Tag: Hail Mary

Drew Pearson reveals story on the ‘kick’ before ‘Hail Mary’

The story of the kick before the Hail Mary is finally uncovered

Everyone remembers the original “Hail Mary” when Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson combined to life the Dallas Cowboys over the Minnesota Vikings in a 1975 Divisional Round playoff game.

However, the Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver had a previous play on his mind for years.

The Cowboys faced a fourth and 17 a couple of plays earlier and Pearson made a catch to keep the drive going along the sidelines.

A Vikings security guard stationed on the sidelines was so upset he kicked Pearson.

Now, decades later, Pearson meets the security person who delivered the kick.

App State’s miraculous deflected Hail Mary to beat Troy had college football fans in awe

App State pulled off a miracle play!

Just when it looked like Appalachian State was about to lose its second game of the season Saturday against Troy at home, the Mountaineers pulled off a miraculous Hail Mary with basically no time left in the game.

Down 28-24 with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter — and after an exuberant day that included a visit from ESPN’s College GameDay, App State students winning free tuition and a strong roasting of Texas A&M, which lost to the Mountaineers in Week 2 — App State started its final drive on its own 47-yard line. And it needed to make some quick moves.

Luckily for them, quarterback Chase Brice followed a series of three incomplete passes with a nail-biting heave downfield on 4th-and-10 with two seconds on the clock. Just shy of the goal line with bodies everywhere, the pass was deflected at about the five-yard line, landing perfectly in the hands of wide receiver Christan Horn.

With the help of some stellar blocking from his teammates, Horn had a clear path to the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown, waltzing in to deliver the 32-28 victory over the Trojans.

What a dazzling miracle of a play from App State, and it was absolute pandemonium afterward.

WATCH: South Dakota upsets South Dakota State on a wild double-tipped Hail Mary

Do you believe in miracles?

Wild things are happening in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Just one week after the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, the No. 4 team in the Football Championship Subdivision, upset No. 2 North Dakota State, they caught the upset bug themselves against the in-state and conference rival South Dakota Coyotes.

The No. 19 Coyotes found themselves down 20-17 with just one second to play and the ball at their own 43. They had little more than a prayer of winning.

But that prayer was answered as quarterback Carson Camp took the snap, rolled right outside of the pocket, stepped up and fired the ball as hard as he could towards paydirt.

The ball didn’t make it all the way to the end zone, instead arching down near the five-yard line, where a tip drill ensued. When the dust settled, the ball was securely in the arms of Caleb Vander Esch across the goal line as the Coyotes walked it off against one of the best FCS programs in the country at home.

Here’s an angle from the alternate side. Look upon it in all its splendor.

North Dakota State still leads the conference and therefore the race for the league’s auto-bid in the FCS playoff. But this game could go a long way toward earning an at-large spot for South Dakota, and at the very least, it provides the Coyotes with bragging rights in the Mount Rushmore State and their first winning streak against South Dakota State since 1986-1988.

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‘The wait is over!’ Cowboys legend Drew Pearson revels in Hall of Fame moment

The legendary wide receiver gave an impassioned acceptance speech, spotlighting teammates and coaches while reminding everyone where he was. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Drew Pearson, the legendary wide receiver for the Cowboys of the 1970s and early ’80s, admitted last week that he’s been mistakenly introduced as a Hall of Famer for years. His stats and place in the league’s history have certainly warranted his place there ever since retiring from the game in 1983.

But now that Pearson can officially be called a member of the club, he was clearly excited to, as he put it, “wear it out.” Pearson said the words “Pro Football Hall of Fame” 15 times (and added the abbreviated “Hall of Fame” another eight times) in just 11 minutes at the mic at Tom Benson Stadium on Sunday evening.

Pearson’s long wait- and near-misses- for making the Hall had been well-documented, making his speech one of the most anticipated of the weekend. And the fiery Pearson didn’t disappoint, shouting, “The wait is over!” to open his remarks; spotlighting his bronze bust for having “the biggest Afro in NFL history;” pulling up his pant legs to show off the skinny legs that carried him all the way to Canton; even taking a friendly dig at fellow Hall of Famer Mike Ditka.

After paying tribute to Cowboys founding fathers like Clint Murchison, Tex Schramm, and Gil Brandt, the original member of the 88 Club honored many of his star teammates and coaches by name for the role they each played in his football journey. Ditka, a former Cowboys standout before going on to become the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl-winning coach, got a special mention.

“Thank you, Mike Ditka, my first receivers coach in the NFL,” Pearson said. “Mike was an All-Pro tight end, which means he taught me nothing about running pass routes as a wide receiver.”

The crowd ate it up.

“But, Mike,” he continued, “you taught me how not to just be a pro, but be a professional. And you did that by the passion you showed and that you brought to the Dallas Cowboys.”

Pearson, as expected, brought plenty of passion to his enshrinement remarks, just as he had to his playing days. He spent considerable time thanking his family members, both those in attendance and those who were, in his words, “gone too soon.”

But he also took the occasion to give a shout-out to a relative unknown named Otto Stowe. Stowe was a wide receiver who played just seven games for the Cowboys in 1973, Pearson’s debut season in the league. Pearson emulated Stowe early that year, and it was Stowe’s season-ending injury that opened the door for Pearson to start as a rookie and never give the job back.

“I learned so much from you, Otto,” Pearson said Sunday. “And I would not be here today without you.”

But the person Pearson is most closely linked to professionally is his longtime quarterback, Roger Staubach. Staubach presented Pearson Sunday night, the culmination of a prolific pairing that’s most famously remembered for the 50-yard touchdown versus Minnesota in the 1975 playoffs that served as the NFL’s original “Hail Mary” pass play.

But Pearson was a key figure in several other Cowboys milestone moments, too. He snagged the opening touchdown in Super Bowl X. He threw the final block that sprang Tony Dorsett on his record-setting 99-yard touchdown run in 1983. He caught the game-winning touchdown from Clint Longley in the team’s famous 1974 Thanksgiving comeback. And were it not for a one-handed horse-collar tackle, Pearson would likely have negated Dwight Clark’s “The Catch” in 1981’s NFC Championship Game with a late catch and run into field goal range.

But it’s the Hail Mary that has largely defined Pearson’s career over the years, the moment most fans want to talk about, the photo that he most often signs. Even though Staubach coined the term, Pearson is the one who personalizes his autographs with “Hail Mary to you.”

And that’s how he signed off his enshrinement speech.

“There’s so many special people in my life, but my time has run out. I don’t have a Hail Mary in my pocket, so I’ve got to wrap this up… Hail Mary blessings to you all.”

Pearson may be best remembered for that one miracle catch, but he racked up 555 others over his 11-year career. The Hail Mary was only one score; there were 55 others. And after 8,927 receiving yards (regular and postseason combined), three Super Bowl appearances, three Pro Bowls, three All-Pro nods, a spot on the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team, and a place in the Cowboys Ring of Honor, Pearson can now add “Hall of Famer” to his resume.

Judging by how often he visibly enjoyed saying it Sunday night, that may well be how he signs autographs for the rest of his life.

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Watch: Richard Rodgers comes down with 2nd Hail Mary!

Richard Rodgers now has a pair of Hail Mary! grabs in his NFL career

A player would be thrilled to catch one Hail Mary! After Monday night, Richard Rodgers can say he has turned the miraculous trick twice.

The second one wasn’t as dramatic since the game wasn’t on the line. It was impressive, nonetheless, as Rodgers wound up with the ball on a deflection of a  Carson Wentz pass with the Eagles trailing, 23-9. Check out the catch the tight end made with one hand.

And who could forget the one Rodgers made off a pass from another Rodgers, Aaron when he was  Green Bay Packer. That happened on an untimed down in Week 13 of 2015 because Kevin Taylor of the Lions grabbed Aaron Rodgers’ facemask as time ran out.

The Lions led 23-21, but not for long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0vVqStvh_8&t=20s

That gave Green Bay a 27-23 victory.

Cowboys’ Lamb says circus TD catch may not even be his best ever

CeeDee Lamb recalls his acrobatic scoring grab in the end zone against Minnesota and where it ranks among the tough catches of his career.

It was positively jaw-dropping when it happened live. But CeeDee Lamb’s gravity-defying touchdown grab in the second quarter of Dallas’s 31-28 win over Minnesota actually becomes more impressive with every slow-motion replay.

It’s the kind of moment that will be shown for years to come, showcasing the rookie’s absurd body control and off-the-charts concentration as he corkscrews Matrix-style through midair to make what could end up being the catch of the year across the NFL.

Many who have been around the game for a lifetime are already calling it one of the greatest catches they’ve seen anyone ever make. But Lamb isn’t even sure it’s the best catch he’s ever made.

“Obviously, I’m happy that I hung onto it, because it was definitely a hard grab. Probably number one,” Lamb shrugged in his postgame press conference, asked where the reception ranks in his career.

But then the wideout who has- in just ten games- already broken the Cowboys’ rookie receptions record, caught himself.

“Or two. I’m still trying to get over that UCLA- my sophomore year- one-handed catch that was out of bounds.”

Yes, that sideline snag from 2018 is definitely worth a rewind, too.

Lamb’s catch versus UCLA was declared- wrongly- to have come out of bounds. His twisting dive inches above the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium, though, resulted in a clear-cut catch and a bona fide all-time highlight.

But it sure wasn’t a gimme as the 2nd-and-goal-to-go play unfolded.

“When it left my hand, I wasn’t sure exactly,” quarterback Andy Dalton said of his throw. “I let it go before he kind of set his angle on the route. He took it a little flatter than I thought. For a guy like that to be able to make that kind of catch, you can see the talent that he has.”

Looking over his left shoulder, and with Dalton’s pass sailing toward his right shoulder, Lamb barrel-rolled his body in midair until he was horizontal- parallel with the ground. Now falling backward and staring straight up into the rafters, the 21-year-old fought to swing his hands around more than 180 degrees from where they had started in order to meet the pass.

“Honestly, in that position, it was very hard to see,” Lamb told reporters. “The lights from the stadium made it difficult. I ran my route; Andy gave me a great opportunity, a great ball to have the opportunity to make a catch. Gave the O-line their props just for giving Andy time. At the end of the day, you’ve got to win your individual battles, and that I did.”

Lamb’s circus grab only cemented what most around the Cowboys locker room have felt since before he was drafted.

“I’m so glad he’s a Dallas Cowboy,” coach Mike McCarthy said in his press conference, “and I think we’re all seeing the beginnings of a tremendous career.”

“CeeDee’s so good when the ball’s in the air,” Dalton echoed. “Him being able to make his body get in a position to make acrobatic catches like that. You saw everything that he’s done in college, you’ve seen some of the stuff he’s already been able to do since he’s been here. For me, I was just trying to lay it up there, let him go have a chance at it, and he made an unbelievable catch.”

What impresses running back Ezekiel Elliott even more is the heart Lamb shows on plays where he’s not the target.

“CeeDee, he was on one today,” Elliott pointed out after the Vikings game. “Running hard, trying to run guys over. He tried to run a D-lineman over, he tried to run a linebacker over, which you don’t see from a smaller guy. But he can also go out there and catch the ball. You had the crazy catch in the red zone. That was big. He’s a hell of a player, he’s young, he’s going to have a hell of a career.”

Whoever wears the jersey number that Drew Pearson, Michael Irvin, and Dez Bryant made famous in Dallas is expected to carry on that big-play mentality. But one notices something different about this latest to wear the fabled double-eights.

Whether it’s his shout-out to what the offensive linemen did on his game-changing play, or the way he called the poorly-aimed ball from his quarterback “a great opportunity,” or the way he’s not even sure his ridiculous catch was the best he’s ever made, Lamb often speaks with a soft-spoken humility that’s refreshing coming from a No. 88.

“I made the most of my opportunity. I saw the ball that was in the air; he gave me a shot, and I definitely didn’t want it to hit the ground.”

His recollection of the moment may be full of understatement. But there’s no overstating how magnificent Lamb’s catch really was.

And just as with Pearson’s miracle “Hail Mary” catch versus Minnesota in 1975, Cowboys fans will be rewinding and dissecting this No. 88’s incredible touchdown grab against the Vikings for many years to come.

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Watch: Tulsa pulls a DeAndre Hopkins at end of regulation, wins on pick-6 in double-OT

Tulsa’s Davis Brin found JuanCarlos Santana with a Hail Mary to force overtime against Tulane

Same scenario, different level. Tulsa was down to its last gasp Thursday. much the way the Arizona Cardinals were Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

And, who said lightning can’t strike twice? In five days, no less.

Watch as JuanCarlos Santana makes the Hail Mary reception in the end zone as time runs out against Tulane.

Third-string QB Davis Brin found Santana for 37 yds for a TD, (Z. Long KICK). The nine-play, 75-yard drive took the last 1:38 of regulation.

The PAT tied the game at 21 and sent it to overtime. And it went to a second overtime when the Hurricane defense took matters into its hands.

How about a pick-six to win the game for Tulsa, 30-24? Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Hurricane was favored by 5.5. Tulsa’s backers are singing Bruce Springsteen’s “Cover Me.”

 

The catch was reminiscent of the grab DeAndre Hopkins made Sunday to lift the Arizona Cardinals over the Buffalo Bills.

Cardinals’ miracle finish stirs up memories of 1975 Cowboys’ original ‘Hail Mary’

The heroics of Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins call to mind the original miracle finish by Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson in 1975.

Kyler Murray’s desperation heave to wideout DeAndre Hopkins in the Arizona Cardinals’ instant-classic comeback over Buffalo on Sunday is understandably the talk of the league. Within hours, the miraculous 43-yard throw-and-game-winning catch already had a nickname; it had been dubbed “The Hail Murray.”

Clever, to be sure. But it wouldn’t exist if there weren’t already a universally-recognized play that served as the first Hail Mary. The most iconic moment in Dallas Cowboys history is also one of the most famous moments in NFL history, spawning terminology that has even transcended football to become an accepted part of the English language in every walk of life.

That the latest version of the play is stirring up memories of the original as the 2020 Cowboys prepare for a road game against the Vikings is just too delicious for words. Expect the heroics of Murray and Hopkins to resurrect even more stories this week of how Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson did it first, forty-five years ago.

The year was 1975.  Dallas had finished the season with a 10-4 mark, good enough for to earn the NFC’s lone wild card berth in the postseason. They traveled to frigid Minnesota for a divisional-round date with the top-seeded Vikings just three days after Christmas.

Down 14-10 with under two minutes to play, Staubach and the Cowboys offense began their last-chance drive deep in their own territory. In a heartbeat, it seemed, Dallas was facing 4th-and-16 from their own 25.

Staubach found Pearson for a sideline catch that gained 25 yards. It earned the Cowboys a new set of downs… and earned Pearson a kick in the side from a Minnesota security guard who was standing near where Pearson landed.

With the next first-down play, Staubach’s pass to Pearson fell incomplete. Second down. Thirty-two seconds left. No timeouts. Captain Comeback would be looking once again to get the ball to his trusted No. 88. And he would do so by going off-book, making up a schoolyard play from scratch in the huddle.

“So basically, I told everybody, ‘Go block, this will be pretty simple,'” Staubach would later recall. “‘And Drew, go deep, run an in-route, and I’ll look the free safety off.'”

Using the shotgun formation- newly-introduced to the league that same year by Cowboys coach Tom Landry- Staubach had a precious extra second or two to set up for a long throw. As promised, he looked off future Hall of Fame safety Paul Krause and pumped to his left to sell it.

Coming back right, Staubach unloaded from about his own 41. The wobbly ball was within Pearson’s reach about five yards away from the goal line as he jockeyed for position against Vikings cornerback Nate Wright.

“But the ball was underthrown,” Pearson said. “So I see that and then I use the swim move, right? To get the inside position. Use my outside arm and bring it in, and while doing that, there was contact on Nate. And with that contact, he fell down. No, there’s no flag. And the ball hit my hands and slithered through my hands and stuck between my elbow and hip.”

There was, as Pearson points out, no flag. Whether there should have been has been the source of passionate debate for decades. The Vikings were sure of it, pointing and gesturing toward officials. Their fans screamed for it. Pearson himself looked for a flag as he trotted into the end zone.

“It’s hard to say,” Pearson told the Star-Tribune back in the aftermath of the game. “I thought I might have gotten pass interference. It could have gone either way.”

“I had a clear view,” said Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton. “The man pushed his arm down and pushed Nate down. It definitely should have been offensive pass interference.” (In a bizarre twist, Tarkenton’s 63-year-old father suffered a heart attack and died while watching the game’s third quarter at his home; he never saw the stunning conclusion.)

Watching the play in slow-motion, there is a blur of color at Pearson’s feet. Turns out, incredibly, it was an orange. The Super Bowl that season was set to be played at Miami’s Orange Bowl, and Minnesota fans were so sure that their team would be headed there that they brought store-brought oranges with them to celebrate. A fan had fired his fruit from the stands onto the field as the play unfolded.

Bedlam ensued as the touchdown was signaled. Staubach hadn’t even seen the improbable completion; he was lying on the turf after being hit and knew Pearson had caught it only by the stunned hush from the crowd. Pearson heaved the ball toward the scoreboard in celebration. Minnesota fans began pelting the field with everything they could throw; the official who had not called a push-off on Pearson was hit with a whiskey bottle and knocked cold. Players and coaches from both teams ducked into the tunnel hurriedly after the game’s final 24 seconds ticked off.

In the locker room afterward, Staubach was asked about the dramatic play.

“I was a Catholic kid from Cincinnati,” Staubach explained, “and they asked me, ‘What were you thinking about when you threw the ball?’ And I said, ‘When I closed my eyes, I said a Hail Mary.'”

Some sources cite Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen of the 1930s as first using the phrase in football. There’s also evidence that Staubach himself used it to describe a desperation pass he completed against Michigan while playing at Navy… in 1963. Before then, a long, last-gasp pass was often generically referred to as a ‘bomb’ or an ‘alley-oop.’ But from that December day in Minnesota on, it would always be called a Hail Mary.

After the 17-14 playoff win over the Vikings, the Cowboys went on to top the Rams 37-7 the following week. They came up short in Super Bowl X versus the Steelers, but the Hail Mary took on a life of its own and has since become a common tactic for every team needing a last-second miracle and is a play that teams regularly practice.

The original play itself- now 45 years old- still surfaces in dealings between the Cowboys’ and Vikings’ bases.

Staubach has said he was booed at a Minneapolis luncheon as recently as 2018, during the run-up to that city’s Super Bowl hosting stint. Pearson has told the story of how he couldn’t get a taxicab in the Twin Cities years later and was left on the side of the road once his identity was confirmed. And remember the sideline security guard who kicked Pearson two plays prior to the Hail Mary catch? That guy had his own trading cards made and earned a tidy sum for years at autograph sessions in Minnesota. Once he was seated at the same table at Pearson and drew just as many fans.

“This guy has been making a living out of that, the guy who kicked Drew Pearson two plays before the Hail Mary,” Pearson said. “And he gave me his number, and said, ‘Keep in touch.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.'”

And the ball that Pearson launched in celebration after his improbable score? There were no stands in that end of Metropolitan Stadium; Pearson’s heave landed in the parking lot and was never recovered. Incredibly, the ball from one of the most famous plays in NFL history could well be lost forever, buried in a box full of old forgotten junk in some dusty Minnesota attic.

At Cowboys team headquarters, though, proof of the Hail Mary still occupies prime real estate. Video of the iconic play was broken down into a series of 36 giant freeze-frame images that now adorn one of the main staircases inside The Star in Frisco. It’s literally a larger-than-life reminder of how in football, despite all the athleticism, all the preparation, all the exacting skill and finely-tuned choreography… sometimes, it still comes down to a bit of divine intervention.

“The Hail Mary became bigger than what actually transpired there on that day,” the team’s chief branding officer Charlotte Jones Anderson has said. “On that day it was important, but, wow, did it become significant in the world of sports, in the world of football, but certainly for us.”

In fact, the name coined that day for a final act of hopeful desperation now transcends football.

“Now it’s really used for everything,” Staubach has said. “If you’ve got a problem or something, you need a Hail Mary.”

The play comes up every time the Cowboys and Vikings play one another. Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins just made sure it will get a little extra airtime this week.

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News: Woodson snubbed again by HoF, Garrett decision still looms

A Dallas assistant may be a college coordinator candidate, several players head to Las Vegas, and the original Hail Mary is up for a vote.

Day 4 of the Jason Garrett-Dallas Cowboys lovefest standoff was seeming to come to an uneventful close, and then ESPN happened. One assistant sat down with a rival team to talk about their head coaching job and another staffer is being touted as the frontrunner for a college coordinator gig.

Also, a yellow-jacket snub for a Cowboys legend, end-of-year bonuses for two defensive standouts (and a career decision in the offing for one), and a call for votes regarding the most famous play in team history. Next year’s opponents have been finalized, this year’s offensive prowess is put into painful perspective, and an early look at free agency puts the talents of two Cowboys on display.

All that, plus a posse of starters take the Vegas Strip, the best audio captured during Week 17’s big win, and a former Cowboys coach says goodbye to the game. That’s on tap in this edition of News and Notes.

ESPN joins speculation Jason Garrett will not be part of Cowboys future

Ed Werder said something, ESPN bosses claimed he said more than that and Thursday morning arrived with Jason Garrett still on the Cowboys’ payroll.

Giants interview Cowboys coach Kris Richard for HC gig :: Giants Wire

Kris Richard has had a sit-down session with the New York Giants about their head coaching position. The Cowboys’ passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach met Thursday with Giants president John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman, and team vice president Kevin Abrams as the team begins its search for Pat Shurmur’s replacement.

Dallas has won the last six meetings with Big Blue; Richard has been on the Cowboys’ coaching staff for the past four. Richard’s unit helped hold New York to under 275 yards in two of those games, and 18 points or less in three of them.

Past/Present: Hall of Fame finalists set :: The Mothership

The list of Modern-Era finalists to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame has been announced. Cowboys Ring of Honor safety Darren Woodson, the franchise’s all-time leading tackler, was one of 25 semifinalists. Once again, though, the five-time first-team All-Pro did not make the cut.

Linebacker and Texas native Zach Thomas, who played one year in Dallas  after a 12-year stint with the Dolphins, was named one of the 15 Modern-Era finalists.

Several other former Cowboys are 2020 finalists for Canton in various categories. Jimmy Johnson and Dan Reeves are finalists in the Coaches category, while Drew Pearson and Cliff Harris are among the Senior finalists. Team founder Clint Murchison is a Contributors finalist.

The 2020 Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be announced February 1.

Sean Lee will wait on career decision :: The Mothership

Tight end Jason Witten was the one noticeably shaking hands with teammates at the end of 2019’s season finale, but he’s not the only longtime Cowboy who may have played his final game in a Dallas uniform. Linebacker Sean Lee may decide to hang up his cleats or even move on to different NFL pastures.

After agreeing to a reduced role in 2019, Lee played in all 16 games for the first time in his 10-year career. But the game has taken a toll, and the Penn State alum says he’ll have a decision to make.

“I’m going to take some time, talk to the wife, talk to the family and see where I’m at physically in a month or two and make a decision then,” he said.

Lee is set to be a free agent in March.

Sean Lee, Jeff Heath earn 2019 bonuses :: ESPN

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, veteran linebacker Sean Lee netted a million-dollar incentive bonus for playing in 59.1% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2019. Safety Jeff Heath collected $250,000 for playing more than 65% of the snaps.

Archer also notes that the team ended 2019 with approximately $19.5 million in cap room that can be carried over to 2020, citing NFLPA figures.

Cowboys exceptionally bad at being good :: Cowboys Wire

Fans still looking for answers on exactly how the Cowboys’ season could possibly be over won’t find any helpful answers in this piece. That’s because if you look at just the numbers, this Dallas squad ranks among the best ever in a few select categories.

Take, for example, teams since 1960 with the most wins of 30+ points, 400+ yards, and a 10+ point differential in a season. In other words, teams who had a habit of demolishing their opponents. Of the 14 teams atop that list, the 2019 Cowboys are the only bunch to not make the postseason. Most went quite deep into the playoffs. Take away Dallas, and the average team of that group boasted a 13-win record.

Crunch the numbers with Tony Thompson and see precisely where these Cowboys rank among 8-8 teams throughout history.

Five names to know in Washington’s offensive coordinator search :: The Seattle Times

“Here’s your frontrunner.”

That’s what they’re saying in the Pacific Northwest about Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and the open OC slot at the University of Washington. Chris Petersen, Moore’s collegiate head coach at Boise State, stepped down as the Huskies’ coach in early December, and now new coach Jimmy Lake has let go of his offensive coordinator after UW defeated Boise State in the school’s recent bowl game.

Moore, who grew up in the state of Washington, would certainly be an attractive candidate after boosting the Cowboys offense to big numbers in the 2019 season, his first as an OC at any level.

Sounds from the sideline :: The Mothership

In the season’s final installment of this popular segment, listen in as microphones pick up on-the-field chatter during the Cowboys’ blowout win over Washington.

Among the highlights are linebacker Sean Lee doing some coaching up of the defensive unit, great team reactions to wideout Michael Gallup’s acrobatic second touchdown catch of the day, and running backs coach Gary Brown offering some heartfelt proclamations to his guys in the midst of his own uncertain future with the organization.

Cowboys 2020 schedule: List of home, away, AFC and NFC, 2nd place opponents :: Cowboys Wire

Dallas’s list of 2020 opponents is set, based on the Cowboys’ second-place finish in the NFC East as well as the rotation of divisional pairings across the league.

At home in AT&T Stadium, Dallas will host Philadelphia, Washington, the New York Giants, Arizona, San Francisco, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta.

The Cowboys will travel to take on Philadelphia, Washington, the New York Giants, Seattle, the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.

Dates for the games will be announced in April.

Cowboys’ ‘Hail Mary’ up for Greatest Moment in NFL History :: NFL.com

As part of the league’s centennial celebration, fans are being asked to help choose the single greatest moment in NFL history. Each team has one signature moment in the running, with an online vote to help narrow things down round by round.

The 32 clips make for the ultimate highlight reel: John Elway’s helicopter run, The Ice Bowl, The Immaculate Reception, The Catch, the Patriots’ 28-3 Super Bowl comeback, the Chargers-Dolphins Epic in Miami in the 1981 playoffs, David Tyree’s helmet catch, and the Music City Miracle, to name just a few.

The Cowboys’ moment? The original “Hail Mary” pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson that moved Dallas past the favored Minnesota Vikings in the 1975 playoffs, advancing them to the NFC championship game and, eventually, Super Bowl X.

Voting is open now. The Greatest Moment in NFL History will be revealed during Super Bowl LIV.

The top 10 non-quarterback free agents on offense of the 2020 season :: Pro Football Focus

Dallas wideout Amari Cooper tops this list of free agents who don’t play quarterback. Despite a memorable number of drops, a frustrating dip in output in away games, and an apparent laundry list of minor maladies that kept him operating at less than full capacity, the quantifiable lift Cooper still brings to the team’s offense “is the best explanation for quarterback Dak Prescott’s increase in production and Cooper’s spot atop the offensive free agent list.”

A polarizing Cowboy also leads the list of best defensive free agents. “Many will point to [cornerback Byron] Jones not picking off a pass over the last two years, but his 74.1 coverage grade in single coverage is 11th-best during that time and Jones has also shown the ability to match up against tight ends when called upon.”

Cowboys players heading to the desert :: @rjochoa (Twitter)

The season is over, the lockers are cleaned out, the offseason has begun. And for a group of Cowboys starters, it’s getaway time.

Cowboys fans are hoping what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And off TMZ.

Lions DC Paul Pasqualoni steps down amid staff shake-up :: ESPN

Paul Pasqualoni has stepped down in Detroit. The 70-year-old defensive coordinator, one of coach Matt Patricia’s first hires when he took over in the Motor City, says he is stepping away from football.

Pasqualoni spent time on the Dallas coaching staff over his storied career. He served as tight ends coach in 2005 and is credited with helping to guide a young Jason Witten to his second straight Pro Bowl that season. In 2006, he moved to linebackers coach and was instrumental in DeMarcus Ware’s development as a second-year player. He left Dallas after the 2007 season, but returned for 2010 as the team’s defensive line coach. When head coach (and defensive coordinator) Wade Phillips was fired halfway through that season, Pasqualoni was tapped to serve as interim DC for the remainder of the season… under interim head coach Jason Garrett.

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Steven Adams’ pass the unsung hero of OKC’s win over Minnesota

With 1.1 seconds left in regulation, Adams threw a perfect pass to Dennis Schröder who tied the game with a buzzer-beating layup.

Let’s be honest here. Dennis Schröder did an incredible job getting a last-second layup off in time to beat the buzzer.

Chris Paul did his part in pointing out Jordan Bell’s untucked jersey that got the delay of game technical assessed, which in turn, allowed the sequence of events to unfold the way that they did: with Danilo Gallinari making the technical free-throw to bring the Thunder within a point before Karl-Anthony Towns accidentally made the second of two free-throws, which gave Oklahoma City the opportunity to take the ball out of bounds.

But all that would have been useless if not for the ridiculous inbounds pass made by Steven Adams.

With no timeouts, Adams ran out of bounds, set his feet, and launched the ball with perfect precision into the hands of Schröder.

Social media reacted accordingly.

The duo said after the game that they had been talking about a last-second scenario prior to Towns’ made free-throw.

“We had a couple of times before where I just lose my man and I tried to sprint as fast as I can,” said Schröder. “And he made a (expletive) of a pass.”

Nick Gallo pointed out that Adams can be seen practicing those long baseball-style passes frequently at practice.

“Those situations do arise, and honestly mate, all it is I can’t do a good technique pass, so I resort to a baseball pass,” said Adams. “It worked out well, mate, it worked out well.”

Oklahoma City went on to win 139-127 in overtime, so for the Thunder, it did indeed work out well.