Dallas City News

We are at day 90 of our 99 day countdown until the regular season. Here is your daily fact associated with number 90.

90 rushing yards was all the Cowboys could rush for in the 1980 NFC Conference Championship game. That makes it one of the lowest rushing totals and fifth-lowest scoring playoff game in Cowboys history.

Photo by James Drake/Getty Images

On January 11th, 1981, the Cowboys faced their fierce rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, for the very first time in a playoff competition. By halftime the game was close at 7-7, with the only Cowboys touchdown coming from Tony Dorsett on a three-yard rushing play. For the Eagles, they had their own struggles with quarterback Ron Jaworski completing only nine of his 29 attempts and was intercepted twice.

During the regular season, Dallas emerged as the NFL’s top-scoring team and were heavy favorites to win the game. However, when faced with the formidable Eagles defense, their offensive prowess was limited to a mere 206 yards and a solitary touchdown. Additionally, the Cowboys struggled with ball security, committing five fumbles and Danny White was on negative yardage in the third quarter. Eagles running back Wilbert Montgomery had more all-purpose yards (208) than the entire Cowboys offense and this was the first time a Cowboys defense allowed a 100-yard rusher in a post-season game.

The Eagles would beat Dallas 20-7, but would go on to lose Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders. The Eagles would not win a single postseason game again until 1992, and have never beaten Dallas in a postseason game since.