again leading the offense, the Cowboys were thoroughly beaten, 26–7, by the 4–11 Atlanta Falcons. When the Saints beat the Rams the next night, the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention.
This season featured the debut of running back Emmitt Smith. Smith held out during training camp and was only a minimal contributor in the season's early games, but began to show his future greatness with a 100-plus performance in a week 5 win against Tampa Bay and had a few other outstanding games during the season.
Because of the dismal 1-15 record from the previous season, the home opener against the San Diego Chargers was threatened to be blacked out for the local television market, since Texas Stadium was not sold out.a local radio station ended up buying all of the unsold tickets so that the game could be broadcast to the local DFW market.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1990-09-09 | San Diego Chargers | W 17–14 | Texas Stadium | |
| 2 | 1990-09-16 | New York Giants | L 28–7 | Texas Stadium | |
| 3 | 1990-09-23 | at Washington Redskins | L 19–15 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | |
| 4 | 1990-09-30 | at New York Giants | L 31–17 | Giants Stadium | |
| 5 | 1990-10-07 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 14–10 | Texas Stadium | |
| 6 | 1990-10-14 | at Phoenix Cardinals | L 20–3 | Sun Devil Stadium | |
| 7 | 1990-10-21 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–13 | Tampa Stadium | |
| 8 | 1990-10-28 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 21–20 | Texas Stadium | |
| 9 | 1990-11-04 | at New York Jets | L 24–9 | The Meadowlands | |
| 10 | 1990-11-11 | San Francisco 49ers | L 24–6 | Texas Stadium | |
| 11 | 1990-11-18 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 24–21 | Anaheim Stadium | |
| 12 | 1990-11-22 | Washington Redskins | W 27–17 | Texas Stadium | |
| 13 | 1990-12-02 | New Orleans Saints | W 17–13 | Texas Stadium | |
| 14 | Bye | ||||
| 15 | 1990-12-16 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 41–10 | Texas Stadium | |
| 16 | 1990-12-23 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–3 | Veterans Stadium | |
| 17 | 1990-12-30 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 26–7 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | |
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