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

## 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

| 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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

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 ||||||