It is Day 42 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain
dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
Welcome to Day 42 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, when we revisit the game that gave the Cowboys their first postseason victory and established them as a legitimate championship-level franchise. Dallas and Cleveland had both finished 9-5, but there was nothing even about what happened on Christmas Eve in 1967.
Sunday, December 24, 1967 — 2:30 p.m. ET
Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 52, Cleveland Browns 14
Dallas took control of this one immediately. The Cowboys drove 80 yards in 13 plays on their opening possession, with Don Perkins breaking a 24-yard run before Don Meredith found Craig Baynham for a three-yard touchdown. Later in the first quarter, Bob Hayes returned a punt 64 yards to the Cleveland 13-yard line. Four plays later, Perkins powered across on fourth down, and Dallas had a 14-0 lead before the Browns could settle into the game.
Cleveland briefly threatened to respond when star running back Leroy Kelly broke a 46-yard run to the Dallas 10. The Cowboys defense stiffened, however, and a poor snap ruined Lou Groza’s field-goal attempt. Dallas took over at its own 10-yard line, and two plays later Meredith launched the play that broke the game open. Hayes raced past cornerback Mike Howell, caught the ball beyond midfield and completed an 86-yard touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 21-0 advantage. It was the longest scoring play in NFL postseason history at the time.
Danny Villanueva added a short field goal to make it 24-0 before Cleveland finally reached the end zone. Frank Ryan found tight end Milt Morin for a 13-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, cutting the score to 24-7 at halftime. The Browns had at least given themselves a small opening, but Dallas removed it almost immediately after the break.
The third quarter became an avalanche, and if you were a Cowboys fan this quarter was a dream come true. Baynham scored on a one-yard run, Perkins added another short touchdown and defensive back Cornell Green intercepted Ryan and returned it 60 yards for a score. Dallas piled up 21 unanswered points in the quarter and carried a 45-7 lead into the fourth. What had begun as an important conference playoff game had become one of the most one-sided postseason performances of the era.
Baynham scored his third touchdown of the afternoon on another one-yard run, pushing Dallas past 50 points. Cleveland’s Paul Warfield later caught a 75-yard touchdown from Ryan, but it did nothing beyond changing the final margin. The Cowboys had scored in every quarter, produced six offensive touchdowns and added Green’s interception return in a 52-14 rout.
This game belongs on the countdown because it marked a major step in the Cowboys’ transformation from an expansion team into one of the NFL’s emerging powers. Dallas had reached the NFL Championship Game the previous season but lost to Green Bay without first having to win a playoff round. Beating Cleveland gave the organization its first postseason victory, the Eastern Conference title and another opportunity against Vince Lombardi’s Packers. Seven days later, the Cowboys would play in the Ice Bowl, one of the most famous games in NFL history.
Interesting Facts About the Game
This remains tied for the highest-scoring postseason game in Cowboys history. The 52 points was tied in the Super Bowl versus Buffalo, but the 38-point winning margin is still a franchise playoff record.
Countdown To Kickoff by day:
100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72, 71, 70, 69, 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, 57,56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45, 44, 43
