| Team: | Dallas Cowboys |
| Year: | 1988 |
| Record: | 3–13 |
| Division Place: | 5th NFC East |
| Coach: | Tom Landry |
| General Manager: | Tex Schramm |
| Owner: | Bum Bright |
| Stadium: | Texas Stadium |
| Radio: | KRLD–AM 1080 |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | RB Herschel Walker |
| Shortnavlink: | Cowboys seasons |
The Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their 7–8 record from 1987, finishing at 3–13 and missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season. The 3–13 record in the 1988 season was the Cowboys' second worst season to that point in team history, surpassed only by its winless inaugural season in 1960.
The 1988 season was the final year for head coach Tom Landry, general manager Tex Schramm, and owner Bum Bright. It also featured the rookie season debut of Michael Irvin, one of the franchise's most accomplished players and a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.
See main article: 1988 NFL draft.
| Jean Austin | Cornerback | Rutgers | |
| Sanjay Beach | Wide receiver | Colorado State | |
| Kenny Blacknell | Linebacker | Appalachian State | |
| Rodney Branch | Cornerback | Grambling State | |
| Alvin Briggs | Safety | Auburn | |
| Chase Brown | Wide receiver | Idaho State | |
| Craig Burnett | Quarterback | Wyoming | |
| David Caylor | Kicker | Long Beach State | |
| Curtis Chappell | Wide receiver | Howard | |
| Matt Clark | Wide receiver | Baylor | |
| Ray Coleman | Defensive line | Florida A&M | |
| Jason Cooper | Tight end | Duke | |
| James Crawford | Running back | Eastern Kentucky | |
| Kent Dean | Tight end | Kansas State | |
| David Demore | Linebacker | Duke | |
| David DenBraber | Quarterback | Ferris State | |
| Bob Driscoll | Tight end | Northwestern | |
| Tommy Duhart | Defensive tackle | Southeastern Oklahoma State | |
| Jerry Dunlap | Defensive back | Youngstown State | |
| Todd Friewald | Defensive end | VMI | |
| John Garrett | Wide receiver | Princeton | |
| Al Huge | Defensive tackle | Hillsdale | |
| John Kropke | Defensive tackle | Illinois State | |
| Jim Malosky | Quarterback | Minnesota Duluth | |
| Stanley Monk | Running back | Duke | |
| Kelly Ryan | Quarterback | Yale | |
| Dewayne Terry | Safety | Duke | |
| Sean Washington | Cornerback | Rutgers |
The 1988 season was the last of the Tom Landry era. After the 1988 season, the team would undergo drastic changes including a new head coach, and change of ownership from Bum Bright to current owner Jerry Jones.
Notable additions to the team in 1988 included wide receiver Michael Irvin and linebacker Ken Norton Jr. Defensive tackle Chad Hennings was also drafted in 1988 but, due to his obligations to the U.S. Air Force, he would not join the team until 1992.
The 1988 season was the first time since 1976 that future hall-of-fame running back Tony Dorsett was not on the Dallas roster. Dorsett had been relegated to a backup role to Herschel Walker for most of 1987 and was traded to the Denver Broncos during the offseason.
The 1988 season faced hardship from the release of the schedule. In 1987, Dallas had finished at 7–8, in a 3-way tie for second place in the NFC East and tiebreaking rules gave Dallas the “second place position”, even though Dallas finished fifth (last) in the NFC East in 1987 in “union games” (i.e. a strong replacement team had inflated the Boys’ ‘87 record). As a result, their 1988 schedule was primarily against teams that were strong in (and also in 1988).
Steve Pelluer had won the starting quarterback job from veteran Danny White late in the 1987 season and won the job in training camp for 1988. Early in the season, White appeared briefly in relief roles before suffering a season-ending injury in week 7, which elevated Kevin Sweeney to the backup position. Sweeney briefly took over the starting job for Pelluer in weeks 11 and 12, but the results were poor and Pelluer regained the job.
In the season opener, Dallas lost to Pittsburgh, 24–21. The Cowboys had the ball inside the Pittsburgh 10 in the game's closing seconds in position to tie or win the game, but Pelluer was intercepted. After a close win over Phoenix in week two, Dallas lost to the New York Giants, 12–10 (the margin of defeat being a strange safety on the opening kickoff). A last-second goal line stand brought victory over Atlanta in week four but the following week, the Cowboys lost to New Orleans on a last-second Morten Andersen field goal. Two convincing losses followed and at 2–5, the season was in jeopardy.
In week 8, Dallas traveled to Philadelphia. Bad blood still existed from 1987, when Philadelphia coach Buddy Ryan, in the game's closing seconds, called a deep pass play when the Eagles were already leading the game by 10 points. The Cowboys roared to a 20–0 lead in the first half, but the Eagles came back to win 24–23 by scoring a touchdown on the game's final play. The next week, Dallas blew a 10–0 second-half lead to lose to the Phoenix Cardinals and fell to 2–7. The losing streak extended to 10 games before Dallas upset the defending Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins in week 15 in RFK Stadium, which eliminated the Redskins from 1988 playoff contention. The Redskins win marked the end of an era (and Landry's last win) but was also a harbinger as rookie (and future hall-of-fame) wide receiver Irvin caught three touchdown passes. The team lost the next week at Texas Stadium to the Philadelphia Eagles to finish the season 3–13, the worst record in the entire NFL and the team's worst record since 1960, the Cowboys' first season as an expansion team. A bright spot for the season was Walker, who led the NFC in rushing yards.
In addition to Landry, this was also the final season for long-time Cowboys such as president-general manager Tex Schramm, personnel director Gil Brandt, defensive tackle Randy White, quarterback Danny White, linebacker Mike Hegman, and defensive coordinator Ernie Stautner.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 21–24 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 56,813 | Recap | |
| 2 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 17–14 | 1–1 | Sun Devil Stadium | 67,139 | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 18 | New York Giants | L 10–12 | 1–2 | Texas Stadium | 55,325 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 25 | Atlanta Falcons | W 26–20 | 2–2 | Texas Stadium | 39,702 | Recap | |
| 5 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–20 | 2–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,474 | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 9 | Washington Redskins | L 17–35 | 2–4 | Texas Stadium | 63,325 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 16 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–17 | 2–5 | Soldier Field | 64,759 | Recap | |
| 8 | October 23 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–24 | 2–6 | Veterans Stadium | 66,309 | Recap | |
| 9 | October 30 | Phoenix Cardinals | L 10–16 | 2–7 | Texas Stadium | 42,196 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 6 | at New York Giants | L 21–29 | 2–8 | Giants Stadium | 75,826 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 13 | Minnesota Vikings | L 3–43 | 2–9 | Texas Stadium | 57,830 | Recap | |
| 12 | November 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–38 | 2–10 | Texas Stadium | 37,865 | Recap | |
| 13 | November 24 | Houston Oilers | L 17–25 | 2–11 | Texas Stadium | 50,845 | Recap | |
| 14 | December 4 | at Cleveland Browns | L 21–24 | 2–12 | Cleveland Stadium | 77,683 | Recap | |
| 15 | December 11 | at Washington Redskins | W 24–17 | 3–12 | RFK Stadium | 51,526 | Recap | |
| 16 | December 18 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–23 | 3–13 | Texas Stadium | 46,131 | Recap |