NFL Old School Game of the Week: White Comes Off the Bench to Lead Cowboys to Playoff Win

Danny White came off the bench and completed 10 of 20 passes for 127 yards and threw a touchdown in leading the Cowboys to a comeback win over the Falcons in the 1978 playoffs.

When most NFL fans of the early 1980s think of Danny White vs the Atlanta Falcons, they think of White leading the Dallas Cowboys to a 4th quarter comeback win against the Falcons in the 1980 NFC Playoffs.
But that was White's second time he helped crushed the Falcons' dreams of a Super Bowl as he came off the bench to lead Dallas to win over Atlanta in the 1978 NFL Playoffs.
White had been selected by the Cowboys in the third round of the 1974 NFL Draft after a stellar career at Arizona State where he threw for 6,717 yards and 64 touchdown passes while leading the Sun Devils to a 33-4 record over three years and three straight Fiesta Bowl wins.
But with Roger Stabuach fully entrenched as the starting quarterback for the Cowboys, White knew the best chance he was going to get on the field was be the team's punter, which he also did during his time at Arizona State, averaging 41.7 yards per punt.
So, White decided to join the upstart World Football League where he signed with the Memphis Southmen, where he shared the starting quarterback duties with John Hurate until the league folded in the middle of the 1975 season.
After that, White decided to join the Cowboys in 1976 and head coach Tom Landry, where he served as Staubach's backup and the team's punter as "Captain Comeback" lead the Cowboys to the 1977 NFL championship with a 27-10 win over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.
White continued his role as the backup quarterback and punter in the 1978 season, though he got his first career start in the Cowboys' regular season finale against the New York Jets, which Dallas won to finish off the regular season 12-4 and NFC East Champions to earn Dallas their 12th trip to the playoffs in 13 years.
The Cowboys' opponent in the Divisional Playoff was a time making its first appearance in the NFL Playoffs as the Atlanta Falcons made the playoffs for the first time in team history, thanks to six wins by a touchdown or less, including their famous 20-17 win over the New Orleans Saints on a 57-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Bartkowski to Alfred Jackson on a "Hail Mary"(double-click to play).

The Falcons, under head coach Leeman Bennett, qualified as a Wild Card team with a 9-7 record and had to play the Philadelphia Eagles in the inaugural NFC Wild Card Game(The NFL had expanded to 10 playoff teams in 1978) where Bartkowski lead the Falcons back from a 13-0 deficit, to throw two touchdowns in the final five minutes to pull off the 14-13 win.
Despite the euphoria of their win over the Eagles, the Falcons' Cinderella run was excepted to end in Dallas as they entered their NFC Divisional Playoff game with the defending Super Bowl champions as two-touchdown underdogs.
The Cowboys received the opening kickoff and got the ball to start the game from their 27-yard-line where they drove to the Falcons' 16-yard-line in 11 plays, with the big play being a 39-yard pass from Staubach to Drew Pearson, which led to Rafael Septein kicking a 34-yard field goal for the first points of the game as Dallas took a 3-0 lead almost five minutes into the game.
The Falcons would take over at their 22-yard-line and were in Cowboys territory after just three plays as Bartkowski hit Billy Ryckman for a 22-yard pass that put the Falcons at the Dallas' 41-yard-line.
On 2nd-and-8 from the 39-yard-line, Ryckman got the Falcons another 15 yards as Cowboys free safety hit the Falcons receiver out-of-bounds, drawing a 15-yard personal foul penalty and a 1st down at the 24-yard-line.
Then on 3rd-and-10, Bartkowski found Wallace Francis for 10 yards and a 1st down, which was followed by a 14-yard touchdown run by running back Bubba Bean that give the Falcons a 7-3 lead with 6:25 left in the first quarter.
It looked like the Falcons defense had stopped the Cowboys offense and forced a punt when the Cowboys punting unit came out on 4th-and-10 at the Dallas 42-yard-line on the Cowboys' following possession.
But instead of kicking the ball back to Atlanta, White took the snap and ran 12 yards for a 1st down at the Falcons' 46-yard-line.
Following the fake punt, running back Scott Laidlaw picked up 21 yards on the next play from scrimmage to give Dallas a 1st down at the Falcons' 25-yard-line, which was followed three plays later by Laidlaw running for a 13-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys back on top 10-7 with 3:18 remaining in the opening period.
The Cowboys were set to get the ball back as they forced the Falcons to punt on their next possession, but Butch Johnson fumbled John James' punt, which was recovered by defensive back Tom Moriarty giving Atlanta the ball at the Dallas 24-yard-line as the first quarter came to a close.

Bubba Bean(44) was the Falcons' leading rusher as he ran for 72 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

However, the Doomsday Defense rose up and and did not allow a 1st down, forcing the Falcons to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Tim Mazzetti which tied the game at 10 on the third play of the second quarter.
It appeared the game was going to be a track meet as the Cowboys traveled 46 yards in nine plays to set up a 48-yard field goal by Septein to break the 10-10 tie and give Dallas a 13-10 lead with 10:34 to go before halftime.
The Falcons got to start their next drive in Cowboys territory as Dennis Pearson returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards to go along with a 15-yard late hit penalty on Septein that put Atlanta at the Cowboys 40-yard-line.
Three straight runs by Bean picked up nine yards setting up a 4th-and-1 at the 31-yard-line when Bennett decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.
The gamble paid off as running back George Franklin ran for four yards and a 1st down at the Cowboys' 27-yard-line.
Then two plays later, the Falcons were back in the end zone as Bartkowski found Francis for a 17-yard touchdown to give Atlanta a 17-13 lead with 4:26 left in the first half.
Things got worse for the Cowboys on the first play after the ensuing kickoff as Tony Dorsett fumbled the football, which was recovered by Falcons free safety Tom Pridemore at the Cowboys' 27-yard-line.
Five straight running plays, with Bean carrying the rock four times for 18 yards, gave Atlanta a 1st-and-goal at the Cowboys' seven-yard-line, with the Falcons poised to push their lead to double digits.
But once again, the "Doomsday" Defense rose up and kept the Falcons out of the end zone, forcing them to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Mazzetti to increase the Atlanta lead to 20-13 with 50 seconds left in the first half.
Even though there was little time on the clock, the Cowboys felt they had a chance to drive into at least field goal range and get three more points, especially with Staubach at the helm.
That is when Dallas' worst fear was realized when on 1st-and-10 from the Cowboys 26-yard-line, Staubach was leveled by Falcons linebacker Fulton Kuykendall, knocking "Captain Comeback" out of the game with a concussion and putting White in the game at quarterback for Dallas(double-click to play).

If there was any consultation for the hit, the Cowboys got 15 free yards as Kuykendall was called for roughing the passer to give Dallas a 1st down at their 41-yard-line.
Many figured now that Staubach was out that the Cowboys would run out the clock and regroup in the locker room during the halftime break.
But Landry showed his confidence in White by letting the former Sun Devil sling it as White hit  Pearson for 15 yards on his first pass and then tight end Billy Joe Dupree for nine more yards to give Dallas a 3rd-and-1 at the Falcons' 35-yard-line with 21 seconds left.
However, the Cowboys' chances for more points came to an end when White dropped the snap from center John Fitzgerald, which was recovered by Falcons linebacker Dewey McClain, stopping the threat and allowing for Atlanta to run out the clock and go into the locker room with a 20-13 halftime lead.
Even though they were only down a touchdown, things did not look good for the Cowboys as they were now without their starting quarterback for the rest of the game.
The situation did not improve for Dallas as the second half began when after forcing the Falcons offense to go three-and-out, White was intercepted on his first pass of the second half by Atlanta cornerback Rolland Lawrence on a deep pass intended for Pearson, giving the ball back to the Falcons at their 14-yard-line.

Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski struggled mightily as he completed only eight of 23 passes for 95 yards and threw three interceptions while also being sacked five times.

Once again, the Falcons offense went three-and-out, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Cowboys, who took over at their 46-yard-line.
That is when White got his game on track as he completed four of five passes for 49 yards on the Cowboys' seven-play, 54-yard drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown pass from White to tight end Jackie Smith that with Septein's extra point tied the game at 20 midway through the third quarter.
After an exchange of punts, the Cowboys got an excellent opportunity to retake the lead as cornerback Aaron Kyle intercepted a Bartkowski pass that was intended for Alfred Jackson, but was deflected by Harris and landed in the hands of Kyle who retruned the pick 15 yards to the Falcons' 40-yard-line.
A 20-yard-run by Dupree on an end-around to end the third quarter made the Cowboys' chances of going back on top seem inevitable.
But the Falcons' "Grits Blitz" defense did not permit another 1st down and forced Dallas to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Septein, which went wide right, keeping the game tied at 20 with over 14 minutes left in regulation.
Following Septein's miss, the Falcons could not move the ball as they went three-and-out again, forcing another punt, which was made worse when James shanked the kick off his foot, resulting in a 10-yard punt and Dallas taking over at the Falcons' 30-yard-line.
That is when White handed the ball off to Dorsett who ran for 10 yards then was hit late by the Falcons' middle linebacker Robert Pennywell, adding nine yards and giving Dallas a 1st down at the Atlanta 11-yard-line.
After the Cowboys were called for a false start backing them up five yards, White handed the ball off Laidlaw who picked up 14 yards to give Dallas a 1st-and-goal at the two-yard-line.
Laidlaw would get the ball three more times with the third carry being the charm as Laidlaw dove in for a one-yard touchdown to put the Cowboys back on top, 27-20 with 9:46 to go in the 4th quarter.
Both teams would go three-and-out on their next offensive possessions, giving the ball back to the Falcons at their nine-yard-line with 7:10 to play in regulation.
It looked like the "Doomsday" Defense had dealt a death blow to the Falcons as strong safety Charlie Waters picked off a Bartkowski, only to have the Cowboys get called for illegal contact on cornerback Benny Barnes, which not only negated the interception but also gave the Falcons their first 1st down of the second half.

Cowboys running back Scott Laidlaw outgained his teammate Tony Dorsett as Laidlaw ran for 66 yards and scored two touchdowns on 17 carries.

The reversal of fortune seemed to ignite the Falcons offense as Haskel Stanback picked up 15 yards on back-to-back carries, which were followed by a 20-yard pass from Bartkowski to Francis for a 1st down at the Falcons' 45-yard-line.
Stanback got the ball on the next play, running into Dallas territory, then after an incomplete pass, Mike Esposito ran for six yards and a 1st down at the Cowboys' 41-yard-line.
Bartkowski would throw incomplete passes on 1st and 2nd down, before connecting with Francis for nine yards on 3rd down, setting up a do-or-die 4th-and-1 at the Dallas' 32-yard-line.
But like they had all game, the Cowboys "Doomsday" defense rose to the occasion as Barnes dropped George Franklin for a one-yard loss, giving the ball back to Dallas with 3:09 left and a chance to run out the clock.
The Cowboys would get one 1st down as White hit Smith for a 18-yard gain to put the Cowboys at the Falcons' 46-yard-line, but Dallas could not pick another 1st down forcing White to punt the ball back to the Falcons, who took over at their 20-yard-line with 48 seconds left.
But the Falcons' chances of pulling off another miracle evaporated on 2nd down as Bartkowski was intercepted by Harris, allowing for White and the Cowboys offense to come on and run out the clock which they did, as Dallas came away with the 27-20 win and advance to the NFC Championship Game.
In the NFC Title Game, White returned to his regular role as punter as Staubach was healthy enough to lead the Cowboys to a 28-0 win over the Los Angeles Rams to advance to Super Bowl XIII, where Dallas' quest for back-to-back world championships came up four points short as they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-31.
Staubach would remain as the Dallas starting quarterback for one more year before retiring in the spring of 1980 and handing off the reins to White.
White would lead Dallas to a 11-5 record his first season and a Wild Card spot, defeating the Rams 34-13 in the NFC Wild Card Game, before traveling off to Atlanta to take on the NFC's #1 seed in the Falcons.
Once again, White lead the Cowboys to a comeback victory over the Falcons as Dallas overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the 4th quarter to as the Cowboys pulled off a 30-27 win as White threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Pearson with 47 seconds left in the game.
While White would be remembered for quarterbacking the Cowboys to three straight NFC Championship losses and not leading the Cowboys to the Super Bowl as a starter, he is one of the biggest tormentors in Atlanta Falcons history.