1999 Dallas Cowboys season

1999 Dallas Cowboys season
Head coach	Chan Gailey
Home field	Texas Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings) 27–10

The 1999 Dallas Cowboys season was their 40th in the NFL. Their season ended with a loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the Wilcard round. It was the final season that the Cowboys appeared in the playoffs during the 1990s and for the next three seasons, they would fall out of contention. They would appear in the playoffs in 2003.

This season was Michael Irvin's final season as a neck injury that he suffered in Week 3 at Philadelphia, in which he received a standing ovation from Eagles fans, forced him to retire early.

Hall of Fame Game

• Cleveland Browns 20, Dallas Cowboys 17 (Overtime) ^[1]

Regular season

The season began at Washington with a come-from-behind victory over the division-rival Washington Redskins. After trailing by three touchdowns in the second half, free agent acquisition Rocket Ismail hauled in the winning touchdown catch in overtime while Troy Aikman threw for a franchise record five touchdowns in a single game (since matched by Tony Romo).

The team started with a 3–0 record, but a week-4 injury to wide receiver Michael Irvin against the Philadelphia Eagles eventually forced him into retirement. Afterwards, Dallas struggled down the stretch as age and injury began to take their toll. The team again made the playoffs despite an 8–8 season, but lost once more in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings. Despite leading the team to consecutive playoff berths and seemingly re-igniting the Dallas offense, owner Jerry Jones fired head coach Chan Gailey after the season.

A notable addition to the team was fan favorite linebacker Dat Nguyen, the only (to date) Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL.

This marked the final season for future hall-of-famer Michael Irvin and longtime Cowboys fullback Daryl "Moose" Johnston. Irvin and Johnston both suffered season-ending (and as it turned out career-ending) injuries early in the season. Irvin was the last Cowboys player to have played for Tom Landry.

The annual Thanksgiving Day game featured the return of former head coach Jimmy Johnson to Texas Stadium as Dolphins head coach. It was the only game Johnson ever coached in Texas Stadium as a visiting coach. The Cowboys won, 20–0.

The Cowboys lost 4 games in which their defense only yielded 13 points in each contest.

Dallas didn't return to the playoffs until 2003.

Schedule

Week	Date	TV time	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 12, 1999	FOX 1:00 et	at Washington Redskins	W 41–35	79,237
2	September 20, 1999	ABC 9:00 ET	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–7	63,663
3	Bye
4	October 3, 1999	FOX 1:00 et	Arizona Cardinals	W 35–7	64,169
5	October 10, 1999	FOX 1:00 et	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 13–10	66,669
6	October 18, 1999	ABC 9:00 et	at New York Giants	L 13–10	78,204
7	October 24, 1999	FOX 1:00 et	Washington Redskins	W 38–20	64,377
8	October 31, 1999	FOX 4:00 et	at Indianapolis Colts	L 34–24	56,860
9	November 8, 1999	ABC 9:00 et	at Minnesota Vikings	L 27–17	64,111
10	November 14, 1999	FOX 4:00 et	Green Bay Packers	W 27–13	64,634
11	November 21, 1999	FOX 4:00 et	at Arizona Cardinals	L 13–9	72,015
12	November 25, 1999	CBS 4:00 et	Miami Dolphins	W 20–0	64,328
13	December 5, 1999	ESPN 8:30 et	at New England Patriots	L 13–6	58,444
14	December 12, 1999	FOX 1:00 et	Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–10	64,086
15	December 19, 1999	CBS 4:00 et	New York Jets	L 22–21	64,271
16	December 24, 1999	FOX 4:00 et	at New Orleans Saints	L 31–24	47,835
17	January 2, 2000	FOX 4:00 et	New York Giants	W 26–18	63,767

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	443	377	W2
^(5) Dallas Cowboys	8	8	0	.500	352	276	W1
New York Giants	7	9	0	.438	299	358	L3
Arizona Cardinals	6	10	0	.375	245	382	L4
Philadelphia Eagles	5	11	0	.313	272	357	W2

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1999 roster
Quarterbacks  8 Troy Aikman 17 Jason Garrett 11 Mike Quinn Running backs 35 Robert Chancey RB/FB 39 Ryan Neufeld FB/TE 22 Emmitt Smith 44 Robert Thomas FB 42 Chris Warren Wide receivers 82 Chris Brazzell 81 Raghib Ismail 80 Ernie Mills 85 Jeff Ogden 87 Jason Tucker KR Tight ends 86 Eric Bjornson 89 David LaFleur 84 Mike Lucky		Offensive linemen 76 Flozell Adams T 73 Larry Allen G 69 Ben Fricke C 67 Everett McIver G 62 Tom Myslinski T/G 77 Solomon Page G/T 53 Mark Stepnoski C 79 Erik Williams T Defensive linemen 96 Ebenezer Ekuban DE 95 Chad Hennings DT 78 Leon Lett DE/DT 94 Michael Myers DT 75 Brandon Noble DT 97 Kavika Pittman DE 90 Alonzo Spellman DT/DE 93 Peppi Zellner DE		Linebackers 52 Dexter Coakley OLB 57 Quentin Coryatt OLB 56 Randall Godfrey MLB 55 Lemanski Hall OLB 54 Darren Hambrick OLB 59 Dat Nguyen MLB Defensive backs 29 Chris Akins FS 41 Wendell Davis CB 38 Duane Hawthorne CB 23 Kevin Mathis CB 27 Singor Mobley SS/CB 21 Deion Sanders CB/PR 26 Kevin Smith CB 31 George Teague FS 25 Charlie Williams CB 28 Darren Woodson SS Special teams  4 Toby Gowin P 70 Dale Hellestrae LS/OT  3 Eddie Murray K		Reserve Lists 98 Greg Ellis DE (IR) 61 Kelvin Garmon OG (NFI) 66 Tony Hutson OG (IR) 88 Michael Irvin WR (IR) 48 Daryl Johnston FB (IR) 63 Mike Kiselak C (IR) 83 Wane McGarity WR (IR) -- James McKnight WR (IR) 43 Izell Reese FS (IR) 30 Kenny Wheaton FS (IR) Rookies in italics 51 active, 10 inactive

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

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369

External links

• 1999 Dallas Cowboys
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Dallas Cowboys Official Site