It is Day 32 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.
Here it is, Day 32 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, and we revisit a playoff victory that tested the Cowboys’ experience, depth and ability to overcome mistakes. Dallas committed four turnovers and lost Roger Staubach to an injury before halftime, but Danny White steadied the offense and the defense shut out Atlanta in the second half to secure a divisional-round win.
Saturday, December 30, 1978 — 4:00 p.m. ET
Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 27, Atlanta Falcons 20
The defending Super Bowl champions finished 12-4 and won the NFC East entering the postseason. Atlanta had gone 9-7 before defeating Philadelphia in the first Wild Card round introduced under the NFL’s expanded playoff format. Despite not being expected to eliminate Dallas, the Falcons’ aggressive defense and physical running game quickly made the afternoon uncomfortable.
Rafael Septién opened the scoring with a 34-yard field goal, followed by Bubba Bean’s 14-yard touchdown run to put Atlanta ahead. Dallas responded with a creative drive, featuring White gaining 12 yards on a fake punt and Scott Laidlaw breaking a 21-yard run. Laidlaw then completed the possession with a 13-yard touchdown, giving the Cowboys a 10-7 lead.
Atlanta dominated the second quarter, thanks in part to a muffed Dallas punt that set up Tim Mazzetti’s tying field goal. However, Septién restored the Cowboys’ advantage from 48 yards. Despite this, the Falcons scored 10 unanswered points, including a Steve Bartkowski touchdown pass to Wallace Francis and another Mazzetti field goal. Dallas’s troubles continued, with three fumbles by halftime and Staubach being knocked out of the game after a heavy hit from linebacker Robert Pennywell. As a result, Atlanta entered the break leading 20-13.
White’s big moment in relief nearly turned into a nightmare when an interception handed Dallas their fourth turnover of the day. But the veteran Cowboys defense refused to break, slamming the door on Atlanta and forcing a punt. Blessed with great field position, White got his shot at redemption, and he didn’t waste it. He fired a 24-yard strike to Billy Joe DuPree, sliced off another 15 yards to Scott Laidlaw, and capped off the march by finding Jackie Smith in the end zone for a two-yard touchdown. Just like that, we had a brand new ballgame tied at 20.
The Cowboys’ defense then chose the exact right moment to suffocate the Falcons. Aaron Kyle came up with a massive interception on a tipped Bartkowski pass, and a 20-yard end-around by DuPree put Dallas in business. They came up empty on that drive, but the pressure was clearly getting to Atlanta, whose next short punt handed Dallas the ball on the Falcons’ 30-yard line. With victory in sight, Scott Laidlaw pounded the rock, scoring his second touchdown of the game from one yard out to push Dallas ahead 27-20.
Despite having opportunities to respond, the Falcons were unable to overcome the Cowboys. Late in the fourth quarter, they reached Dallas territory, but the Cowboys stopped them on fourth-and-one. With only 59 seconds remaining, Atlanta received one final possession, but Cliff Harris intercepted Bartkowski, ending the comeback attempt.
This game belongs on the countdown because Dallas found a way to advance despite almost everything going wrong before halftime. The Cowboys lost their starting quarterback, repeatedly gave Atlanta short fields and committed four turnovers, but their veteran defense refused to allow another point. White then provided enough composure off the bench to complete the comeback.
Interesting Facts About the Game
This was the first postseason meeting between the Cowboys and Falcons, and they would meet one more time in 1980. Since then the two teams have never played each other in the playoffs.
Countdown to kickoff
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, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33
