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1999 Dallas Cowboys season

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1999 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerJerry Jones
General managerJerry Jones
Head coachChan Gailey
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Vikings) 10–27
Pro BowlersRB Emmitt Smith
CB Deion Sanders
LB Dexter Coakley
OL Larry Allen
OT Erik Williams

The 1999 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 40th in the National Football League (NFL) and second and final under head coach Chan Gailey. The Cowboys were looking to return to the playoffs, improve on their 10–6 record from the previous season and head to the Super Bowl for the final time in the 1990s.

While the Cowboys were unable to repeat as division champions or match their win total from 1998, their 8–8 record enabled them to qualify for the playoffs as a wild-card team. The Cowboys lost to the Minnesota Vikings 27–10, ending their season in the opening round of the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

Gailey was fired at the end of the season. The Cowboys would not return to the playoffs until 2003.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1999 NFL draft
1999 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 20 Ebenezer Ekuban  Defensive end North Carolina
2 55 Solomon Page  Tackle West Virginia
3 85 Dat Nguyen  Linebacker Texas A&M
4 118 Wane McGarity  Wide receiver Texas
4 132 Peppi Zellner  Defensive end Fort Valley State
6 193 MarTay Jenkins  Wide receiver Nebraska–Omaha
7 229 Mike Lucky  Tight end Arizona
7 243 Kelvin Garmon  Guard Baylor
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1999 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Kevin Brooks Cornerback South Carolina
Duane Hawthorne Cornerback Northern Illinois
Brian Kuklick Quarterback Wake Forest
Gabe Lindstrom Punter Toledo
LaDouphyous McCalla Cornerback Rice
Ryan Neufeld Fullback UCLA
Robert Newkirk Defensive tackle Michigan State
Grant Pearsall Safety USC
Joe Phipps Linebacker TCU
Billy Powell Wide receiver Rutgers

Hall of Fame Game

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  • Cleveland Browns 20, Dallas Cowboys 17 (Overtime) [1]

Regular season

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The season began at Washington with a come-from-behind victory over the division-rival Washington Redskins. Trailing by three touchdowns entering the fourth quarter, they rallied to tie the game. Then free agent acquisition Raghib Ismail hauled in the winning touchdown catch in overtime while Troy Aikman threw for a franchise-record five touchdowns in a single game (since matched by Tony Romo).

The team started with a 3–0 record, but a week 5 injury to wide receiver Michael Irvin against the Philadelphia Eagles eventually forced him into retirement. Afterwards, Dallas struggled down the stretch as age and injury began to take their toll. The team again made the playoffs despite an 8–8 season, but lost once more in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings. Despite leading the team to consecutive playoff berths and seemingly re-igniting the Dallas offense,[citation needed] head coach Chan Gailey was fired by owner Jerry Jones after the season.

A notable addition to the team was fan favorite linebacker Dat Nguyen, the only (to date) Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL. Another notable addition was Tim Lester, reuniting him with Ernie Mills, whom he had played with from 1995 to 1996 while they were on the Pittsburgh Steelers, losing Super Bowl XXX to the Cowboys.

This marked the final season for future Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and longtime Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston. Irvin and Johnston both suffered season-ending (and as it turned out career-ending) injuries early in the season. Irvin was the last Cowboys player to have played for Tom Landry.

The annual Thanksgiving Day game featured the return of former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson to Texas Stadium as Miami Dolphins head coach. It was the only game Johnson ever coached in Texas Stadium as a visiting coach. The Cowboys won 20–0.

The Cowboys lost four games in which their defense only yielded 13 points in each contest.[citation needed]

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 at Washington Redskins W 41–35 (OT) 1–0 Jack Kent Cooke Stadium 79,237
2 September 20 Atlanta Falcons W 24–7 2–0 Texas Stadium 63,663
3 Bye
4 October 3 Arizona Cardinals W 35–7 3–0 Texas Stadium 64,169
5 October 10 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–13 3–1 Veterans Stadium 66,669
6 October 18 at New York Giants L 10–13 3–2 Giants Stadium 78,204
7 October 24 Washington Redskins W 38–20 4–2 Texas Stadium 64,377
8 October 31 at Indianapolis Colts L 24–34 4–3 RCA Dome 56,860
9 November 8 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–27 4–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 64,111
10 November 14 Green Bay Packers W 27–13 5–4 Texas Stadium 64,634
11 November 21 at Arizona Cardinals L 9–13 5–5 Sun Devil Stadium 72,015
12 November 25 Miami Dolphins W 20–0 6–5 Texas Stadium 64,328
13 December 5 at New England Patriots L 6–13 6–6 Foxboro Stadium 58,444
14 December 12 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–10 7–6 Texas Stadium 64,086
15 December 19 New York Jets L 21–22 7–7 Texas Stadium 64,271
16 December 24 at New Orleans Saints L 24–31 7–8 Louisiana Superdome 47,835
17 January 2, 2000 New York Giants W 26–18 8–8 Texas Stadium 63,767

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) Washington Redskins 10 6 0 .625 443 377 W2
(5) Dallas Cowboys 8 8 0 .500 352 276 W1
New York Giants 7 9 0 .438 299 358 L3
Arizona Cardinals 6 10 0 .375 245 382 L4
Philadelphia Eagles 5 11 0 .313 272 357 W2

Playoffs

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Main article: 1999–2000 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue
Wild Card January 9, 2000 at Minnesota Vikings (4) L 27–10 0–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

Roster

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1999 Dallas Cowboys roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Rookies in italics
53 active, 14 reserve, 5 practice squad

Publications

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The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References

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  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369.
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