On to the next matchup!
Just to clear up any confusion (before it even starts… you're welcome), the St. Louis Rams have also been the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Rams. It's worth noting that the Cowboys never played the Cleveland Rams (that was happening from 1937-1945). This week, we'll take a look at one of the craziest years between these two teams. Let's start in Los Angeles.
January 7th, 1979: NFC Championship, Dallas Cowboys vs. L.A. Rams
First off, let me just tell you a little bit about this Cowboys team (1979 was a long time ago, so I figured you might need a little reminding). This team included the likes of Pro Bowler Billy Joe Dupree, Pro Bowler Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, All Pro Cliff Harris, All Pro Charlie Waters, All Pro Tony Dorsett, Super Bowl VI MVP Roger Staubach… anyway, you get the picture. The Cowboys were also the defending Super Bowl Champions (they beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XII in the 1977 season). No big deal.
If you can't tell by his name, Hollywood Henderson was known for his… theatrics. Okay, he was cocky. But we don't have to linger on that. Except for the fact that he did say prior to the game that the Rams didn't have the "class" to make it to the Super Bowl. Ouch.
Going into halftime of the game, the score was still 0-0, so Hollywood (and the team) wasn't really living up to the talk. Then, at the end of the third quarter, Charlie Waters snatched his eighth post-season interception and took the Cowboys down to the 10-yard line. Touchdown. 7-0.
At this point, all hell broke loose. Charlie Waters picked off yet another interception. Touchdown. 14-0. (By the way, his nine post-season interceptions record is still-standing… okay, he's tied with Bill Simpson and Ronnie Lott, but who's counting).
At this point, the Ram's starting quarterback left the game with a broken thumb, bringing in second-stringer Vince Ferragamo (foreshadowing: Ferragamo would one day be the downfall of the Cowboys… dun dun dunnnnn). The Rams make it all the way down to the Dallas 10, but veteran RB Cullen Bryant fumbles. Cowboys recover. And then what? You guessed it. Touchdown. 21-0.
AND THAT'S NOT ALL.
Just because he could, our favorite little (or not so little) trash-talker, Hollywood Henderson, picked off Ferragamo for another interception and ran it back for a 68-yard touchdown. Talk about a slap in the face.
The final score was 28-0 (the first shutout in NFC Championship history), lucky for Hollywood. After his comment, that loss would have been almost as awkward as if the Mavs hadn't won the 2011 NBA Championship after Jason Terry got that tattoo.
The rest of 1979:
The Cowboys went on to play the Rams two more times in '79. They beat them at home on Oct. 14, 30-6.
They met again at the 1979 NFC Championship on Dec. 30. Remember when I said Ferragamo would be the Cowboys' downfall? This game was probably one of the most heartbreaking playoff defeats for the Cowboys in their entire history. The Cowboys were leading 19-14 with 1:07 left. The Rams had the ball, drove down, lined up for the field goal, faked the field goal, scored on the faked field goal, and just… shattered the dreams of every Cowboys player, coach and fan. That would've been the Cowboys' 6th Super Bowl of the 70s. I can still hear the breaking hearts.
The Cowboys lead the all-time record 16-15.
