1978: Cowboys Overcome Missed Opportunities to Defeat Cards in OT

It appeared to be a classic mismatch on October 15, 1978 as the Dallas Cowboys, with a 4-2 record, faced the winless St. Louis Cardinals, who were 0-6 and, going back to the previous season, had lost a total of ten straight contests.

Coached by Tom Landry for the 19th season, the Cowboys were the defending NFL Champions and, while off to a somewhat slow start, they remained formidable. QB Roger Staubach (pictured above) directed an offense that could run the ball effectively with HB Tony Dorsett or strike from the air to wide receivers Drew Pearson and Tony Hill. The defense was strong, with the line anchored by DE Harvey Martin and DT Randy White and containing an excellent secondary.

St. Louis had fallen on hard times after winning two division titles under Don Coryell in 1974 and ‘75. Coryell had departed following a 7-7 record in ’77 and Bud Wilkinson, a legendary college coach who had nevertheless been away from the sidelines for many years, was in his place. While the Cardinals had an able quarterback in Jim Hart and a good line, they lacked outside speed at running back. The club had yet to score more than 17 points in a game and the defense had difficulty against the run, giving up 216 yards on the ground in a loss at Dallas three weeks earlier.

There were 48,991 fans in attendance at Busch Memorial Stadium. In the first quarter and following a fumble by Roger Staubach that was recovered by NT Mike Dawson, the Cardinals advanced 47 yards in seven plays. FB Jim Otis ran for the last two and a touchdown, followed by Jim Bakken’s extra point.

Dallas missed an opportunity a few plays later when SS Charlie Waters nearly intercepted a Hart pass with a clear field in front of him, but dropped the ball. Later, however, and following a punt that had the Cowboys starting from their one yard line, the visitors drove 99 yards in 11 plays. Drew Pearson gained 28 yards on a reverse and Staubach completed passes to Tony Hill for 17 yards and TE Billy Joe DuPree for 20 along the way, and capped the series with a six-yard TD throw to FB Robert Newhouse. Rafael Septien tied the score at 7-7.

The Cards put together their own long drive, covering 87 yards, and Otis again capped it with another touchdown, this time from a yard out. Bakken’s point after put the home team back in front by 14-7. In the last minute of the first half, CB Roger Wehrli intercepted a Staubach pass and Jim Hart connected with HB Steve Jones for a 38-yard gain, but he lost his grip on the ball just short of the goal line and, while WR Pat Tilley nearly recovered in the end zone, CB Aaron Kyle recovered instead for the Cowboys. The score remained unchanged at halftime.

Still up by seven points in the third quarter and with a fourth down at their 37, the Cards were forced to punt. However, punter Steve Little dropped the snap and, while he recovered, was unable to run past the line of scrimmage. Dallas quickly capitalized on the next play, utilizing trickery. Tony Dorsett took a handoff, gave the ball to Drew Pearson coming around on an apparent reverse, and the wide receiver then flipped it back to Staubach, who threw long to Tony Hill in the corner of the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown. Septien added the game-tying extra point.

Two minutes later, and following Harvey Martin’s sack of Hart that had Little punting from his own end zone, WR Butch Johnson returned the line-drive kick 23 yards to the St. Louis 15. Helped along by a pass interference penalty, the Cowboys scored when Staubach connected with Hill for another TD, this time from six yards out. Septien’s conversion had the Cowboys in front by 21-14 with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter.

St. Louis came back with a nine-play, 68-yard series that stretched into the fourth quarter.  Hart threw to WR Mel Gray for gains of 30 and 19 yards and finished the possession off with a one-yard toss to HB Wayne Morris for a touchdown. Bakken’s conversion knotted the score again at 21-21.

Later in the period, the Cards drove from their 17 to the Dallas 16, but with 2:54 left in regulation, Bakken missed a 33-yard field goal attempt that struck the left upright, one of several instances in which both teams missed opportunities to win in regulation.

As the clock counted down to less than a minute to play, the Cards lost Hart, who was sacked again by Martin and had to leave the game due to a shoulder injury. With rookie QB Steve Pisarkiewicz now behind center, the Cards punted shortly thereafter and another good return by Johnson gave Dallas excellent field position at the St. Louis 32. Staubach passed to Pearson for 15 yards and, with the ball at the St. Louis 16, it appeared that the Cowboys were on the verge of putting the game away. Newhouse fumbled on the next play, however, and LB Steve Neils recovered for St. Louis. Pisarkiewicz then threw long for Gray, but it was intercepted by FS Cliff Harris. Staubach connected with Pearson to pick up 25 yards and, once again, Dallas had a shot to win. But with the clock down to one second, Septien’s 49-yard field goal attempt was blocked by DE John Zook and, following an eventful final minute of regulation, the game headed into overtime.

The Cowboys won the toss to start the extra period and, taking possession at their 23 after the kickoff, Staubach started off with two completions before he had to leave due to injury. It didn’t deter Dallas as Newhouse carried for 13 yards, Dorsett for six, and Septien kicked a 47-yard field goal at 3:28 into the extra period. The Cowboys came away with a hard-fought 24-21 victory.

Dallas led in total yards (418 to 372) and first downs (24 to 21). The Cowboys also recorded three sacks, to one by St. Louis. However, the visitors turned the ball over four times, to three by the Cards, and amassed 12 penalties at a cost of 109 yards while St. Louis was flagged four times.

Roger Staubach completed 23 of 40 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns while giving up two interceptions. Drew Pearson had 7 catches for 101 yards and carried the ball twice for 34 yards while Tony Hill contributed three receptions for 60 yards and two TDs. Tony Dorsett was held to 24 yards on 12 carries and Robert Newhouse topped the Dallas runners with 47 yards on 12 attempts against a surprisingly stiff St. Louis defense. Butch Johnson averaged 15.8 yards on four punt returns.

For the Cardinals, Jim Hart (pictured at right) was successful on 17 of 28 throws for 264 yards and a TD while being picked off once. Jim Otis gained 88 yards on 28 rushing attempts that included two touchdowns and Wayne Morris added 30 yards on 13 carries and had a TD among his four pass receptions for 26 yards. Mel Gray gained a team-leading 89 yards on his four catches.

Roger Staubach missed no time with his injury, which was minor, and while it was initially projected that Jim Hart would be out for at least three weeks, he missed just one. The Cowboys won their next game, lost two, and didn’t lose again as they finished atop the NFC East with a 12-4 record. They again reached the Super Bowl before losing to Pittsburgh. The Cardinals fell to 0-8 before turning around and winning six of their last eight contests. St. Louis ended up with a 6-10 tally and placed fourth in the division.

1975: Terry Metcalf’s 3 TDs Lead Cardinals Past Patriots

After three straight 4-9-1 seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals improved dramatically in 1974 under second-year Head Coach Don Coryell. They not only had a winning record for the first time since 1970, but at 10-4 won the NFC East. Coryell was an offense-minded coach, and three of the major cogs were veteran QB Jim Hart, second-year all-purpose HB Terry Metcalf (pictured at right), and fleet WR Mel Gray. All three were selected to the Pro Bowl.

The Cardinals were off to a 4-2 start in 1975 as they played host to the New England Patriots on November 2 at Busch Memorial Stadium. The Patriots, coached by Chuck Fairbanks, were off to a slow start, having lost their first four games before winning the two most recent. However, starting QB Jim Plunkett was out with a shoulder injury, and rookie Steve Grogan was taking his place.

New England got an early break when Hart’s arm was hit by DE Julius Adams as he attempted to pass and LB Steve Nelson intercepted at the St. Louis 40. The Patriots capitalized to take the lead on a 32-yard field goal by John Smith. However, the Cardinals got on the board in spectacular fashion in the second quarter when Metcalf returned a punt for a 69-yard touchdown - the only TD on a punt return of his career.

But St. Louis wasn’t able to get anything going on offense against a tough Patriots defense. Meanwhile, Grogan played well, completing 8 of 14 passes in the first half, including one for an 11-yard touchdown to WR Randy Vataha that put the Patriots back in front. The Cardinals came back, converting a fourth-and-one situation at the New England 33 with a two-yard run by slow-but-rugged FB Jim Otis. They came up empty, however, when Patriots nose tackle Ray Hamilton blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Jim Bakken, who had been successful on his last ten straight.

New England had another shot at the end of the half, but CB Norm Thompson intercepted Grogan’s pass at the St. Louis two yard line on the last play of the second quarter. The Patriots led by 10-7 at the intermission.

The Cardinals managed to run for only 35 yards in the first half as Metcalf had just four yards in seven attempts while Otis gained 31 yards on 10 carries, and Hart was having difficulty completing passes (not helped when veteran TE Jackie Smith was forced to leave the game with an injury).

In the third quarter, the defense added to New England’s margin as Hamilton picked up a fumble by Hart, who was attempting to hand off to Otis, and rumbled 23 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots were now ahead by ten points at 17-7.

In response, the Cardinals offense came alive and Hart was successful on six straight passes, including a 12-yard throw to WR Earl Thomas to the New England 10, on a drive that finally stalled at the three yard line. The result was a 21-yard Bakken field goal to narrow the Patriots’ lead to 17-10.


New England was forced to punt on its next series, and Gray (pictured at left), only recently being used on punt returns, ran the kick back 19 yards to give the Cardinals good field position at the Patriots’ 45. St. Louis made the most of it, driving to a one-yard touchdown plunge by Metcalf early in the fourth quarter, set up by a pounding eight-yard run by Otis.

After CB Roger Wehrli made a great play to break up a long pass attempt from Grogan to Vataha, Mike Patrick punted again for the Patriots and Gray returned the kick 27 yards to the New England 33. Five plays later Metcalf ran for a seven-yard touchdown that proved to be the winning score with 6:15 remaining.

The St. Louis defense took control in the second half, but the Patriots managed one last drive down the field late in the game. However, LB Pete Barnes intercepted a fourth down Grogan pass at the St. Louis 13 to clinch the 24-17 win for the Cardinals.

The team statistics were remarkably even, with the Patriots having a one-yard edge in total yardage (274 to 273) and the Cardinals having one more first down (18 to 17). Both teams turned the ball over three times. The game was very physical, with the Patriots playing aggressively on defense, as manifested by their being penalized 11 times to six flags on St. Louis.

After a slow start, Jim Hart completed 20 of 32 passes for 158 yards with no TDs and one intercepted. Jim Otis gained 65 yards on 21 carries, and Terry Metcalf was held to 44 yards on 17 attempts, although he had the two rushing touchdowns in addition to the TD on the long punt return. Metcalf also caught 5 passes for 33 yards, making him the team’s co-leader with Earl Thomas, who had 5 receptions for 58 yards.

Steve Grogan’s passing numbers went in the opposite direction of Hart’s - after the solid first half, he ended up completing just 14 of 34 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. A mobile quarterback, he also gained 21 yards on three carries. HB Andy Johnson led the Patriots with 50 yards on 16 attempts, while FB Sam Cunningham added 42 yards on 11 runs and also caught a team-leading four passes for 41 yards.

The big punt returns had made the difference, either directly scoring or setting up all three St. Louis touchdowns. Said New England’s Coach Fairbanks, “I take my hat off to Metcalf and Gray for the returns they made against us. We tried to make adjustments but they didn’t work.”

Of his punt return touchdown, Metcalf said, “Their contain man (DB Ron Bolton) kind of overran his position. It was what we had seen on their films.” He also pointed out that Gray was the lead blocker. Added Gray, “Since the offense wasn’t clicking, the special teams had to get on the ball. I think the special teams won the game.”

The win put the Cardinals in a three-way tie atop the NFC East with Dallas and Washington, on the way to repeating as division champions with an 11-3 record. They lost to the Rams in the Divisional playoff round. New England limped to a 3-11 finish at the bottom of the AFC East.

Terry Metcalf’s performance against the Patriots highlighted the all-around skills that allowed him to break the year-old record by New England’s Mack Herron for all-purpose yards with 2462 (his record would last for ten years). He gained a career-high 816 yards on 165 carries for a 4.9-yard average with nine touchdowns, caught 43 passes for 378 more yards (8.8 avg.) and two TDs, had 285 yards on 23 punt returns (an NFC-leading 12.4 avg.) with a score, and 960 yards on 35 kickoff returns (27.4 avg.) that included a touchdown. He topped all of that off with 23 yards on a fumble recovery. Maligned for a tendency to fumble, Metcalf nevertheless was a versatile and flashy key to the club’s success.

Mel Gray didn’t return many more punts (7 in all, for a 7.6 avg.), but had another good season at wide receiver as he caught 48 passes for 926 yards and a league-leading 11 touchdowns (tied with Pittsburgh’s Lynn Swann). His 19.3 yards per catch ranked second in the NFC and he was a consensus All-Pro selection.

Jim Otis (pictured below), the complement to Metcalf as the plodding inside runner, led the NFC with 1076 yards on 269 carries for a 4.0 average gain and five TDs. In the best season of his nine-year career, he was selected to the Pro Bowl along with Metcalf, Gray, Hart, CB Wehrli, PK Bakken, C Tom Banks, OT Dan Dierdorf, and G Conrad Dobler.