NFL Old School Game of the Week: Cowboys Overcome 21 Point 4th Quarter Deficit to Defeat Saints

Dallas quarterback Danny White would come off the bench to lead the Cowboys to a comeback win over the Saints in 1984.

As the New Orleans Saints traveled to the state of Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys in week 8 of the 1984 NFL season, both teams came into the game with questions at quarterback.

The Cowboys came into the 1984 season with a new starting quarterback as Gary Hogeboom took over for incumbent Danny White, despite the fact that White had led "America's Team" to four straight playoff appearances, including three consecutive trips to the NFC Championship Game from 1980-82, after taking over for the legendary Roger Staubach.

Hogeboom and the Cowboys got off to a 4-1 start only to lose their next two games as Hogeboom had thrown for zero touchdowns and four interceptions during the losing streak and had been replaced in both games by White.

Head Coach Tom Landry would give Hogeboom another chance as he would start the Cowboys' game against the Saints while White would serve as the backup quarterback to go along with his punting duties, a position White had held since his NFL career began back in 1976.

On the other side were the 3-4 New Orleans Saints who had their own quarterback controversy as former New York Jets quarterback Richard Todd had taken over the starting job from Ken Stabler, who had been the Saints' starting quarterback the year before in helping New Orleans accomplish its best season in team history with a 8-8 record.

Stabler had relived Todd because of poor play in the third game of the season, a 30-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, then alternated with Todd in the Saints' Week 7 game series by series during the first half of their 28-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

For the game against the Cowboys, head coach Bum Phillips would name Todd as the starter as the 39-yard Stabler would be the team's backup as New Orleans played Dallas in a rare Sunday Night game(Sunday Night games would not become a regular thing until 1987).

 The Cowboys got the ball to start the game as they would drive from their 29-yard-line to the Saints' 20-yard-line, thanks in large part to two passes from Hogeboom to Tony Hill for 34 yards, to set up a 37-yard field goal by Rafael Septien to give Dallas a 3-0 lead with 9:48 left in the first quarter.

Following an exchange of punts, the Saints would drive from their 31-yard-line to the Dallas' 30-yard-line until an holding penalty stalled the drive and led to a New Orleans punt that would go out of bounds at the Cowboys' one-yard-line.

The Saints defense would force a three-and-out to get the ball back in Dallas territory early in the second quarter when Todd beat a Cowboys blitz to fire a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyrone Young to give New Orleans a 7-3 lead just 61 seconds into the second quarter.

After another Cowboys punt, the Saints got the ball back at their 11-yard-line as four straight running plays picked up 14 yards to set up a 2nd & 7 situation when Todd was intercepted by Dallas free safety Michael Downs to give the Cowboys the ball at the New Orleans 29-yard-line.

A 13-yard pass from Hogeboom to Mike Renfro would help set up a 27-yard field goal by Septien that cut the Saints' lead to 7-6 with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter.

The Saints would begin their next possession at their 10-yard-line with Todd scrambling for 13 yards, followed by a 15-yard run by running back Earl Campbell to give New Orleans a 1st down at its 38-yard-line when fullback Hokie Gajan took a handoff from Todd around the left side and outran the Cowboys' defense for a 62-yard touchdown that increased the Saints lead to 14-6 with 2:54 left before halftime.

The Saints would force another Dallas punt before the end of the first half to get the ball back at their 17-yard-line when they went to the no-huddle offense to drive to the Cowboys' 31-yard-line as Campbell carried three times for 19 yards while Todd completed three of five passes for 32 yards on the drive which ended with a 49-yard field goal by Morten Andersen to push New Orleans' lead to 17-6 after the first 30 minutes of play.

Saints running back Earl Campbell would run for 67 yards on 12 carries.

The New Orleans offense would be given great field position to start the second half as Tyrone Anthony returned the opening kickoff 41 yards to the Saints 45-yard-line as they would drive 22 yards in six plays to set up a 50-yard field goal by Andersen to increase the lead to 20-6.

Things would go from bad to worse for the Cowboys on their ensuing possession when Hogeboom was picked off by Saints linebacker Dirt Winston, who returned it 43 yards for a pick-six, the third time a Hogeboom interception would be returned for a touchdown this season, which pushed New Orleans' lead to 27-6 with 9:21 left in the third quarter.

To add injury to insult, Hogeboom sprained his right wrist on the play, knocking him out of the game as White would take over at quarterback to add in to his punting duties.

White's insertion at quarterback did not provide a spark as the Cowboys would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Saints who would get the ball back at their 34-yard-line.

New Orleans would drive to the Dallas' 37-yard-line until reserve running back Wayne Wilson fumbled the football after a hit by Ed "Too Tall" Jones leading to a recovery by Downs at the Cowboys' 25-yard-line.

Dallas would hold the ball for the rest of the third quarter until they were forced to punt again to give the ball back to the Saints at their 38-yard-line.

The Cowboys would cut into the Saints' lead early in the fourth quarter when reserve running back Chuck McSwain blocked a New Orleans punt which Dallas would convert into a three-yard touchdown run by Dorsett that cut the Saints' lead to 27-13 with 13:21 to go in the fourth quarter.

Despite the setback, the Saints would get another great kickoff return by Anthony on the ensuing kickoff as his 64-yard return gave New Orleans the ball at the Dallas 29-yard-line.

But the Cowboys defense would allow only one yard on the next three plays to force the Saints to call on Andersen to attempt a 45-yard field goal, only for the kick to sail wide right and no good to keep the score at 27-13 in favor of New Orleans.

However, the Cowboys could not take advantage of the field goal miss as White would be picked off by Saints cornerback Dave Waymer to give New Orleans the ball at its 34-yard-line.

The Cowboys would force a New Orleans punt to give their offense the ball back at their 12-yard-line as Dallas would drive down the field on the right arm of White as he completed eight of 12 passes for 85 yards on the 13-play, 88-yard drive which ended with White throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Renfro to bring the Cowboys to within a touchdown at 27-20 with 3:59 to go in regulation.

When the Saints' offense came back onto the field, they came out with Stabler at quarterback as Todd could not continue because of a sprained knee.

A holding penalty would lead to a 3rd & 18 situation at the Saints' nine-yard-line when Stabler was sacked by Cowboys defensive tackle Randy White who knocked the ball loose which led to a recovery by defensive end Jim Jeffcoat in the end zone for a Dallas touchdown that with Septien's extra point tied the game at 27 with 2:53 left in regulation.

With their three touchdown lead having disappeared, the Saints would start their next possession at their 19-yard-line as Stabler would complete a 29-yard pass to wide receiver Jeff Groth to help put New Orleans at the Dallas 46-yard-line when Stable was picked off by Downs to give the Cowboys the ball at their 30-yard-line with 80 seconds left in regulation and a chance to drive for the game-winning score.

However, the Saints defense would sack White twice to force a three-and-out and give their offense the ball back at their 48-yard-line with 46 seconds to go as Stabler would throw two straight incomplete passes before throwing another interception as Cowboys cornerback Ron Fellows made the pick with 26 seconds left.

The Saints would force another three-and-out only to take a knee to run out the remaining time in regulation as the game would go into overtime tied at 27.

Rafael Septien is embraced by his teammates after his game-winning field goal.

The Cowboys would win the overtime coin toss and would take the ball as McSwain would return the overtime kickoff 24 yards to the Dallas 29-yard-line.

The Saints would the verge of another three-and-out as the first two plays gained zero yards to force a 3rd & 10 when White's pass intended for Hill fell incomplete but drew a 24-yard pass interference penalty on New Orleans cornerback Johnnie Poe to give the Cowboys a 1st down at the Saints' 47-yard-line.

From there, White would complete a 15-yard pass to Renfro as Dallas would drive to the New Orleans' 24-yard-line when Landry called on Septien to attempt the game-winning field goal from 41 yards out.

Septien's kick was true as it sailed through the uprights to complete the greatest comeback in Dallas Cowboys history as they had come back from 21 points to down to knock off the Saints 30-27 in overtime.

Five days after the collapse against the Cowboys, the Saints quarterback controversy would be resolved as Stabler announced his retirement from the league, leaving Todd as the New Orleans starting quarterback.

Todd would direct the Saints to a 7-9 record as the Saints would have to wait until 1987 to accomplish the first winning season in team history.

As for the Cowboys, their quarterback controversy would continue throughout the season as White and Hogeboom would alternate at quarterback until White regained the starting job for the final four games of the regular season, which included a 28-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins in the regular season finale which eliminated Dallas from competing in the NFL Playoffs for the first time since 1974.(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-marino.html).

White would be the starting quarterback for the 1985 season as he led the Cowboys back to the playoffs before playing three more seasons in Dallas until his retirement following the 1988 season.