It is Day 47 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.
It’s Day 47 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff when we revisit an early-season NFC East road win from a Cowboys team trying to defend its first Super Bowl title. Dallas went to Yankee Stadium in Week 2 of the 1972 season and faced the New York Giants. In a 14-game season, division wins carried extra weight, and this one mattered because New York would go on to finish 8-6 and stay in the playoff conversation late into the year.
Sunday, September 24, 1972 — 1:00 p.m. ET
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 23, New York Giants 14
Walt Garrison opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter, giving Dallas a 7-0 lead. Toni Fritsch then drilled a 54-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 10-0, a huge kick in an era when long field goals were far less routine than they are today.
New York answered before halftime when Norm Snead hit Rich Houston for a 55-yard touchdown, cutting Dallas’ lead to 10-7. That made the second half less comfortable than the Cowboys would have wanted, but it also turned the game into the kind of road test championship-caliber teams have to pass. Dallas was not blowing the Giants away, it was having to manage the game, protect the ball, and find enough offense to keep the lead.
Fritsch added another field goal in the third quarter, this one from 13 yards, then made an eight-yard field goal in the fourth to push Dallas ahead 16-7. The Giants still had one big punch left. Snead and Houston connected again, this time on a massive 94-yard touchdown, suddenly trimming the Cowboys’ lead to 16-14 and putting real pressure on Dallas late.
That is where the Cowboys answered like a veteran team. Craig Morton led the response, and Lance Alworth finished it with a three-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. That score pushed Dallas back ahead by nine, and the Cowboys closed out the 23-14 win. It was not flashy, but it was efficient, composed, and exactly the kind of road division victory that helps shape a playoff season.
This game belongs on the countdown because it reflects the 1972 Cowboys perfectly. They were no longer the dominant 1971 championship version, especially with Roger Staubach injured before the season, but they were still tough, resourceful, and dangerous. Dallas would finish 10-4, take the NFC wild card, beat San Francisco in a famous divisional comeback, and then fall to Washington in the NFC Championship Game. This win over the Giants was one of the early building blocks in that run.
Interesting Facts About the Game
The division race stayed meaningful all year. Washington won the NFC East at 11-3, Dallas finished second at 10-4, and the Giants finished third at 8-6.
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
