1998 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1998 Dallas Cowboys season was the Cowboys' 39th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Cowboys were looking to improve on their 6–10 mark from the year before and head to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the 1990s.

1998 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Jerry Jones
General manager	Jerry Jones
Head coach	Chan Gailey
Home stadium	Texas Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoffs	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Cardinals) 7–20
Pro Bowlers	RB Emmitt Smith G Larry Allen OT Nate Newton CB Deion Sanders SS Darren Woodson
Uniform
← 1997 Cowboys seasons 1999 →

After the previous season, head coach Barry Switzer resigned after four seasons in which he led the Cowboys to the playoffs three times and won Super Bowl XXX. Chan Gailey, who had been offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was hired as his replacement.

The Cowboys did manage to record a 10–6 record and once again win the NFC East as they had done in the five seasons prior to 1997. However, the Cowboys did not advance beyond the Wild Card round as they were upset by the Arizona Cardinals, who had not won a playoff game since 1947, when the franchise was based in Chicago. The Cowboys would not win another NFC East title until 2007.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
RB Chris Warren (Seahawks)	QB Wade Wilson (Raiders)
SS George Teague (Dolphins)	FS Brock Marion (Dolphins)
G Everett McIver (Dolphins)	C John Flannery (Rams)
	LB Vinson Smith (Saints)
	SS Bill Bates (Retried)
	T Mark Tuinei (Retried)
	DE Tony Tolbert (Retried)
	RB Herschel Walker (Retried)

NFL draft

Main article: 1998 NFL draft

1998 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Greg Ellis *	Defensive end	North Carolina
2	38	Flozell Adams *	Offensive tackle	Michigan State
4	100	Michael Myers	Defensive tackle	Alabama
5	130	Darren Hambrick	Linebacker	South Carolina
5	138	Oliver Ross	Tackle	Iowa State	from Seattle
6	188	Izell Reese	Safety	UAB
7	223	Tarik Smith	Running back	California
7	227	Antonio Fleming	Guard	Georgia
7	237	Rod Monroe	Tight end	Cincinnati
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1998 undrafted free agents of note

Player	Position	College
Ronald Bailey	Cornerback	Georgia
Kent Booth	Guard	Northern Illinois
Barry Cantrell	Punter	Fordham
Chike Egbuniwe	Linebacker	Duke
Cory Geason	Tight end	Tulane

Regular season

Gailey would revitalize the Cowboys offense, particularly the running game, which had seen a recent decline despite the presence of running back Emmitt Smith. The trio of Smith, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin helped the Cowboys be the first ever NFC East team to sweep their division en route to capturing the NFC East title, the team's sixth of the 90's. The Cowboys would later encounter the Arizona Cardinals for the third time that season in the NFC Wild Card Game, but would lose in a stunning upset in the first round at Texas Stadium. Cornerback Deion Sanders suffered an injury to his toe in a regular season victory over Arizona and made a surprise return against them in the playoff loss.

Aikman was injured in a week two loss at Denver and missed the next five games. Future Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett started all games during Aikman's absence and went 3–2 as the starting quarterback.

Notable additions to the team that year include defensive end Greg Ellis and offensive tackle Flozell Adams. Ellis was drafted with the 8th pick in the first round. Many were stunned that the Cowboys didn't draft Randy Moss (most likely for his off-the-field issues).

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	TV	Attendance
1	September 6	Arizona Cardinals	W 38–10	1–0	Texas Stadium	Fox	63,602
2	September 13	at Denver Broncos	L 23–42	1–1	Mile High Stadium	Fox	75,013
3	September 21	at New York Giants	W 31–7	2–1	Giants Stadium	ABC	78,039
4	September 27	Oakland Raiders	L 12–13	2–2	Texas Stadium	CBS	63,544
5	October 4	at Washington Redskins	W 31–10	3–2	Jack Kent Cooke Stadium	Fox	72,284
6	October 11	Carolina Panthers	W 27–20	4–2	Texas Stadium	Fox	64,181
7	October 18	at Chicago Bears	L 12–13	4–3	Soldier Field	Fox	59,201
8	Bye
9	November 2	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 34–0	5–3	Veterans Stadium	ABC	67,002
10	November 8	New York Giants	W 16–6	6–3	Texas Stadium	Fox	64,316
11	November 15	at Arizona Cardinals	W 35–28	7–3	Sun Devil Stadium	Fox	71,670
12	November 22	Seattle Seahawks	W 30–22	8–3	Texas Stadium	CBS	64,142
13	November 26	Minnesota Vikings	L 36–46	8–4	Texas Stadium	Fox	64,366
14	December 6	at New Orleans Saints	L 3–22	8–5	Louisiana Superdome	Fox	65,065
15	December 13	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–20	8–6	Arrowhead Stadium	Fox	77,697
16	December 20	Philadelphia Eagles	W 13–9	9–6	Texas Stadium	Fox	62,722
17	December 27	Washington Redskins	W 23–7	10–6	Texas Stadium	ESPN	63,565

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) Dallas Cowboys	10	6	0	.625	381	275	W2
(6) Arizona Cardinals	9	7	0	.563	325	378	W3
New York Giants	8	8	0	.500	287	309	W4
Washington Redskins	6	10	0	.375	319	421	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	3	13	0	.188	161	344	L3

Playoffs

Main article: 1998–99 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	TV
Wild Card	January 2, 1999	Arizona Cardinals (6)	L 20–7	0–1	Texas Stadium	ABC

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1998 roster
Quarterbacks  8 Troy Aikman 17 Jason Garrett 11 Mike Quinn Running backs 48 Daryl Johnston FB 22 Emmitt Smith 45 Nicky Sualua FB 42 Chris Warren KR 20 Sherman Williams Wide receivers 87 Billy Davis 88 Michael Irvin 81 Patrick Jeffers 82 Jeff Ogden Tight ends 86 Eric Bjornson 83 Hayward Clay 89 David LaFleur		Offensive linemen 76 Flozell Adams G 73 Larry Allen T 66 Tony Hutson G/T 63 Mike Kiselak C 61 Nate Newton G 68 Oliver Ross G/T 50 Clay Shiver C 79 Erik Williams T Defensive linemen 96 Antonio Anderson DE 72 Nathan Davis DT 98 Greg Ellis DE 95 Chad Hennings DT 78 Leon Lett DT 99 Hurvin McCormack DE/DT 94 Michael Myers DE/DT 97 Kavika Pittman DE 93 Artie Smith DE/DT		Linebackers 52 Dexter Coakley OLB 56 Randall Godfrey OLB 54 Darren Hambrick OLB 55 Fred Strickland MLB 59 Robert Thomas MLB 53 Brandon Tolbert OLB Defensive backs 34 Larry Brown CB 32 Tyrone Hughes CB/KR/PR 23 Kevin Mathis CB/KR 27 Singor Mobley SS 43 Izell Reese FS 21 Deion Sanders CB/PR 26 Kevin Smith CB 24 Omar Stoutmire FS 31 George Teague SS 30 Kenny Wheaton CB 25 Charlie Williams CB/S 28 Darren Woodson FS/SS Special teams  3 Richie Cunningham K  4 Toby Gowin P 70 Dale Hellestrae LS		Reserve lists 91 Darren Benson DT (IR) 35 Wendell Davis CB (IR) 58 Nate Hemsley LB (IR) 67 Everett McIver G (IR) 80 Ernie Mills WR (IR) -- Beau Morgan RB (Military) 51 Broderick Thomas LB (IR) Practice squad 29 Terry Billups CB 60 Denny Fartney DE 38 Zebbie Lethridge CB 57 Myron Smith LB 36 Tarik Smith RB Rookies in italics 53 active, 7 inactive, 5 practice squad

Publications

• 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