Cowboys Country

'We Weren’t Supposed To Win': Cowboys 10 All-Time Craziest Victories

'We Weren’t Supposed To Win' - Ezekiel Elliott & The Dallas Cowboys 10 All-Time Craziest Wins

Richie Whitt

 Just pick one.

Down 20-0 after the first quarter.

Trailing 39-24 with five minutes remaining.

Four fumbles in the first quarter.

Two botched fake punts.

A failed two-point conversion trailing by nine late in the game.

Usually, any one of those gaffes leads to a loss in the NFL. But in the craziest home opener in Dallas Cowboys’ history – from the COVID-19 crowd of only 21,000 to the absurdity of three scores and 16 points in the final 4:57 – they turned out to be merely plot twists in one of the 60-year-old franchise’s greatest comebacks.

Assisted by a helicoptering onside kick – call it the “fidget spinner”? – the McCarthy McMagic Cowboys’ 40-39 win over the Atlanta Falcons was truly, eternally remarkable.

READ MORE: Cowboys 40, Falcons 39: Most Remarkable Comeback Win Ever?

READ MORE: Cowboys 40, Falcons 39: McCarthy's Magicians

READ MORE: WATCH - Cowboys Players React, And React, To Notable Win

“We weren’t supposed to win it. We weren’t supposed to win that game,” Ezekiel Elliott admitted. “But it is a testament to the type of guys we have in this locker room, and we went out there and got it done.”

This victory is one of a Top 10 of times when Dallas "got it done'' in this fashion ...

10. Cowboys 34, at Rams 31 (9.18.14) – You know you've had a frenetic ride when the largest comeback in franchise history barely makes the list. Dallas trails in St. Louis, 21-0, before Bruce Carter's interception return for a touchdown with 5:58 remaining seals the deal.

9. Cowboys 31, at Redskins 30 (9.15.83) – Trailing 23-3 at halftime, Danny White rallies Dallas to an electrifying season-opening win at old RFK Stadium behind three second-half touchdown passes, two to Tony Hill and the game-winner to Doug Cosbie with 1:49 remaining.

8. at Cowboys 35, Redskins 34 (12.17.79) – Down 17-0 early and 34-21 late, the Cowboys and Roger Staubach stage a rally that gives them the NFC East title and knocks their bitter rivals out of the playoffs. Ignited by a critical third-down tackle of John Riggins by Larry Cole, Staubach throws two touchdowns in the final 2:20 and completes the comeback with a score to Hill with :39 remaining.

7. at Cowboys 24, Redskins 23 (11.29.74) – All but eliminated from the playoffs, the Cowboys trail 16-3 and are suddenly without an injured Staubach on a bleak Thanksgiving at Texas Stadium. Enter Abilene Christian rookie Clint Longley, making his first regular-season appearance in an NFL game. Down six points with :28 remaining, he finds an inexplicably wide-open Drew Pearson for a 50-yard touchdown that literally nobody saw coming.

6. at Cowboys 27, Giants 26 (9.13.15) – Can't get much more desperate than trailing by three, out of timeouts and your opponent at your 1-yard line with 1:43 remaining. The Giants deliver a huge assist by stopping the clock with a third-down pass, and settling for a field goal and a 26-20 lead. But the Cowboys - without a timeout or spike or injured Dez Bryant - drive 72 yards in six plays and win when Tony Romo (after corralling a bad, bouncing shotgun snap) finds Jason Witten at the goal line with :07. It's the latest game-winning touchdown pass in franchise history.

5. Cowboys 30, at 49ers 28 (12.23.72) – This playoff game at Candlestick Park is the unveiling of Captain America. The Cowboys trail 28-13 after three quarters (it could be worse had San Francisco not missed two field goals inside of 40 yards), prompting head coach Tom Landry to replace veteran quarterback Craig Morton with Staubach. He responds with two late touchdown passes in a span of :43, sandwiched around an onside-kick recovered by Mel Renfro. Staubach sets up the final score with a 21-yard scramble and hits Ron Sellers with a 10-yard post pass for the unlikely game winner.

4. at Cowboys 40, Falcons 39 (9.20.20) – Playing without seven projected starters and after a slew of miscues, the Cowboys trail 20-0 early and 39-24 late. Dak Prescott’s third rushing touchdown sets up Greg Zeurlein’s bizarre onside kick which – without a tee – helicopters along the ground and seemingly paralyzes several Falcons that wondrously let it travel 10 yards before the Cowboys recover. Zeurlein’s 46-yard field goal at the gun improves the Cowboys to 2-35 all-time when trailing by 19+ points at halftime.

3. at Cowboys 21, Eagles 20 (9.15.97) – Inarguably the luckiest win in team history, Dallas survives when Philadelphia holder Tom Hutton bobbles the snap and aborts what would have been Chris Boniol's chip-shot, game-winning field from the 12-yard line with :04 remaining.

2. Cowboys 25, at Bills 24 (10.8.07) – The first Monday Night Football game in Buffalo in 13 years is impossibly unscripted. The Cowboys trail 24-13 entering the 4th quarter because of six Tony Romo turnovers (1 fumble and 5 interceptions, 2 returned for touchdowns). Romo hits Patrick Crayton for a short touchdown, but Terrell Owens is stripped of a 2-point conversion pass to leave Dallas trailing 24-22 with :20 remaining. After a carom off of Sam Hurd, Cowboys’ tight end Tony Curtis somehow recovers the onside kick. Rookie Nick Folk boots a 53-yard field goal at the gun for a dramatic win, only to have Buffalo call the last-millisecond timeout. But on the second attempt, Folk is good again. Nine points in :20 will get any heartbeat racing.

1. Cowboys 17, at Vikings 14 (12.28.75) – Staubach's "Hail Mary" 50-yard touchdown pass to Pearson with :24 remaining won the game, but it was only possible after an improbable series of events in the epic playoff game. 

Leading, 14-10, with 2:00 remaining the Vikings seemed destined to run out the clock at midfield but instead attempt a pass on 3rd-and-2 and fail when Charlie Waters sacks Fran Tarkenton. The ensuing punt leaves Dallas at its 15 with 1:51 remaining. At that point, Pearson had not caught a pass in the game. On a 4th-and-16, he leaps and catches Staubach's 25-yard pass on the sideline, his feet clearly landing out of bounds. However, in 1975 there is a "force out" rule in play, which gives an automatic reception to any receiver who is shoved out of bounds while his feet are in the air. 

In today's NFL, the Hail Mary would have never even had a chance to be thrown. 

Two plays later Pearson catches history. He punctuates the touchdown by throwing the ball over the scoreboard, out of the stadium and into the parking lot. The ball - one of the most iconic plays in NFL history - has never been accounted for.

Published
Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Home/News