It is Day 51 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.
Settle in and get ready for Day 51 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, when we revisit a non-playoff win that still captures exactly what the 1977 Cowboys were becoming. Dallas hosted the Detroit Lions in Week 7, entered the day unbeaten, and left with massive victory that pushed the Cowboys to 7-0. It was not a postseason classic or a rivalry drama game. It was simply a championship team taking care of business with total control.
Sunday, October 30, 1977 — 2:00 p.m. ET
Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 37, Detroit Lions 0
The first quarter was quiet, with Efren Herrera giving Dallas a 3-0 lead on a 21-yard field goal. Then the Cowboys broke the game open in the second quarter. Herrera added another field goal, Roger Staubach found Billy Joe DuPree for a 14-yard touchdown, then hit Scott Laidlaw for an 18-yard score. Another Herrera field goal made it 23-0 by halftime. Detroit had already been swallowed up by the moment.
Dallas kept control after the break. Staubach threw his third touchdown of the day, a one-yard pass to Jay Saldi, pushing the lead to 30-0 in the third quarter. In the fourth, Larry Brinson finished the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run. The Cowboys did not need anything dramatic. They scored through special teams, the passing game, the ground game, and a defense that never let Detroit breathe.
Staubach was extremely sharp and efficient, completing 16 of 25 passes for 179 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Tony Dorsett was not the dominant rushing force in this one, finishing with 48 yards on 13 carries, but he was heavily involved as a receiver with five catches for 48 yards. That versatility was part of what made Dallas so difficult to defend during his rookie season.
The defense was the real statement. Detroit finished with just 120 total yards, only seven first downs, and three turnovers. Joe Reed and Greg Landry combined for only 78 passing yards, and the Lions never found any rhythm. Mark Washington and Mike Hegman each had an interception for Dallas, while Detroit punted nine times. This was the Doomsday Defense doing what it did best, squeezing an opponent until the scoreboard told the story.
This game belongs on the countdown because it reflects the regular-season dominance of the 1977 Cowboys. That team finished 12-2, rolled through the NFC playoffs, and beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII. Games like this were the foundation of that run. Dallas did not merely beat Detroit, it made the Lions look completely overmatched. For a non-playoff game, that kind of shutout dominance from a championship team deserves its place on the countdown.
Interesting Facts About the Game
The 1977 Cowboys led the NFC in points scored and gave up only 212 points during the regular season. The shutout of Detroit was one of the clearest regular-season examples of how balanced that Super Bowl team was.
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
