1978 Dallas Cowboys Statistics
Team Record: 12-4
Finishing 1st in the NFL's East Division of the National Football Conference
Postseason: 2-1 Lost Super Bowl
Coach: Tom Landry (12-4)
Location: Dallas, Texas
1978 Dallas Cowboys Results
The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ended the 1978 season with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, finishing first in the NFL's East Division of the National Football Conference. The team compiled a postseason mark of 2-1.
Dallas moved the ball well, scoring 384 points, while the rigid defensive squad conceded 208. Tony Dorsett ran for a team-best 1,325 yards for the Cowboys.
Roger Staubach tossed for 3,190 yards. Preston Pearson paced the receiving corps, hauling in 47 passes, while Tony Hill accumulated 823 receiving yards. Tony Dorsett and Drew Pearson were targeted regularly as well.
Benny Barnes picked off 5 opponent throws.
Tom Landry coached the team. The 1978 Dallas Cowboys lost in the Super Bowl.
Click on column headings to sort.
Passing:
| Player | Att | Comp | Comp % | Yds | Yds/Att | TDs | TD % | Ints | Int % | Long | Sacked | Yds Lost | Rating | Roger Staubach | 413 | 231 | 55.9 | 3190 | 7.7 | 25 | 6.1 | 16 | 3.9 | 91 | 32 | 219 | 84.9 | Danny White | 34 | 20 | 58.8 | 215 | 6.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2.9 | 35 | 1 | 10 | 65.2 | Tony Dorsett | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | Tony Hill | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 449 | 251 | 55.9 | 3405 | 7.6 | 25 | 5.6 | 17 | 3.8 | 91 | 33 | 229 |
Rushing:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs | Tony Dorsett | 290 | 1325 | 4.6 | 63 | 7 | Robert Newhouse | 140 | 584 | 4.2 | 24 | 8 | Scott Laidlaw | 75 | 312 | 4.2 | 59 | 3 | Roger Staubach | 42 | 182 | 4.3 | 23 | 1 | Preston Pearson | 25 | 104 | 4.2 | 18 | 0 | Larry Brinson | 18 | 96 | 5.3 | 39 | 2 | Doug Dennison | 14 | 75 | 5.4 | 23 | 1 | Alois Blackwell | 9 | 37 | 4.1 | 13 | 0 | Drew Pearson | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 33 | 0 | Tony Hill | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 14 | 0 | Billy DuPree | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | Danny White | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 4 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 625 | 2783 | 4.5 | 63 | 22 |
Receiving:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs | Preston Pearson | 47 | 526 | 11.2 | 34 | 0 | Tony Hill | 46 | 823 | 17.9 | 54 | 6 | Drew Pearson | 44 | 714 | 16.2 | 53 | 3 | Tony Dorsett | 37 | 378 | 10.2 | 91 | 2 | Billy DuPree | 34 | 509 | 15.0 | 38 | 9 | Robert Newhouse | 20 | 176 | 8.8 | 24 | 2 | Butch Johnson | 12 | 155 | 12.9 | 23 | 0 | Scott Laidlaw | 6 | 108 | 18.0 | 44 | 1 | Jay Saldi | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 5 | 2 | Doug Dennison | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 | Golden Richards | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 251 | 3405 | 13.6 | 91 | 25 |
Kicking:
Punting:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | Danny White | 76 | 3076 | 40.5 | 56 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 76 | 3076 | 40.5 | 56 |
Punt Returns:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs | Butch Johnson | 51 | 401 | 7.9 | 23 | 0 | Tony Hill | 11 | 101 | 9.2 | 20 | 0 | Dennis Thurman | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 63 | 502 | 8.0 | 23 | 0 |
Kick Returns:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs | Butch Johnson | 29 | 603 | 20.8 | 56 | 0 | Larry Brinson | 6 | 93 | 15.5 | 31 | 0 | Alois Blackwell | 3 | 70 | 23.3 | 31 | 0 | Doug Dennison | 3 | 63 | 21.0 | 24 | 0 | Dennis Thurman | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 20 | 0 | Randy White | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | Burton Lawless | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | Jay Saldi | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 47 | 896 | 19.1 | 56 | 0 |
Interceptions:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs | Benny Barnes | 5 | 72 | 14.4 | 38 | 0 | Charlie Waters | 4 | 61 | 15.2 | 22 | 0 | Cliff Harris | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 23 | 0 | Aaron Kyle | 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 17 | 0 | Randy Hughes | 2 | 80 | 40.0 | 56 | 0 | Dennis Thurman | 2 | 35 | 17.5 | 23 | 0 | Larry Cole | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 | Harvey Martin | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | Bob Breunig | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 23 | 316 | 13.7 | 56 | 0 |
Defense and Fumbles:
| Player | Tackle | Brup | Fum | FRec | FYds | FTD | FF | Tony Dorsett | 12 | 4 | 54 | 1 | 0 | Roger Staubach | 5 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | Aaron Kyle | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Hegman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Scott Laidlaw | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Cliff Harris | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 0 | Dennis Thurman | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Benny Barnes | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 | Danny White | 2 | 2 | -8 | 0 | 0 | Bob Breunig | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Butch Johnson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mark Washington | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Thomas Henderson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jethro Pugh | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John Fitzgerald | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rayfield Wright | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Andy Frederick | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Randy Hughes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Larry Brinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Hill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Robert Newhouse | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Billy DuPree | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 36 | 29 | 75 | 1 | 0 |
Total Scoring:
| Touchdowns | Other | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rush | Rec | Punt | Kick | MFG | Int | Fum | Other | FG | X/C | Single | 2Pt | Saf | Points | Rafael Septien | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 46 | 0 | 94 | Tony Dorsett | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | Robert Newhouse | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | Billy DuPree | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | Tony Hill | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | Scott Laidlaw | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | Drew Pearson | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | Larry Brinson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Jay Saldi | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Roger Staubach | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Doug Dennison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Charlie Waters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 22 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 384 |
