March Madness tournament: Cowboys top 64 plays of all time, Round 1, Group 3

The Blogging The Boys tournament continues as we continue to narrow down the top plays in Cowboys history. Over the last two days, we’ve given you a couple different groups of plays to vote on, and here are the current plays leading their section:

You can still cast your vote for Group 1 or Group 2 as Bob Lilly and Butch Johnson need your help. Today, we have four new plays to throw at you, so let’s get cracking.

Primetime enjoyment

Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders played five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. In that time, he had 14 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He also caught 49 passes when he was playing receiver, with one of them going for a score. Sanders was a threat to score anytime he touched the ball, which made his punt returns so exciting.

On a Monday night game against the New York Giants in 1998, Sanders went nuts. He caught a 55-yard pass thrown by former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. Sanders also picked off a pass and ran it 71 yards for a touchdown, as well as this elusive punt return that went to the house. Let the high-stepping commence.

Dak’s designed draw

The Cowboys found themselves in a low-scoring affair in their 2018 Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks. With Dallas leading 10-6 late in the third quarter, things started picking up in a hurry. After Russell Wilson RPO’d his way into the end zone to give Seattle their first lead of the game, the Cowboys answered right back on their ensuing drive. Dak Prescott hit Amari Cooper for a big 34-yard reception, and four plays later, the Cowboys retook the lead.

But the crucial play in the game came with just over two minutes left. With the Cowboys leading 17-14, it appeared they would have to settle for a field goal as the offense was facing a 3rd-and-14 inside the red zone. The Cowboys dialed up a surprise draw play that saw Prescott maneuver his way to the goal line. Dak was ruled down just inches short, but scored on the very next play with a quarterback sneak.

White open

Danny White threw for over 20,000 yards and 150 touchdowns for the Cowboys after taking over the quarterback job from Roger Staubach in 1980. He helped lead the team to three-straight NFC Championship in the early ‘80s, but unfortunately was unable to advance to the Super Bowl.

The quarterback/punter was fun to watch back then as he did a little bit of everything. And sometimes that included catching the ball. White caught two touchdown passes in his career. The always innovative Tom Landry utilized his pass capable running backs as White handed the ball off and then casually strolled down the sideline wide open. White caught passes from James Jones as well as this one from Ron Springs on a Monday Night thriller against the eventual Super Bowl Champions Los Angeles Raiders.

Big deal for the Playmaker

In 1992, the Cowboys won their first of three Super Bowls over a four-year span. It was the rise of the Jimmy Johnson era as the team finished 13-3 that year. In Week 3 of that special season, it was a special day for Michael Irvin. He went off with eight catches for 210 yards and three touchdowns against the Phoenix Cardinals.

Irvin had a battle with Cardinals cornerback Lorenzo Lynch, who told the playmaker, “I’ll be with you all day.” Irvin, who never shied away from showing his emotion, let his play do the talking as he went off for this long touchdown in front of his home crowd.