Age: 27
1st
season in pro football
College: Louisiana
- Lafayette
Height: 5’10” Weight: 167
Prelude:
Cunningham
was undrafted coming out of college and first tried to make the Cowboys in
1994, losing out in training camp to Chris Boniol. He sat out the next two
seasons before receiving an invitation to try out for the Packers in ’96, and
while he had a good preseason, he again was cut prior to the regular season.
Invited to try out again with the Cowboys in 1997, Cunningham made the team.
1997 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
34 [1]
Most field
goals, game – 5 at Arizona 9/7, vs. Philadelphia 9/15
Field goal
attempts – 37 [3, tied with Jeff Wilkins]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 6 at Arizona 9/7
Field goal
percentage – 91.9 [2]
PATs – 24
PAT attempts
– 24
Longest field
goal – 52 yards at Pittsburgh 8/31
Scoring
Field Goals –
34
PATs – 24
Points – 126
[2, 1st in NFC]
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, Sporting News
Cowboys went 6-10
to finish fourth in the NFC East.
Aftermath:
Cunningham
followed up by kicking 29 field goals in 35 attempts in 1998 and, with a
perfect 40-of-40 in extra points, scored 127 points. An ankle injury caused his
performance to drop off during the ’99 season and he was let go and finished up
the year with Carolina, where he also appeared in four games in 2000. Cunningham
was waived by the Bengals prior to the 2001 season and had a brief stint with
Jacksonville in 2002, his last year. Overall, over five active NFL seasons he
kicked 84 field goals out of 105 attempts (80 %) and 119 of 120 tries for extra
point for a total of 371 points. 75 field goals, 95 PATs, and 320 points came
with the Cowboys.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
