1988 Dallas Cowboys season 1988 was the final year for Cowboys head coach Tom Landry . After the season , the team would undergo drastic changes including a new head coach , and change of ownership from the late Bum Bright to current owner Jerry Jones . Notable additions to the team that year include wide receiver Michael Irvin , linebacker Ken Norton Jr . and defensive tackle Chad Hennings . The 1988 season marked the first time since 1976 that future hall - of - fame running back Tony Dorsett was not on the roster . Dorsett had been relegated to a backup role to Herschel Walker for most of 1987 and was traded to the Denver Broncos during the offseason . The 1988 season faced hardship from the release of the schedule . In 1987 , Dallas ( at 7 – 8 ) had finished in a 3 - way tie for second place in the NFC East and tiebreaking rules gave Dallas the " second place position " , even though Dallas finished fifth ( last ) in the NFC East in 1987 in " union games " ( i . e . a strong replacement team had inflated the Boys ' ' 87 record ) . As a result , their 1988 schedule was primarily against teams that were strong in 1987 ( and also in 1988 ) . Steve Pelluer had won the starting quarterback job from veteran Danny White late in the 1987 season and won the job in training camp for 1988 . Early in the season , White appeared briefly in relief roles before suffering a season ending injury in week 7 , which elevated Kevin Sweeney to the backup position . Sweeney briefly took over the starting job for Pelluer in weeks 11 and 12 , but the results were poor and Pelluer regained the job . In the season opener , Dallas lost to Pittsburgh , 24 – 21 . The Cowboys had the ball inside the Pittsburgh 10 in the game ' s closing seconds ( in position to tie or win ) but Steve Pelluer was intercepted . After a close win over Phoenix in week two , Dallas lost to the New York Giants 12 – 10 ( the margin of defeat being a strange safety on the opening kickoff ) . A last second goal line stand brought victory over Atlanta in week four but the following week , they Cowboys lost to New Orleans a last second Morten Andersen field goal . Two convincing losses followed and at 2 – 5 , the season was in jeopardy . In week 8 , Dallas traveled to Philadelphia . Bad blood still existed from 1987 , when Philadelphia coach Buddy Ryan had ( in the game ' s closing seconds ) called a deep pass play while already leading by 10 . The Cowboys roared to a 20 – 0 lead in the first half , but the Eagles came back to win 24 – 23 by scoring a touchdown on the game ' s final play . The next week , Dallas blew a 10 – 0 second half lead to lose to the Phoenix Cardinals and fell to 2 – 7 . Five more losses followed ( and the losing streak extended to 10 games ) before Dallas upset the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in Week 15 in RFK Stadium ( eliminating the Redskins from playoff contention ) . The Redskins win marked the end of an era ( It turned out to be Tom Landry ' s last win ) but was also a harbinger as rookie ( and future hall - of - fame ) wide receiver Michael Irvin caught three touchdown passes . The team lost the next week at Texas Stadium to Philadelphia and finished 3 – 13 , the worst record in the NFL and the team ' s worst record since 1960 , when they were an expansion team . A bright spot for the season was running back Herschel Walker , who led the NFC in rushing yards . In addition to Landry , this was also the final season for long - time Cowboys such as President / General Manager Tex Schramm , Personnel Director Gil Brandt , defensive tackle Randy White , quarterback Danny White , Linebacker Mike Hegman and defensive coordinator Ernie Stautner .