1965 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldCotton Bowl
Results
Record7–7
Division place2nd NFL Eastern (tie)
Playoff finishLost NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Colts) 3–35[1]

The 1965 Dallas Cowboys season was their sixth in the National Football League and their best record to date, at 7–7.[2] After five consecutive losses, Dallas was 2–5 halfway through the season. They won five of the final seven games and finished in a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference, with the New York Giants, four games behind the defending NFL champion Cleveland Browns (11–3).

The Cowboys defeated the Giants twice and earned the berth in the third place Playoff Bowl in Miami,[3][4] held three weeks after the regular season, but lost 35–3 to the Baltimore Colts, runners-up of the Western Conference.[5]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 September 19 New York Giants W 31–2 1–0 Cotton Bowl 59,366 Recap
2 September 26 Washington Redskins W 27–7 2–0 Cotton Bowl 61,577 Recap
3 October 4 at St. Louis Cardinals L 13–20 2–1 Busch Stadium 32,034 Recap
4 October 10 Philadelphia Eagles L 24–35 2–2 Cotton Bowl 56,249 Recap
5 October 17 at Cleveland Browns L 17–23 2–3 Cleveland Stadium 80,451 Recap
6 October 24 at Green Bay Packers L 3–13 2–4 Milwaukee County Stadium 48,311 Recap
7 October 31 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–22 2–5 Pitt Stadium 37,804 Recap
8 November 7 San Francisco 49ers W 39–31 3–5 Cotton Bowl 39,677 Recap
9 November 14 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–17 4–5 Cotton Bowl 57,293 Recap
10 November 21 Cleveland Browns L 17–24 4–6 Cotton Bowl 76,251 Recap
11 November 28 at Washington Redskins L 31–34 4–7 D.C. Stadium 50,205 Recap
12 December 5 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–19 5–7 Franklin Field 54,714 Recap
13 December 11 St. Louis Cardinals W 27–13 6–7 Cotton Bowl 38,499 Recap
14 December 19 at New York Giants W 38–20 7–7 Yankee Stadium 62,871 Recap

Conference opponents are in bold text

Postseason

Main article: Playoff Bowl
Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance
Playoff Bowl January 9, 1966 vs Baltimore Colts L 3–35 Orange Bowl 65,569

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 11 3 0 .786 11–1 363 325 W1
Dallas Cowboys 7 7 0 .500 6–6 325 280 W3
New York Giants 7 7 0 .500 7–5 270 338 L1
Washington Redskins 6 8 0 .429 6–6 257 301 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 5 9 0 .357 5–7 363 359 L1
St. Louis Cardinals 5 9 0 .357 5–7 296 309 L6
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 12 0 .143 2–10 202 397 L7

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Draft

Main article: 1965 NFL draft
1965 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 5 Craig Morton  QB California
2 19 Malcolm Walker  C Rice
4 47 Jimmy Sidle  RB Auburn
4 53 Bob Svihus  OT USC Signed with the AFL
5 61 Roger Pettee  LB Florida
6 75 Sonny Utz  RB Virginia Tech He spent 2 seasons on the injured reserve list
7 89 Brig Owens  S Cincinnati
8 103 Russell Wayt  LB Rice
9 117 Jim Zanios  RB Texas Tech
10 131 Gaylon McCullough  C Alabama
11 145 Jethro Pugh  DT Elizabeth City State
12 159 Ernie Kellerman *  S Miami (OH)
13 173 Jack Schraub  E California
14 187 Garry Porterfield  DE Tulsa
15 201 Gene Foster  FB Arizona State Signed with the AFL
16 215 Doug McDougal  E Oregon State
17 229 Mitch Johnson  OT UCLA
18 243 Marty Amsler  OT Evansville
19 257 Merv Rettenmund  RB Ball State Signed with the Baltimore Orioles of the MLB
20 271 Don Barlow  OT Kansas State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1965 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
40 active, 2 inactive

References

  1. ^ "It Was 1965 . . ". Dallascowboys.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "1965 Dallas Cowboys". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "Dallas clips Giants, lands Playoff Bowl". Victoria Advocate. Texas. Associated Press. December 20, 1965. p. 12.
  4. ^ "Cowboys jar Giants for ticket to Playoff Bowl". Schenectady Gazette. New York. Associated Press. December 20, 1965. p. 27.
  5. ^ "'Instant quarterback' Matte leads 35-3 rout of Dallas". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 10, 1966. p. 8.
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