Coy Bacon: with a playoff berth at stake against Roger Staubach and the Cowboys, the Redskins defensive end literally had victory in his grasp—but it slipped away

Football Digest, Jan, 2004 by Chuck O'Donnell

I PLAYED IN THE NFL FOR 14 YEARS (1968-81), with four different teams: the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Washington Redskins. I played until I was 39 years old and saw a lot of players and teams and coaching styles come and go. I saw the NFL-AFL merger and the start of "Monday Night Football" and the outlawing of the headslap and all kinds of other things. Yes, I was around for a long time.

But do you know how many times I made it to the playoffs? Once. One time, that's it--in 1969 with the Rams.

I would say that 1979 was my last and best hope to get there again. I was playing for the Redskins after being traded to Washington from the Bengals in 1978. I really enjoyed my time with the Redskins; I liked coach Jack Pardee. The team did everything first class, and I loved the city and its people.

The team was just coming together at that point. It had gone through a lot of hard times, but we had brought in some real good players, and we had a tough, tough defense: Lemar Parrish, Ken Houston, Joe Lavender, Diron Talbert, Dave Butz, to name some.

Pardee joined the team in 1978. A lot of people were hopeful that he could turn the team around within a few years, but he had us playing great right from the start. In his first season, we surprised a lot of people by going 8-8. The 1979 season was even more promising. Here we were, starting off the year with victory after victory after victory; we won six of our first eight games. We were playing so well, in fact, that some people thought we may even reach the Super Bowl.

Then people got a little discouraged because we lost a few games. I was saying, "Whoa! Hold on a minute." We were still in the playoff mix right up fill the final week of the season.

That final week, we were in Dallas for a big game against our big rival, the Cowboys. The winner would go to the playoffs. Such a scenario lifts a player to a higher level.

We got off to a quick start, taking a 17-0 lead in the first half. That game was kind of like a mirror image of our season: We did really well early on, then we slipped back down and let Dallas take the lead. But we came on strong again and were leading, 34-21, with 0nly about four minutes left in the game.

The Cowboys, however, received a big break: Running back Clarence Harmon fumbled, and the Cowboys recovered near midfield. That's all Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach needed. He was always leading that team to last-second wins and Hail Mary touchdowns and that sort of thing. That's all Staubach ever did--he was some sort of miracle worker. Sure enough, the Cowboys moved the ball and scored a touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Staubach to Ron Springs. Bang--just like that, the score was 34-28.

And Staubach wasn't done. The Cowboys got the ball back, and Staubach drove downfield, throwing to this guy and to that guy. He had all kinds of big-play guys to throw to: Drew Pearson, Preston Pearson, Tony Dorsett, Tony Hill.

Now, this is why it is the game I'll never forget: With less than a minute to go, Staubach dropped back. We finally got some pressure on him; I had him lined up for a sack. I came charging in, and I had him all to myself. "This is going to be a sack," I thought. We really needed one to stop their momentum.

But then he ducked, and I went flying by and down to the ground. I flipped onto my feet and went back at him; I had him right in front of me again. This was going to be it--right there.

But he ducked again. And once more, I went right over the top of him and ran by him. I fell, flipped back up, and went at him again. To my surprise, he still had the ball; I had another clear shot at him. I figured, "There's no way I'm going to let him get away this time. Not this time." So I came charging in, and guess what he did? Yep, that's right--he ducked again. I missed Staubach a third time--I couldn't believe it.

He turned around and threw an eight-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Tony Hill. I was sitting there on the field in disbelief while the Cowboys all celebrated. I didn't have the words to express how I felt. I was mad at myself and stunned that the Cowboys had taken the lead.

I played two more seasons in Washington, but we never did reach the playoffs. I played on a lot of good teams during my time. I played on teams that went 11-5 and didn't make the playoffs. I wish the NFL had the wild card back then; I would have been in the playoffs a lot more often. But as it was, I made just that one appearance with the Rams. For me to get as close as I did in 1979

and come up short--and to have Staubach fight there in front of me, only to miss him--was a huge disappointment. I still have nightmares about that play.

Overall, though, I enjoyed my career. I wouldn't trade it for anything--I wouldn't have done anything different. But if only I had made that sack on Staubach ...

--As told to Chuck O'Donnell

Coy Bacon's Most Memorable Game

December 15, 1979; Texas Stadium; Irving Texas

Washington Redskins    10     7    0    17-34
Dallas Cowboys          0    14    7    14-35

Scoring                                            Redskins    Cowboys

First Quarter
Washington--Moseley, 24-yard field goal                   3          0
Washington-Theismann, 1-yard run (Moseley kick)          10          0

Second Quarter
Washington--Malone, 55-yard pass from Theismann
  (Moseley kick)                                         17          0
Dallas--Springs, 1-yard run (Septien kick)               17          7
Dallas--P. Pearson, 26-yard pass from Staubach
  (Septien kick)                                         17         14

Third Quarter
Dallas--Newhouse, 2-yard run (Septien kick)              17         21

Fourth Quarter
Washington--Moseley, 24-yard field goal                  20         21
Washington--Riggins, 1-yard run (Moseley kick)           27         21
Washington--Riggins 66-yard run (Moseley kick)           34         21
Dallas--Springs, 26-yard pass from Staubach
  (Septien kick)                                         34         28
Dallas--Hill, 8-yard pass from Staubach
  (Septien kick)                                         34         35

Attendance: 62,867.