1965 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1965 Dallas Cowboys season was their sixth in the National Football League and their best record to date, at 7–7.^[2] After five consecutive losses, Dallas was 2–5 halfway through the season. They won five of the final seven games and finished in a tie for second place in the Eastern Conference, with the New York Giants, four games behind the defending NFL champion Cleveland Browns (11–3).

1965 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Clint Murchison, Jr.
Head coach	Tom Landry
Home stadium	Cotton Bowl
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd NFL Eastern (tie)
Playoffs	Lost NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Colts) 3–35[1]
← 1964 Cowboys seasons 1966 →

The Cowboys defeated the Giants twice and earned the berth in the third place Playoff Bowl in Miami,^[3][4] held three weeks after the regular season, but lost 35–3 to the Baltimore Colts, runners-up of the Western Conference.^[5]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	Attendance	Recap
1	September 19	New York Giants	W 31–2	1–0	Cotton Bowl	59,366	Recap
2	September 26	Washington Redskins	W 27–7	2–0	Cotton Bowl	61,577	Recap
3	October 4	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 13–20	2–1	Busch Stadium	32,034	Recap
4	October 10	Philadelphia Eagles	L 24–35	2–2	Cotton Bowl	56,249	Recap
5	October 17	at Cleveland Browns	L 17–23	2–3	Cleveland Stadium	80,451	Recap
6	October 24	at Green Bay Packers	L 3–13	2–4	Milwaukee County Stadium	48,311	Recap
7	October 31	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–22	2–5	Pitt Stadium	37,804	Recap
8	November 7	San Francisco 49ers	W 39–31	3–5	Cotton Bowl	39,677	Recap
9	November 14	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–17	4–5	Cotton Bowl	57,293	Recap
10	November 21	Cleveland Browns	L 17–24	4–6	Cotton Bowl	76,251	Recap
11	November 28	at Washington Redskins	L 31–34	4–7	D.C. Stadium	50,205	Recap
12	December 5	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 21–19	5–7	Franklin Field	54,714	Recap
13	December 11	St. Louis Cardinals	W 27–13	6–7	Cotton Bowl	38,499	Recap
14	December 19	at New York Giants	W 38–20	7–7	Yankee Stadium	62,871	Recap

Conference opponents are in bold text

Postseason

Main article: Playoff Bowl

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game Site	Attendance
Playoff Bowl	January 9, 1966	vs Baltimore Colts	L 3–35	Orange Bowl	65,569

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	11	3	0	.786	11–1	363	325	W1
Dallas Cowboys	7	7	0	.500	6–6	325	280	W3
New York Giants	7	7	0	.500	7–5	270	338	L1
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	6–6	257	301	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	5	9	0	.357	5–7	363	359	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	5	9	0	.357	5–7	296	309	L6
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	12	0	.143	2–10	202	397	L7

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL draft

Main article: 1965 NFL draft

1965 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	5	Craig Morton	QB	California
2	19	Malcolm Walker	C	Rice
4	47	Jimmy Sidle	RB	Auburn
4	53	Bob Svihus	OT	USC	Signed with the AFL
5	61	Roger Pettee	LB	Florida
6	75	Sonny Utz	RB	Virginia Tech	He spent 2 seasons on the injured reserve list
7	89	Brig Owens	S	Cincinnati
8	103	Russell Wayt	LB	Rice
9	117	Jim Zanios	RB	Texas Tech
10	131	Gaylon McCullough	C	Alabama
11	145	Jethro Pugh	DT	Elizabeth City State
12	159	Ernie Kellerman *	S	Miami (OH)
13	173	Jack Schraub	E	California
14	187	Garry Porterfield	DE	Tulsa
15	201	Gene Foster	FB	Arizona State	Signed with the AFL
16	215	Doug McDougal	E	Oregon State
17	229	Mitch Johnson	OT	UCLA
18	243	Marty Amsler	OT	Evansville
19	257	Merv Rettenmund	RB	Ball State	Signed with the Baltimore Orioles of the MLB
20	271	Don Barlow	OT	Kansas State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1965 roster
Quarterbacks 17 Don Meredith 14 Craig Morton 13 Jerry Rhome Running backs 37 Perry Lee Dunn 43 Don Perkins FB 30 Dan Reeves 24 J. D. Smith Wide receivers 26 Buddy Dial 35 Pete Gent 22 Bob Hayes Tight ends 82 Frank Clarke 84 Pettis Norman		Offensive linemen 68 Jim Boeke T 53 Mike Connelly C/G 62 Leon Donohue G 64 Mitch Johnson G/T 67 Jake Kupp G 72 Tony Liscio T/G 51 Dave Manders C/G 73 Ralph Neely T 71 Don Talbert T Defensive linemen 66 George Andrie DE 77 Jim Colvin DT 74 Bob Lilly DT/DE 75 Jethro Pugh DT 79 Larry Stephens DE 78 Maury Youmans DE/DT		Linebackers 52 Dave Edwards OLB 56 Harold Hays OLB 54 Chuck Howley OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 50 Jerry Tubbs MLB 33 Russell Wayt OLB Defensive backs 44 Don Bishop CB 27 Mike Gaechter SS/CB 34 Cornell Green CB 41 Warren Livingston CB/FS 25 Obert Logan SS 20 Mel Renfro FS/CB/RS Special teams 11 Danny Villanueva K/P		Reserve lists 70 Bill Sandeman OT (IR) 23 Jimmy Sidle RB (IR) 57 Malcolm Walker C (IR) Rookies in italics 40 active, 2 inactive