Day 20 of the Cowboys’ 100-day countdown takes us back to a title game that showed exactly how complete that Dallas team was. On Sunday, January 1, 1978, at Texas Stadium in Irving, the Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-6 to win the NFC championship and punch their ticket to Super Bowl XII.
Dallas came in at 12-2 after rolling past Chicago 37-7 in the Divisional Round. Minnesota had just survived the rain-soaked “Mud Bowl” against the Los Angeles Rams, but the Vikings were missing starter Fran Tarkenton and went back to Bob Lee at quarterback.
The Cowboys set the tone right away. On the third play of the game, Vikings running back Robert Miller coughed up the ball, and Harvey Martin recovered at the Minnesota 39-yard line.
Roger Staubach wasted little time turning that mistake into points, hitting Golden Richards for a 32-yard touchdown. Efrén Herrera’s extra point was blocked, but Dallas still led 6-0.
The defense kept squeezing. Later in the first quarter, Ed “Too Tall” Jones got into the backfield and forced Chuck Foreman to fumble, with Martin coming away with his second recovery of the day.
Dallas widened the gap in the second quarter with a drive that featured a little trickery and a lot of physical running. Danny White converted a fake punt for 14 yards to keep the series alive, and Robert Newhouse finished it off with a five-yard touchdown run. Newhouse kept hammering Minnesota between the tackles and ended up as Dallas’ leading rusher.
The Vikings managed only field goals from Fred Cox, from 32 and 37 yards, to trim the lead to 13-6. But the Cowboys answered before halftime when Staubach connected with Preston Pearson for 32 yards, setting up Herrera’s 21-yard field goal and a 16-6 lead at the break.
The third quarter passed without points, though Dallas had a chance to pull away even further. The Cowboys got inside the Minnesota 15, but Tony Dorsett lost a fumble and stopped that drive cold. Even so, the defense made sure the turnover didn’t turn into momentum for the Vikings.
The finishing touch came in the fourth quarter. Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson forced punt returner Manfred Moore to fumble, Jay Saldi recovered, and five plays later Dorsett punched in an 11-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring and lock up the Cowboys’ trip to New Orleans.
It fits on this countdown because it was championship football in its cleanest form. Dallas scored off turnovers, controlled the line, and never let Minnesota get into the end zone. The Vikings never seriously threatened, and the Cowboys never gave them room to dream about a comeback.
Minnesota finished without a touchdown. Over the Cowboys’ two playoff games, they allowed just one touchdown total.
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