With the Cowboys struggling at 4-4 after eight games in 1987, Tom Landry all but gave up on the idea of having Herschel Walker and Tony Dorsett share the load. In game 9, Dorsett carried the ball just one time before leaving the game with an injury. In the three games that followed Dorsett carried the ball a total of 22 times. He had scored just once all year, and that came when he crossed the picket line during the strike. He never scored a touchdown with the Cowboys again.

Herschel Walker became the focal point of the Dallas offense in the second half of the 1987 season. Meanwhile, Tom Landry fell under fire.

Game 9: Dallas 23, New England 17

Walker gave the Cowboys hope when he carried the ball 28 times for 173 yard in a 23-17 overtime win at New England.

The Cowboys were 5-4, and it looked as if the team may have better continuity by relying more on Walker to become the focal point of the offense.

It was an illusion.

Game 10: Miami 20, Dallas 14

Landry decided to start Steve Pelluer instead of Danny White when the Cowboys hosted the Dolphins on a Sunday night game during week 10. Walker had 156 yards in total offense, and Pelluer rushed for 79 yards, but the team failed to complete a single pass to a receiver. The Dolphins held a 20-7 lead in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys could not come back.

At 5-5, the Cowboys were a game behind the Vikings as those teams prepared to face off on Thanksgiving Day. The Cowboys needed a win to have any shot at the playoffs.

Game 11: Minnesota 44, Dallas 38

White returned to the lineup against the Vikings, and the veteran helped to erase three different 14-point deficits (14-0; 28-14; 38-24). The teams went to overtime, and the Cowboys had a solid drive going. On a second-and-six play from the Minnesota, White lost control of the ball and threw a horrible pick to linebacker Scott Studwell. The Vikings won the game when Darren Nelson scored on the ensuing drive. White had 341 yards passing, but he also threw three interceptions.

Game 12: Atlanta 21, Dallas 10

Landry’s team historically rebounded from difficult defeats, but the ‘87 team fell apart after the losses to the Dolphins and Vikings. The Cowboys hosted the 2-9 Falcons after the Thanksgiving Day loss, and Dallas fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. Dallas never got much going on offense, as Walker rushed for only 35 yards.

Owner Bum Bright did not hide his displeasure with Landry.

Bright said he has the utmost confidence in club president Tex Schramm, calling him “the best general manager in the NFL.’ His stance on coach Tom Landry, Bright indicated, is not as solid.

“I get horrified sometimes at our play-calling,’ he said. “I’ve heard that we’re not using certain players because they haven’t been brought along yet. Maybe the problem is we can’t utilize the talent of certain guys because we don’t have anybody to direct how to use them.

“It doesn’t seem like we’ve got anybody in charge that knows what they’re doing, other than Tex.

“I don’t want to do the coaching and I don’t want to try to run the team, but I’m not satisfied with the results we get. We can’t go along like we are.’

Asked if he would back a change in coaches, Bright said, “I’d back Tex in anything he wants to do. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him. He’s a tough person.’

Game 13: Washington 24, Dallas 20

The 5-7 Cowboys once again found themselves behind against the Redskins. White turned in his last solid performance with the Cowboys, completing 27 of 49 passes for 359 yards and 2 TDs. However, the Dallas comeback fell short, and the team was guaranteed to have a losing record for the second consecutive season.

Game 14: Dallas 29, L.A. Rams 21

The Cowboys showed some heart when they traveled to play the Rams near the end of the season. Dorsett was involved with the offense, rushing for 52 yards on 12 carries. Walker rushed for 108 yards in his second 100-yard performance of the season. The win did not mean anything in the end, but at least the team kept playing.

Game 15: Dallas 21, St. Louis 16

With the Cardinals planning to planning to move to Phoenix in 1988, this game marked the team’s last game as the St. Louis franchise. Walker carried the offense rushing for 137 yards and adding another 50 receiving yards. He finished the season with 1606 total yards, which led the league.

Two weeks after the Cowboys and Eagles faced off with their replacement players– a 41-22 Dallas win– the teams met again at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles did not win a single game with the scabs and entered the game with a 1-4 record. They left with the satisfaction of rubbing the faces of Tom Landry and the rest of the Cowboys in the carpet-covered concrete at Veterans Stadium.

Herschel Walker scores against the Eagles, but Philadelphia had the last laugh.

The Eagles jumped out to a 13-3 lead, but Dallas tied the game early in the third quarter. Philadelphia stormed back, and when Randall Cunningham in the fourth quarter hit John Spagnola for the duo’s second touchdown, Philadelphia led 30-13. Dallas cut the lead to 30-20, and the Eagles appeared to be content to fall on the ball.

Here’s how the Dallas Morning News described what happened next:

The Cowboys were willing enough to accept defeat Sunday. The final humiliation that Buddy Ryan and the Eagles provided was another matter.

But the last-second bomb to Mike Quick that drew a 32-yard pass-interference penalty and set up Keith Byars’ one-yard touchdown run on the final play may help them forget what transpired during the first 59 minutes of their 37-20 loss to Philadelphia.

The Eagles’ final act drew a terse statement from Tom Landry: “I wouldn’t even justify that with a comment. Everybody has his opinion of what it was.”

According to Ryan, who said he felt the Cowboys had exploited their advantage in veterans in a 41-22 victory two weeks ago, the play was justified.

“The last touchdown was very satisfying. I had it planned all along,” he said. Mimicking a Landry quote from two weeks ago, Ryan added: “I just played the hand that was dealt me.”

Between 1983 and the team’s first matchup of 1987, the Cowboys had gone 7-2 against the Eagles. After this loss, Dallas would not beat the Eagles again until 1991.

Week 7: Dallas 33, N.Y. Giants 24

Dallas bounced back in the following week by stunning the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Thanks to two touchdown passes from Phil Simms to Lionel Manual, the Giants had taken a 24-14 lead. However, four Roger Ruzek field goals and an interception return for a TD by defensive end Jim Jeffcoat gave the Cowboys a 33-24 win. “Too Tall” Jones had a huge game, recording four sacks and tipping two passes that resulted in interceptions, including Jeffcoat’s. The win gave the Cowboys a 4-3 record, while the Giants fell to 1-6.

Week 8: Detroit 27, Dallas 17

Danny White followed up a strong performance against the Giants by throwing four picks at Detroit. Meanwhile, the Lions took advantage of solid play from quarterback Chuck Long (of Iowa fame, if you remember back that far) and receiver Pete Mandley (8 rec., 97 yds.) to record Detroit’s first win (not counting replacement games) since 1986.

After this game, Tony Dorsett’s role in the offense diminished significantly. He had managed just three yards on 14 carries against the Giants, and he only gained 29 yards on 11 carries against the Lions. He had not recorded a 100-yard game since the middle of the 1986 season.

Herschel Walker, in the meantime, was on his way to leading the NFL in all-purpose yards, and he was about to become the main focal point of the entire offense.

Merlin Olsen helped the Rams beat the Cowboys in the 1976 playoffs.

Many of us remember Merlin Olsen as Dick Enberg’s color commentator during the 1980s (and not, um, for Olsen’s role on Little House on the Prairie or for the flower commercials…that’s how my sister knew who he was). Olsen died earlier this week of mesothelioma.

Since Olsen and Enberg were NBC’s lead team, they most often called AFC games along with the occasional interconference game. The duo called a few Cowboy games, though none jump out as especially memorable.

Olsen also faced the Cowboys as a member of the Fearsome Foursome. During Olsen’s 14-year career, the Cowboys and Rams faced off nine times, including the playoffs (but not including the Playoff Bowl in 1970). Dallas held a 5-4 edge in these games. The Cowboys and Rams did not have much of a rivalry until the 1970s, when the teams started meeting frequently in the playoffs. As with his broadcast career, Olsen did not stand out in those games.

In Olsen’s final season as a player, he turned in a memorable performance at Texas Stadium by recording two sacks in the Rams’ 14-12 win over Dallas. Most Cowboys’ fans would prefer to forget this game, while Ram fans consider it one of the best. Olsen’s final game came the following week in L.A.’s 24-13 loss at Minnesota.

Olsen’s final game as a broadcaster also involved the Cowboys, as he and Dick Stockton called the Cowboys-Falcons game in the season finale in 1991. Olsen had moved from NBC to CBS in 1990 and worked there for two seasons.

Tex Schramm prepared for a player strike in 1987, and when the time came, the Cowboys fielded a very good team of replacements. Former seventh-round pick Kevin Sweeney served as quarterback, and the team had good (um…comparatively speaking) skills players in Kelvin Edwards, Cornell Burbage, and Alvin Blount. In fact, Edwards stayed on the team after the strike, and both Sweeney and Burbage made the team in 1988.

For the second time in five years, the players went on strike in 1987. Owners responded by fielding teams of replacement players.

Dallas ran its record to 3-1 with a 38-24 win over the Jets and a 41-22 win over the Eagles. A total of 40,622 fans showed up for the Philadelphia game at Texas Stadium. The following week, a total of 60,612 attended the team’s game against the Redskins.

QB Danny White, RB Tony Dorsett, and DT Randy White broke the picket line because none could afford to miss games. Danny White (sacked six times) and Dorsett (two fumbles) both played poorly against the Redskins, who did not field a single regular player. The result was a 13-7 loss that left the Cowboys with a 3-2 record overall.

Several players experienced their entire careers as replacement players. Those players who only saw action during this three-game stretch include the following:

RB David Adams (Arizona)
RB Alvin Blount (Maryland)
TE Rich Borreson (Northwestern)
T Dave Burnette (Central Arkansas)
G Sal Cesario (Cal. Poly-SLO)
DT Steve Cisowski (Santa Clara)
DB Anthony Coleman (Baylor)
WR Vince Courville (Rice)
LB Chris Duliban (Texas)
DT Mike Dwyer (Massachusetts)
LB Harry Flaherty (Holy Cross)
CB Alex Green (Indiana)
S Tommy Haynes (Southern California)
TE Tim Hendrix (Tennessee)
CB Bill Hill (Rutgers)
DT Walter Johnson (Pittsburgh)
LB Dale Jones (Tennesee State)
RB E.J. Jones (Kansas)
C George Lilja (Michigan)
DB Bruce Livingston (Arkansas Tech)
DE Ray Perkins (Virginia)
P Buzz Sawyer (Baylor)
WR Chuck Scott (Vanderbilt)
C Joe Shearin (Texas)
OL Joe Shields (Portland State)
LB Victor Simmons (Central State-Ohio)
QB Loren Snyder (Northern Colorado)
WR Sebron Spivey (Southern Illinois)
LB Russ Swan (Virginia)
LB Kirk Timmer (Montana State)
OL Gary Walker (Boston University)
DE Randy Watts (Catawba)
C Gary Westberry (Hampton)
FB Gerald White (Michigan)
C Mike Zentic (Oklahoma State)

In July 1987, the Cowboys decided that Tony Hill showing up to camp out of shape was enough of a reason to cut the team’s all-time leader in receiving yards. The team was rather confident in veteran Mike Renfro and a slew of younger receivers, including second-year pro Mike Sherrard.

Lawrence Taylor stops Herschel Walker on a fourth-down play late in the week 2 matchup between the Giants and Cowboys.

In the first week of August, the team lost Sherrard for the season with a broken leg. Coach Tom Landry had said prior to the injury that the team had redesigned the offense to take advantage of Sherrard’s skills.

Without Sherrard and Hill, the team’s receiving corps consisted of Renfro, Kelvin Edwards, Rod Barksdale, Kelvin Martin, and Gordon Banks. Quarterback Danny White was expected to return, but the team was unsure about how well he might perform.

The team fortunately had the duo of Herschel Walker and Tony Dorsett, but most commentators expected nothing better than an 8-8 record.

Week 1: St. Louis 24, Dallas 13

When White hit Banks on a 20-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys held a 13-3 lead. The Cardinals had difficulty moving the ball all game, but in the final four minutes, the Cowboys gave up three touchdowns. Walker and Dorsett combined for 261 of the team’s 322 total yards.

Week 2: Dallas 16, N.Y. Giants 14

To avoid an 0-2 start, the Cowboys had to travel to the Meadowlands and beat the Giants. This was, of course, the same place where Danny White was lost for the season with a broken wrist, leading to the team’s 1-7 finish in 1986.

After the Cowboys took a 10-7 halftime lead, the Giants stormed ahead. The Cowboys made two field goals to take a 16-14 lead, and late in the game, the team moved inside the Giant 1 with less than two minutes left. On a fourth-and-goal play, Walker attempted to leap over the pile, but he was met by Lawrence Taylor and knocked backwards. The Giants drove into Dallas territory, and a 46-yard Raul Allegre field goal would have won it for the Giants. The kick, though, hooked just left, and the Cowboys pulled out the win.

Here’s a clip showing the missed kick:

Coming up… the Cowboys field a pretty good team of replacements.

After the Cowboys’ collapse of 1986, the team had the #12 overall pick in the 1987 draft. The team had a number of needs, with the most glaring holes to fill on the defense.

The Cowboys in 1987 drafted the Danny Noonan on top, not the bottom.

The Cowboys set their sights on Nebraska nose tackle Danny Noonan, who impressed defensive coordinator Ernie Stautner before the draft. Noonan was called “powerful” in the reviews, and many expected him to provide immediate help on the line. However, he held out for several months after the draft and did not start a single game in 1987.

(The Danny Noonan that the Cowboys drafted is not the one upon which the term Noonan is based in the Urban Dictionary. That would be the Danny Noonan from Caddyshack– as in Noonan! Miss it, Noonan! NNNNNNooooonan!).

Anyway, some of the other picks in the ‘87 draft turned out to be good role players, so the whole draft was not a complete bust. Here is a look:

1. Danny Noonan, DT, Nebraska
2. Ron Francis, DB, Baylor
3. Jeff Zimmerman, G, Florida
4. Kelvin Martin, WR, Boston College
5. Everett Gay, WR, Texas
6. Joe Onosai, G, Hawaii
7. Kevin Sweeney, QB, Fresno State
8. Kevin Gogan, G, Washington
9. Alvin Blount, RB, Maryland
10. Dale Jones, LB, Tennesseee
11. Jeff Ward, K, Texas
12. Scott Armstrong, LB, Florida

Martin spent a total of seven seasons with the Cowboys and became a solid third receiver as well as a very good punt returner. Gogan likewise played in Dallas for seven years before moving on to play for several other teams.

Most of the others were disappointments. Francis was a starter as a rookie, but his career never really took off. Zimmerman and Gay never developed into starters. Blount and Jones only appeared as replacement players later in 1987. Onosai suffered an injury in training camp and had to retire.

Sweeney was an interesting pick. He was the NCAA career passing leader in yards at the time he was drafted, but he failed to make the squad. Dallas brought him back during the replacement games of 1987, and in 1988, the team gave him a shot as a starter in two “real” games. He bombed.

Most presumed that the 1986 Dallas Cowboys would at least make the playoffs, even if they did not look like Super Bowl contenders in early November. By December, the question was whether the 7-6 Cowboys would even finish with a winning record. The answer turned out to be no.

The 1986 Cowboys had plenty of time to sing at Christmastime.

Week 10: L.A. Raiders 17, Dallas 13

Dallas led the Raiders 13-10 in the fourth quarter, but a 40-yard TD pass from Jim Plunkett to Dokie Williams put the game away for Los Angeles. In his first game as a full-time starter, Steve Pelluer threw five interceptions.

Week 11: Dallas 24, San Diego 21

Two touchdown passes from Dan Fouts to Kellen Winslow gave San Diego a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Touchdowns by Herschel Walker and Pelluer, though, were enough to give the Cowboys a three-point lead. Charger kicker Rolf Benirschke just missed a 55-yarder to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Cowboys won despite giving up 11 sacks.

Tom Landry’s comment: “We were born again today.”

Um, nope.

Week 12: Washington 41, Dallas 14

The score was 34-0 at halftime. The Cowboys did not manage to convert a third down until there was about four minutes left in the game. The highlight of the game may have been Reggie Collier’s only touchdown pass as a member of the Cowboys.

Week 13: Seattle 31, Dallas 14

The Cowboys celebrated Thanksgiving by falling behind 24-7 to the Seahawks. Walker and Tony Dorsett both scored in the game, but it was never a contest.

Week 14: L.A. Rams 29, Dallas 10

The Cowboys fell to the .500 mark when they were demolished by the Rams. Tom Landry received death threats at some point and had to be escorted off the field to be fitted with a bullet-proof vest.

Week 15: Philadelphia 23, Dallas 21

It looked like the Cowboys would at least ensure a .500 record when they led 21-16 against the Eagles in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia took the win, though, when Matt Cavanaugh hit Kenny Jackson on a 31-yard touchdown. The loss ruined a great game by Walker, who gained a total of 292 yards (122 rushing, 170 receiving).

Week 16: Chicago 24, Dallas 10

The Cowboys predictably failed to show up in the season finale, falling behind 24-0 to the Bears in a 24-10 loss.

Landry’s summary of the season: “We’re not a 7-9 team, and again we’re not as good as people thought early. We are somewhere in between.”

Not really.

The Dallas Cowboys won their final three games of the 1965 season to finish at 7-7, thus marking the first time that the team did not complete a season with a losing record. It became quite a habit. Starting in 1966, Dallas finished the next 20 seasons with winning records.

The Cowboys lost Danny White for the season in week 9 of the 1986 season.

The winning streak in 1965 began in week 12 of that season. Between that week (December 5, 1965) and week 8 of the 1986 season (October 26, 1986), the Cowboys played 300 regular season games. The team’s record during that span: 217-81-2, for a 72.3% winning percentage.

On November 2, 1986, Dallas traveled to the Meadowlands to face the Giants. Late in the first quarter, New York linebacker Carl Banks came in untouched and blasted quarterback Danny White, breaking White’s wrist in the process. White was gone for the season, and even though he played in 1987 and part of 1988, he was never the same.

The Dallas defense held Phil Simms to just 67 passing yards (46 net passing yards when taking sacks into account), but the Cowboys could not stop running back Joe Morris. The Giants gained 199 yards on the ground, and Morris’ two touchdowns gave the Giants a 17-7 lead.

Tony Dorsett gave the Cowboys hope when he scored from 23 yards out in the fourth quarter. Backup QB Steve Pelluer completed 28 of 38 passes for 339 yards against the feared Giant defense, and late in the game, Dallas had a chance to kick a game-tying field goal.

The problem became right tackle Phil Pozderac, who committed penalties that wiped out big plays to Dorsett and Timmy Newsome. The Cowboys were left to try a 63-yard field goal with seconds left, but it fell well short.

With the loss, the Cowboys were 6-3 and trailed the Giants and Redskins by a game. It got much worse.

Between week 9 of the 1986 season and the end of the 1988 season, the Cowboys played 36 regular season games with regular starters (excluding the three replacement games in 1987). The team that won 72.3% of its games over more than 21 seasons went 9-27, for a winning percentage of 25%.

Box Score

DMN: Cowboys pay stiff penalty, 17-14

After opening the season with a 31-28 win over the Giants, the ‘86 Cowboys were on a roll. For the first time in franchise history, the team scored 30 or more points in its first four consecutive games, resulting in a 3-1 record. Tony Dorsett suffered through an injury, but newcomer Herschel Walker looked like the steal of the decade (that, of course, came later).

Tom Landry's squad raced out to a 6-2 start in 1986.

Week 2: Dallas 31, Detroit 7

Dorsett was supposed to miss the week 2 matchup at Detroit, but when he made the trip, he made it count. He gained 117 yards on 23 carries and scored a touchdown to lead the Cowboys to a 31-7 win. The victory avenged a loss at the Silverdome one year before.

Week 3: Atlanta 37, Dallas 35

In a back-and-forth game where the teams combined for 435 yards, the Cowboys fell short in a comeback attempt against the Falcons. After Atlanta scored with less than a minute to play, the Cowboys nearly moved into position to kick the game-winning field goal. However, when Danny White hit Tony Hill with seconds remaining, Hill was unable to get out of bounds. He was finally pushed out of bounds at the Atlanta 9 after time expired, giving the Falcons the win.

Week 4: Dallas 31, St. Louis 7

With Walker leading the way, the Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead, then pulled away from the Cardinals in a 31-7 win. Walker finished with 139 yards in total offense.

Week 5: Denver 29, Dallas 14

Playing without an injured Danny White, the Cowboys struggled at Mile High Stadium. Gerald Willhite scored three first-half touchdowns to give the Broncos a 22-0 lead, which the Cowboys never overcame.

Week 6: Dallas 30, Washington 6

Backup Steve Pelluer had the first 300-yard game of his career (out of a total of two) in a 30-6 rout of the Redskins. Dallas held Washington to just 185 total yards and forced three Redskins turnovers. Dorsett returned to action but was hardly impressive– 18 carries, 22 yards.

Week 7: Dallas 17, Philadelphia 14

Rafael Septien’s 38-yard field goal with two seconds left provided the margin of victory in a 17-14 Dallas win at Philadelphia. The Dallas defense amazingly had 10 sacks in the game and held Randall Cunningham to just eight completions for 127 yards.

Week 8: Dallas 37, St. Louis 6

White returned to action and led the Cowboys to a 37-6 rout of the Cardinals. Rookie Mike Sherrard had the first 100-yard game of his career by catching five passes for 111 yards in a touchdown.

With the win, the Cowboys stood at 6-2 and were tied with the Giants for the lead in the NFC East. A win over New York at the Meadowlands would put the Cowboys in position to take home another division title. Tom Landry said at the time, “If we’re 6-2 at the turn, I’m always satisfied with that. You’re in good position, it’s just that New York and Washington are better this year and are playing better. You’ll have to play better than they play down the stretch to win the East.”

It wasn’t to be.

One interesting part of the 1986 season was that backup Steve Pelluer generally looked good in relief of Danny White. Once White was lost for the season with a wrist injury, though, Pelluer’s play fell off considerably.

Resources:

Pro-Football-Reference: 1986 Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Morning News Archive

The Cowboys’ acquisition of Herschel Walker looked like a move that could save the franchise, especially in a season-opening win over the New York Giants. With 1:16 remaining in a back-and-forth game against the Cowboys’ division rivals, Walker took a draw from Danny White and ran in from ten yards out to give the Cowboys a 31-28 win.

Herschel Walker replaced an injured Tony Dorsett in a season-opening win over the Giants.

The victory marked the 21st opening-game win in 22 seasons, dating back to 1965. Gone were the doubts raised by the Cowboys’ 0-5 performance during the preseason, when Dallas was plagued with turnovers.

As it turned out, Tom Landry never won another season opener.

Dallas jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Dorsett had the first score, taking a screen pass 36 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. He later sprained his ankle, giving Walker a chance to show his stuff. Walker came through with a one-yard touchdown, giving Dallas a 14-0 lead.

New York stormed back to tie the game, as the Dallas defense had trouble stopping Phil Simms, who threw for 300 yards and 3 TDs. Dallas held a 17-14 lead at the half thanks to a Rafael Septien field goal.

The game went back-and-forth in the second half. The Giants took a 28-24 lead in the fourth when Simms hit Bobby Johnson on a 44-yard touchdown.

Dallas responded with its final drive. Just before the two-minute warning, Walker gained 23 yards on a pass. Tony Hill then came through on a 35-yarder, which set up Walker’s touchdown. The Cowboys went 72 yards in just 54 seconds on the game-winning drive.

The Giants moved to the Dallas 45 with four seconds remaining, but a last-second pass fell incomplete.

Rookie Mike Sherrard was held to one reception for 16 yards. Hill, though, still looked like a star, as he caught five passes for 105 yards.

The win sparked  a strong start to the 1986 season, as the Cowboys scored 30 or more points in six of their first eight games and had a 6-2 record.

DMN: Walker Runs Down Giants, 31-28

P-F-R: Box Score

* * *

Interestingly, Monday Night Football was the subject of discussion after the Cowboys-Giants game. ABC was losing money on its franchise, and veteran director Chet Forte said that he thought the odds of the series surviving until 1987 was 20 to 40 percent. ABC lost an estimated $50 million in 1985.

Of course, MNF survived on ABC for 20 more years until the series moved to ESPN.

The new tandom of Al Michaels and Frank Gifford also drew criticism. A columnist in the Dallas Morning News noted:

The trouble . . . was not newcomer Al Michaels, the replacement for Frank Gifford on play-by-play. The problem was Monday Night Football 16-year-man Gifford, the replacement on commentary for O.J. Simpson and Joe Namath. Gifford frequently talked without analyzing and offerred commentary that was no more stylish than a chatty play-by-play.

My take: Michaels got much better and became the NFL’s best play-by-play guy. Gifford never got much better as a color commentator, often proving weak commentary that was overshadowed by Michaels and Dan Dierdorf, the latter of whom joined the network in 1987.