# 1969 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1969 Dallas Cowboys season was their tenth in the National Football League (NFL). The team nearly equalled their previous output of 12–2, winning eleven games with one tie, and qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
The Cowboys were second in the NFL in scoring (369 points), and led the league in rushing yards (2,276) and total yards (5,122). The Cowboys' defense also allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL (1,050) and the fewest rushing touchdowns (3).
As of 2025, Dallas' tie against the San Francisco 49ers is their most recent in franchise history. The Cowboys are one of only two out of the 26 pre-merger NFL and AFL franchises (the other being the Boston/New England Patriots) that have not recorded a tie since the AFL-NFL merger which was completed after this season.

## NFL Draft

1969 Dallas Cowboys draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 24 | Calvin Hill * | RB | Yale | |
| 2 | 29 | Richmond Flowers Jr. | S | Tennessee | |
| 3 | 68 | Tom Stincic | LB | Michigan | |
| 3 | 74 | Halvor Hagen | OG | Weber State | |
| 5 | 125 | Chuck Kyle | LB | Purdue | |
| 6 | 152 | Rick Shaw | WR | Arizona State | |
| 7 | 180 | Larry Bales | WR | Emory and Henry | |
| 8 | 205 | Elmer Benhardt | LB | Missouri | |
| 9 | 230 | Claxton Welch | RB | Oregon | |
| 10 | 258 | Stuart Gottlieb | OT | Weber State | |
| 11 | 283 | Clarence Williams | DE | Prairie View A&M | Made the team's taxi squad |
| 12 | 308 | Bob Belden | QB | Notre Dame | |
| 13 | 336 | Rene Matison | WR | New Mexico | |
| 14 | 361 | Gerald Lutri | OT | Northern Michigan | |
| 15 | 386 | Bill Justus | DB | Tennessee | |
| 16 | 414 | Floyd Kerr | DB | Colorado State | |
| 17 | 439 | Bill Bailey | DT | Lewis & Clark | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 21 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 24–3 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | 62,134 | Recap |
| 2 | September 28 | at New Orleans Saints | W 21–17 | 2–0 | Tulane Stadium | 79,567 | Recap |
| 3 | October 5 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 38–7 | 3–0 | Franklin Field | 60,658 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 24–17 | 4–0 | Atlanta Stadium | 54,833 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 49–14 | 5–0 | Cotton Bowl | 71,509 | Recap |
| 6 | October 27 | New York Giants | W 25–3 | 6–0 | Cotton Bowl | 58,964 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | at Cleveland Browns | L 10–42 | 6–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 84,850 | Recap |
| 8 | November 9 | New Orleans Saints | W 33–17 | 7–1 | Cotton Bowl | 68,282 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | at Washington Redskins | W 41–28 | 8–1 | RFK Stadium | 50,474 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 23–24 | 8–2 | L.A. Coliseum | 79,105 | Recap |
| 11 | November 27 | San Francisco 49ers | T 24–24 | 8–2–1 | Cotton Bowl | 62,348 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 10–7 | 9–2–1 | Pitt Stadium | 24,990 | Recap |
| 13 | December 13 | Baltimore Colts | W 27–10 | 10–2–1 | Cotton Bowl | 63,191 | Recap |
| 14 | December 21 | Washington Redskins | W 20–10 | 11–2–1 | Cotton Bowl | 56,924 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

## Season summary
### Week 9 at Redskins

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 17 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| Redskins | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.
* Date: November 16, 1969
* Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C)
* Game attendance: 50,474
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
DAL – Mike Clark 36-yard field goal. Cowboys 3–0.
WSH – Jerry Smith 27-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Redskins 7–3.
DAL – Lance Rentzel 65-yard pass from Craig Morton (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 10–7.
DAL – Larry Cole 41-yard interception return (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 17–7.
Second quarter
DAL – Calvin Hill 3-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 24–7.
WSH – Charley Taylor 68-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 24–14.
DAL – Mike Clark 14-yard field goal. Cowboys 27–14.
WSH – Jerry Smith 11-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 27–21.
Third quarter
DAL – Calvin Hill 7-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 34–21.
WSH – Jerry Smith 20-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 34–28.
Fourth quarter
DAL – Dan Reeves 4-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 41–28.
Top passers
DAL – Craig Morton – 8/17, 156 yards, TD, INT
WSH – Sonny Jurgensen – 24/35, 338 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
DAL – Calvin Hill – 27 rushes, 150 yards, 2 TD
WSH – Larry Brown – 11 rushes, 38 yards
Top receivers
DAL – Lance Rentzel – 2 receptions, 84 yards, TD
WSH – Charley Taylor – 6 receptions, 155 yards, TD :
* President Richard Nixon was in attendance.

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| Eastern Conference | December 28, 1969 | Cleveland Browns | L 14–38 | Cotton Bowl | 69,321 | Recap |
| Playoff Bowl | January 3, 1970 | vs Los Angeles Rams | L 0–31 | Orange Bowl | 31,151 | |

## Standings

NFL Capitol :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 6–0 | 9–1 | 369 | 223 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 3–2–1 | 6–3–1 | 307 | 319 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1–5 | 4–6 | 311 | 393 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 1–4–1 | 4–5–1 | 279 | 377 | L4 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.