Sunday, September 4th, 1988 1:00PM
Dallas Cowboys (0-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0)
Three Rivers Stadium
Weather: 69 degrees, relative humidity 87%, wind 12 mph
Line: Pittsburgh -3 (dallas), O/U 41 (over)
Attendance: 56,813 (59,000)
Dallas 49, Pittsburgh 20
Steve Pelluer throws for 6 touchdowns in Cowboys' opening day rout of Pittsburgh
Hearts were heavy in Three Rivers Stadium as the Steelers remembered the passing of their Hall of Fame owner Art Rooney, who passed away just 2 weeks ago at the age of 87. In memorium, the Steelers will wear a patch bearing his initials all season
Mike Webster donning the "AJR" patch
This was an afternoon to forget for the Steelers though from the opening gun. They were thoroughly dominated by the Tom Landry-led Dallas Cowboys, falling down to an impossible 28-0 lead in the 1st quarter, and allowing 42 points before halftime. Dallas scored touchdowns on 6 of its first 7 possessions, broken up by a Steve Pelluer interception returned 74 yards for a touchdown by Dwayne Woodruff. This coming just 2:12 after a 69 yard touchdown from Bubby Brister (11-24 (1 td) 89.8 rtg) to Louis Lipps which seemed to bring life to the Steelers and the home fans, cutting the lead in half to 28-14 early in the 2nd quarter. The Cowboys went to work to extinguish the Steelers' flame by virtue of Steve Pelluer connecting with Kelvin Martin and Herschel Walker for the 2nd time each. Harry Newsome, the punter for Pittsburgh had 2 punts blocked in the 1st half, providing the hot hand of Steve Pelluer a short field.
Steve Pelluer had a career game, completing 23 of 28 passes for 259 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 2 Interceptions for a QB rating of 115. 19 Of his passes went to move the chains for 1st downs. The Dallas offense amassed 497 yards of offense in the blowout. They ended up on cruise control most of the 2nd half and the final result was 49-20. Controlling the ball, they relied on Herschel Walker who on 32 carries had 196 yards. He also added 4 catches for 34 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Michael Irvin, Dallas' #11 overall pick in the 1988 draft caught his 1st career reception and 1st TD reception with 8:49 left in the game.
Player of the game:
Herschel Walker - Cowboys
Walker held together the offense with 230 all purpose yards, 196 on the ground and 2 touchdowns receiving.
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
OT
|
Total
| |
| 1988 Dallas |
28
|
14
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
49
|
| 1988 Pittsburgh |
0
|
17
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
20
|
| Scoring Plays | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qtr | Clock | Poss | Scoring Description(Extra Point) | Score | ||
| 1 | 13:20 | 1988 Dallas | R.Alexander 25 yd. pass from S.Pelluer (R.Ruzek kick) | 7-0 DAN | ||
| 1 | 8:25 | 1988 Dallas | H.Walker 11 yd. pass from S.Pelluer (R.Ruzek kick) | 14-0 DAN | ||
| 1 | 4:56 | 1988 Dallas | T.Newsome 1 yd. run (R.Ruzek kick) | 21-0 DAN | ||
| 1 | 0:07 | 1988 Dallas | K.Martin 5 yd. pass from S.Pelluer (R.Ruzek kick) | 28-0 DAN | ||
| 2 | 13:58 | 1988 Pittsburgh | L.Lipps 69 yd. pass from B.Brister (G.Anderson kick) | 28-7 DAN | ||
| 2 | 10:38 | 1988 Pittsburgh | D.Woodruff 74 yd. intercept (G.Anderson kick) | 28-14 DAN | ||
| 2 | 4:35 | 1988 Dallas | H.Walker 2 yd. pass from S.Pelluer (R.Ruzek kick) | 35-14 DAN | ||
| 2 | 2:24 | 1988 Dallas | K.Martin 23 yd. pass from S.Pelluer (R.Ruzek kick) | 42-14 DAN | ||
| 2 | 0:30 | 1988 Pittsburgh | G.Anderson 20 yd. field goal | 42-17 DAN | ||
| 4 | 8:49 | 1988 Dallas | M.Irvin 14 yd. pass from S.Pelluer (R.Ruzek kick) | 49-17 DAN | ||
| 4 | 4:35 | 1988 Pittsburgh | G.Anderson 34 yd. field goal | 49-20 DAN | ||
Team Statistics
| ||
| 1988 Dallas | 1988 Pittsburgh | |
| First Downs by Rush-Pass-Pen-Total | 12-19-1-32 | 4-6-2-12 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 7-11-64% | 4-14-29% |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 1-1-100% | 0-1-0% |
| Red Zone Efficiency (pts-poss-pct) | 35-42-83% | 6-21-29% |
| Total Offense-Plays-Avg Yards Per Play | 497-71-7.0 | 244-55-4.4 |
| Total Net Yards Rushing | 223 | 67 |
| Total Rushes | 41 | 23 |
| Average Per Rush | 5.4 | 2.9 |
| Passes Completed/Attempted | 25/30 (83.3%) | 11/28 (39.3%) |
| Net Yards Passing | 274 | 177 |
| Avg Yards Per Pass | 9.1 | 7.3 |
| Sacked/Yards Lost | 0/0 | 4/28 |
| Punts/Average | 2/45.0 | 6/32.3 |
| Punts Received/Return Yardage | 2/12 | 1/-1 |
| Kickoffs/Returns | 3/76 | 7/144 |
| Interceptions/Returns | 0/0 | 2/103 |
| Penalties/Yards | 4/26 | 5/35 |
| Total Fumbles/Fumbles Lost | 1/1 | 3/2 |
| Time of Possession | 34 mins 53 secs | 25 mins 7 secs |
| Average Drive Start | DAN 37 | PIA 27 |
Passing Stats
| ||||||||||||
| Att | Comp | Yds | Comp % | Yds/Att | TD | TD % | INT | INT % | Long | Sack | Rating | |
| Steve Pelluer | 28 | 23 | 259 | 82.1 | 9.3 | 6 | 21.4 | 2 | 7.1 | 25 | 0/0 | 115.0 |
| Kevin Sweeney | 2 | 2 | 15 | 100.0 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0/0 | 97.9 |
| Bubby Brister | 24 | 11 | 205 | 45.8 | 8.5 | 1 | 4.2 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 2/13 | 89.8 |
| Steve Bono | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/15 | 39.6 |
Rushing Stats
| |||||||||||
| No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | 2 Pt Conv | Fumbles/Lost | |||||
| Herschel Walker | 32 | 196 | 6.1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Darryl Clack | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Steve Pelluer | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Timmy Newsome | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Merril Hoge | 12 | 39 | 3.3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Earnest Jackson | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Rodney Carter | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Dwight Stone | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Bubby Brister | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | ||||
| Warren Williams | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
| Frank Pollard | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | ||||
Receiving Stats
| |||||||||||
| No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | 2 Pt Conv | ||||||
| Kelvin Martin | 7 | 81 | 11.6 | 23 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Ray Alexander | 5 | 64 | 12.8 | 25 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Herschel Walker | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Timmy Newsome | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Steve Folsom | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Darryl Clack | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Michael Irvin | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Thornton Chandler | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Louis Lipps | 4 | 127 | 31.8 | 69 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Warren Williams | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Rodney Carter | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Earnest Jackson | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Weegie Thompson | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Merril Hoge | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Field Goals
| |||||||||||
| 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ | Totals | % Made | |||||
| Gary Anderson | 0/0 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 100 | ||||
Punting
| |||||||||||
| No | Avg | Net | Tb | Inside 20 | Long | Blocked | |||||
| Mike Saxon | 2 | 45.0 | 45.5 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 0 | ||||
| Harry Newsome | 4 | 48.5 | 45.5 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 2 | ||||
Kickoff Returns
| |||||||||||
| No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | |||||||
| Cornell Burbage | 2 | 47 | 23.5 | 29 | 0 | ||||||
| Darryl Clack | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 29 | 0 | ||||||
| Rod Woodson | 7 | 144 | 20.6 | 22 | 0 | ||||||
Punt Returns
| |||||||||||
| Ret | FC | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | ||||||
| Kelvin Martin | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6.0 | 12 | 0 | |||||
| Rod Woodson | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1.0 | -1 | 0 | |||||
Individual Defense
| |||||||||||
| Tackles | Sacks | Fum Rec | |||||||||
| Eugene Lockhart | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Ed "Too Tall" Jones | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Garry Cobb | 5 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| Ron L. Burton | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Manny Hendrix | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Jim Jeffcoat | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| Everson Walls | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Robert Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Danny Noonan | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| Bill Bates | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Michael Downs | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Kevin Brooks | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Timmy Newsome | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Bryan Hinkle | 10 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Cornell Gowdy | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| David Little | 8 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Dwayne Woodruff | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Thomas Everett | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Greg Lloyd | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Tim A. Johnson | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Gerald Williams | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Hardy Nickerson | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Aaron Jones | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Rod Woodson | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Weegie Thompson | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Dermontti Dawson | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
Interceptions
| |||||||||||
| No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | |||||||
| Dwayne Woodruff | 1 | 74 | 74.0 | 74 | 1 | ||||||
| Hardy Nickerson | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 29 | 0 | ||||||
Game Story
| |||||
| Steve Pelluer completely dominated the action as the visitors from Dallas destroyed Pittsburgh by the score of 49 to 20. Pelluer connected for 259 yards and lit up the scoreboard for 6 touchdowns. Herschel Walker rushed the ball 32 times for 196 yards. Dallas consistently beat Pittsburgh on third down, converting on 7 of 11 opportunities. They controlled the action both on the ground and in the air. They out-ran Pittsburgh 223 to 67 yards, and out-passed them 274 to 205 yards. Dallas had the advantage in time of possession, having the ball for 34:53. Dallas got out to an early lead outscoring Pittsburgh 28 to 0 in the first quarter. They were on top at the half 42 to 17. A bright spot for Pittsburgh was a touchdown pass to Louis Lipps that went for 69 yards with 13:58 left in the 2nd quarter. But in the end that fine effort was wasted.. | |||||
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