On This Date in Sports November 12,1979: Monday Night Eagles
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Philadelphia Eagles stun the Dallas Cowboys 31-21 in a Monday Night game at Texas Stadium. The win ends a nine-game losing streak against the Cowboys for the Eagles. It was also their first win in Dallas since 1965. The game swung in Philadelphia’s favor late in the second quarter, when they scored ten points in 46 seconds, including a 59-yard field goal by Tony Franklin.
Heading into their Monday Night matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles coached by Dick Vermeil were reeling. Sitting at 6-4, they had a three-game losing streak after winning six of the first seven games. The Cowboys again were leading the NFC East at 8-2, as Tom Landry’s team sought a third-straight trip to the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys got off to a fast start as Tony Hill caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach, one minute into the game. The Eagles, though, recovered and tied the game when Ron Jaworski connected with Harold Carmichael on a 32-yard scoring play.
The game would get physical in the second quarter as both quarterbacks were shaken up. Just before the end of the first half, the Eagles took the lead as Charlie Smith caught a 29-yard pass from John Walton, with Jaworski getting his wrist checked after a sack by Harvey Martin. Staubach was also shaken up, but his backup did not do as well as Danny White was picked off by Randy Logan, setting up a 59-yard field goal by the Eagles barefooted kicker Tony Franklin to build a 17-7 lead at the half.
Both Ron Jaworski and Roger Staubach returned to the game in the second half, as the Eagles extended their lead with Jaws connected with Carmichael for the second time in the game from 13-yards. Down 24-7 in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys used the big play to get back in the game, as Staubach connected Tony Hill on a 75-yard touchdown play with 5:56 left in the game. Time began running out on Dallas, as they clawed to within a field with 1:19 left as Roger Staubach connected with Billy Joe DuPree on a five-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles would recover the on-side kick and salted the game away with a 37-yard touchdown run by Wilbert Montgomery.
The win over Dallas would catapult the Eagles on to a four-game winning streak, while the Cowboys lost three straight games. The teams would meet again in Week 15, with the NFC East on the line. This time the Cowboys won the game 24-17 as both sides finished 11-5, with Dallas winning the division by a tiebreaker. Both teams faltered in the playoffs losing in the Division Round.