Age: 24
2nd
season in pro football & with Cowboys
College: Pittsburgh
Height: 5’11” Weight: 192
Prelude:
Dorsett had a
brilliant college career, receiving All-American recognition in all four years
and culminating in Pitt winning a national championship and the star running
back winning the 1976 Heisman Trophy. The Cowboys traded for Seattle’s second
overall pick in the first round of the ’77 NFL draft to get Dorsett. He spent
most of his rookie season backing up HB Preston Pearson until being inserted
into the starting lineup for the last four games and still managed to gain 1007
rushing yards, which included 206 in a contest against the Eagles, and score a
total of 13 TDs. Dorsett received numerous Rookie of the Year honors and capped
his first season with a touchdown in the Super Bowl win over Denver.
1978 Season Summary
Appeared in all
16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 290
[4]
Most
attempts, game – 29 (for 121 yds.) at NY Jets 12/17
Yards – 1325
[3]
Most yards,
game – 154 yards (on 21 carries) vs. St. Louis 9/24
Average gain
– 4.6 [9]
TDs – 7 [15,
tied with seven others]
100-yard
rushing games – 6
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 37
Most
receptions, game – 6 (for 32 yds.) at LA Rams 9/17
Yards – 378
Most yards,
game – 107 (on 3 catches) vs. Baltimore 9/4
Average gain
– 10.2
TDs – 2
100-yard
receiving games – 1
Passing
Pass attempts
– 1
Pass
completions – 0
Interceptions
– 0
All-Purpose
yards – 1703 [4]
Scoring
TDs – 10 [8,
tied with six others]
Points – 60
Postseason: 3 G
Rushing
attempts – 47
Most rushing
attempts, game – 17 at LA Rams, NFC Championship
Rushing yards
– 262
Most rushing
yards, game – 101 at LA Rams, NFC Championship
Average gain
rushing – 5.6
Rushing TDs –
1
Pass
receptions – 8
Most pass
receptions, game – 5 vs. Pittsburgh, Super Bowl
Pass
receiving yards – 68
Most pass
receiving yards, game – 44 vs. Pittsburgh, Super Bowl
Average yards
per reception – 8.5
Pass Receiving
TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFC: UPI
Pro Bowl
Cowboys went 12-4
to finish first in the NFC East while leading the NFL in touchdowns (48) and
scoring (384 points) and the conference in total yards (5965) and rushing yards
(2783). Won NFC Divisional playoff over Atlanta Falcons (27-20) & NFC
Championship over Los Angeles Rams (28-0). Lost Super Bowl to Pittsburgh
Steelers (35-31).
Aftermath:
Dorsett went
on to compile eight thousand-yard rushing seasons in his initial nine years
with the Cowboys (missing out only during the strike-shortened 1982 campaign).
He had a career-high of 1646 rushing yards in 1981, when he was a consensus
All-NFL selection, and received at least some All-NFL or All-NFC recognition
five times and was selected to the Pro Bowl on four occasions. His career highs
for pass receiving were 51 catches for 459 yards in 1984. Dorsett was with the Cowboys for 11 seasons,
eventually splitting time with Herschel Walker, and finished his career in 1988
with the Denver Broncos. At the time of his retirement, Dorsett’s 12,739
rushing yards ranked second all-time. He also caught 398 passes for another
3554 yards and scored a total of 91 TDs. In 17 postseason games, he rushed for
1383 yards. Dorsett was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of
1994. His son Anthony played defensive back for eight years in the NFL.
--
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
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