NFL Old School Game of the Week: Lions Complete Comeback Win over Cowboys With Choatic Walk-off FG

Eddie Murray kicks the game-winning field goal as time expired in the Lions' 1981 win over the Cowboys.

Anytime a NFL team defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the late 1970s + early 1980s, it was a big deal for that team as they had defeated what NFL Films had bestowed as "America's Team".
That was the case for the Detroit Lions in week 11 of the 1981 NFL season as they pulled off a wild but controversial victory against the Cowboys.
The Lions entered the Dallas game with a 4-6 record, having gone 4-0 at home at the Pontiac Silverdome while losing all six of their games on the road.
The Lions were coached by Monte Clark, who was in his 4th season as the Lions' head coach and was hoping to lead the Lions to the playoffs for the first time since 1970 after just barely missing the postseason in 1980 with a 9-7 record.
The Lions had found a bonafide superstar in running back Billy Sims, who had been the 1980 NFL offensive rookie of the year with his over 1,900 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns as he rushed for 1,303 yards and caught 52 passes for 621 yards.
Though the first 10 games of the '81 season, Sims had rushed for 887 yards and scored nine touchdowns despite missing two games to injury.
It was during Sims' two-game absence that another star had been born in Detroit in the form of second-year quarterback Eric Hipple, who after starting quarterback Gary Danielson had been lost for the season because of a dislocated wrist, replaced backup quarterback Jeff Komlo and got his first career NFL start on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears in week 7.
All Hipple did was threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns and ran for two more in a 48-17 rout of the Bears to be named the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
With Sims back and Hipple behind center, the Lions desperately needed a win over the Cowboys to maintain any chances of making the playoffs.
Dallas entered the game with a 8-2 record fighting for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs as it seemed they always did under head coach Tom Landry, who was in his 22nd season as head coach.
However, it was only the second year of the Danny White era, as White had taken over the starting quarterback job from Roger Staubach who had retired after the 1979 season.
But with weapons like running back Tony Dorsett, wide receivers Drew Pearson and Tony Hill, plus the famous "Doomsday Defense", the Cowboys were still a fixture among the top of the NFC as they had just missed out on another Super Bowl appearance as they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-7 in the 1980 NFC Title Game.
So when the Cowboys came out to face the Lions, nearly 80,000 fans pack the Pontiac Silverdome to see if their beloved Lions could beat "America's Team.
The Cowboys would get the first great scoring opportunity of the game when Sims fumbled the ball after a hit by Dallas linebacker Bob Breuing during Detroit's opening drive of the game.
Cowboys defensive back Benny Barnes would recover the fumble at the Lions' 39-yard-line which the Cowboys would convert into points as White found Pearson wide open in the right corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to give Dallas a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Lions would respond with a drive from their 28-yard-line to the Cowboys' four-yard-line, which included a fake punt on 4th down as punter Tom Skladany threw a 19-yard pass to linebacker Garry Cobb to keep the drive alive.
However, the Lions would not get into the end zone as Sims dropped a pitch from Hipple which was recovered Cowboys defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones to kill the Lions' drive and keep it a 7-0 game.
The score remained 7-0 until the second quarter when the Cowboys drove 37 yards in six plays to set up Rafael Septien's 43-yard field goal which increased the Dallas lead to 10-0 with 9:33 left in the second quarter.
The Dallas pass rush was getting to Hipple as he had been sacked twice on the Lions' drive before the Septien field goal, then was sacked two more times on their ensuing possession, to force a Detroit punt, giving the ball back to the Cowboys who took over at their 38-yard-line.
From there, White would hit Pearson for 17 yards to the Lions' 45-yard-line, then hand it off to Dorsett who ran for 13 yards, then completed a 19-yard pass to Tony Hill to give Dallas a 1st & 10 at the Lions' 13-yard-line.
On 2nd & 9, White would find Pearson for a 12-yard touchdown to increase the Cowboys' lead to 17-0 with 4:30 left in the first half.

Cowboys quarterback Danny White(11)would throw for 244 yards and three touchdowns.

It looked like the Cowboys were going to have a chance to increase their lead before halftime as two more negative plays by the Lions' offense on their next possession set up a 3rd & 19 situation from their 10-yard-line.
That is when Hipple threw over the middle and found tight end David Hill for 30 yards and a huge 1st down at the Dallas' 40-yard-line to keep the drive going.
The Lions would continue to drive toward the end zone as Mark Nichols ran for 30 yards on a double reverse, leading to a three-yard touchdown run by Sims to cut the Cowboys' lead to 17-7 with just 15 seconds left before halftime.
That would be the score as the two teams went into the locker room for the halftime break with the Lions feeling a little bit better thanks to their late touchdown and the fact that they were getting the ball to start the second half.
The Lions would drive deep into Cowboys territory until Hipple was hit as he threw by Jones, leading to an interception by Breuing at the Dallas 28-yard-line.
However, the Cowboys would give the ball right back to the Lions as defensive end Al Baker intercepted a White pass intended for Dorsett and returned it nine yards to the Cowboys' 22-yard-line.
Four plays later, the Lions were back in the end zone as Hipple connected with Nichols for a six-yard touchdown to make it a three-point game at 17-14 midway through the third quarter.
The Detroit defense would get another interception on the Cowboys' next possession, with Cobb making the pick this time and returning it 17 yards to the Dallas 41-yard-line.
The Lions would drive only to the Cowboys' 20-yard-line before calling on Murray to kick a 37-yard field goal which he made to tie the game at 17 with 2:48 left in the third quarter.
Following the Murray field goal, the game would turn into a punting contest as neither team could mount a serious scoring threat for the rest of the third quarter and a good portion of the 4th quarter.
It wasn't until about eight minutes to go in the 4th quarter when the Lions had the ball in Cowboys territory with a 3rd down situation as Hipple found Sims wide open for a possible go-ahead touchdown, only to have Sims drop the pass and force a Detroit punt.
The Cowboys took over at their 20-yard-line and were immediately on the move as White found Tony Hill for 21 yards on the first play of the drive.
Later in the drive, White and Hill would connect again, this time for 37 yards on a 3rd & 18, leading to White's 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Saldi to give Dallas a 24-17 lead with just 2:37 remaining.

The Lions would get the ball at their 19-yard-line hoping to put together a drive that would result in the game-tying touchdown.
The Lions would not need a drive as it took them only one play to get into the end zone as Hipple lofted a pass for Sims, who made the catch at the Cowboys' 40-yard-line and proceeded to run toward the end zone for a 81-yard touchdown that with Murray's extra point tied the game at 24 with 2:17 left in regulation.

Billy Sims(20) would account for exactly 200 yards of total offense as he ran for 119 yards on 23 carries and caught a 81-yard pass.

The Cowboys would go three-and-out punting the ball back to the Lions who took over at their 18-yard-line with 1:13 to go and a chance to drive into field goal range for Murray to kick a potential game-winning field goal.
Hipple would connect with David Hill for 15 yards, then again for 30 yards to put the Lions at the Dallas' 37-yard-line, needing one more 1st down to give Murray a reasonable shot.
That is when Jones and Harvey Martin sacked Hipple for an 11-yard-loss forcing the Lions to burn their last timeout with 25 seconds left and facing 2nd & 21 from the Cowboys' 48-yard-line.
On 2nd & 21, Hipple would find tight end Ulysses Norris for an 18-yard completion to put the Lions at the Cowboys' 30-yard-line needing three more yards for a 1st down.
It looked like Hipple was lining up the offense so he could throw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock but in massive confusion, Clark decided to send in the field goal unit.
Even Murray was confused as he was still sitting on the bench as Hipple was trying to line up the offense because he thought the Lions still had a timeout left.
Murray was able to run on the field and the Lions were able to set their field goal unit for a 47-yard attempt with Hipple holding the ball for Murray.
The Lions got snapped the ball with four seconds left, enough time for Hipple to catch the snap and hold for it Murray to kick the football.
Murray's kick was on target but it looked like it may fall short, only to just to go over the crossbar as time expired to give the Lions a 27-24 win.
While the Lions were celebrating, the Cowboys were crying foul as they claimed the Lions had too many men on field.
The Cowboys were right as replays showed that the Lions had 12 men on the field, meaning the field goal shouldn't have count and the game would have gone into overtime.
But with no instant replay in the NFL in 1981, the call on the field stood and the Lions had a 27-24 win.

Despite the controversy surrounding the last-second field goal, the result of the game ultimately did not effect the playoff picture as Dallas finished the regular season with a 12-4 record, good enough to win the NFC East Division by two games over the Philadelphia Eagles and good enough to earn the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Cowboys would dismantled the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-0 in the Divisional Round before bowing out to the San Francisco 49ers thanks to "The Catch" as they lost 28-27 in the NFC Championship Game.
For the Lions, the win over the Cowboys would be the highlight of the season as they would finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs as they lost a winner-take-all game against the Bucs for the NFC Central title in the final game of the regular season.