Dallas Cowboys History

March Madness tournament: Cowboys top 64 plays of all time, Round 1, Group 12

What play is going to get your vote today?

By Dan-Rogers@DannyPhantom24 Apr 7, 2020, 2:00pm CDT

NFL: JAN 04 NFC Wild-Card - Lions at Cowboys

Another day, another four plays as we gradually make our way through the first round of the BTB 64-play tournament. Today, we check out a couple clutch plays from a couple future Hall of Famers, a big run after the catch by a current Hall of Famer, and a big run after the catch by a...well, a rocket.

Y-option

The 2014 season marked the return to the playoffs for the Cowboys; however just earning a playoff berth wasn’t enough. The team experienced a well publicized drought of only having one playoff win over the previous 18 years. I’m sure you heard all about it as haters loved to throw that in the faces of Cowboys fans everywhere.

Thankfully, that number was about to double with an impressive Wild Card comeback. After trailing 20-7, the Cowboys went on a 17-0 run to beat the Detroit Lions. But before that could happen, the Cowboys converted a key fourth down play when Jason Witten’s famous “Y-option” freed him up over the middle for a 21-yard gain. Dallas finished the drive with the go-ahead touchdown and pulled off a 24-20 victory.

Dorsett to the house against the Colts

Fresh off their second ever Super Bowl victory, the 1978 Cowboys opened the season on Monday Night Football against the team that beat them in their first ever Super Bowl appearance, the Baltimore Colts. The Cowboys rolled the Colts on that night 38-0, thanks to a big performance by second-year running back Tony Dorsett.

Dorsett finished the game with 147 yards on 15 carries, but added another 107 yards receiving, due to a 91-yard reception that he took to the house. After narrowly escaping a defender who made a play on the ball, Dorsett showcased his elusiveness, maneuvering through Colt defenders. Once he cut back towards the middle of the field, it was goodnight Irene.

The Rocket walk-off

In the ‘90s the Cowboys made the playoffs eight times, including three Super Bowl victories. Man, were those fun times. Once the new millennium began, the team only made the playoffs once over the first six years. The 1999 season was the last hurrah, and the Cowboys kicked off the season in exciting fashion.

After trailing by 21 points to the Washington Redskins in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys rallied. With an Emmitt Smith touchdown, followed by two Michael Irvin touchdowns within the final four minutes of the game, the Cowboys managed to tie it up and send the game into overtime. The comeback almost didn’t happen as Smith fumbled the ball on the offense’s first play of overtime deep in their own territory, but luckily Moose Johnston was there to recover. A few plays later on a 3rd-and-2, Troy Aikman sold the play-action perfectly and found Rocket Ismail wide open streaking down the middle of the field for a 76-yard game-winning touchdown.

DWare with the Vick pick

DeMarcus Ware had quite the career. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, with the first nine of them being with the Cowboys. His 138.5 sacks is good enough to make the top 10 all-time list. Over the years, the former 11th overall pick of the Cowboys made many huge plays for the team, but in just his second-year in the league he made quite the splash with a couple big defensive touchdowns.

Early in 2006, he was the benefactor of a Marcus Spears sack/fumble as the ball popped right in Ware’s hands as he scampered off for a 69-yard touchdown (bonus play). And then later in the season with the team fighting for a playoff berth, Ware snagged a Michael Vick pass from close range and raced 41 yards for the score. It was becoming quite clear that the Cowboys had stumbled on to something special with Ware.