Doomsday Defense

{{Short description|Defense of Dallas Cowboys American football team}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

The Doomsday Defense was the defensive lineup of the Dallas Cowboys American football team during the dynasty years of the late 1960s – 1970s. This defense was the backbone of the Cowboys' dynasty, which won two Super Bowls (VI, XII) and played in three more (V, X and XIII).{{Cite web|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1978/01/09/too-tall-too-mean-too-much-ed-jones-and-harvey-martin-helped-dallas-defeat-minnesota-in-the-nfc|title=Too Tall, Too Mean, Too Much |access-date=September 7, 2022}}

In 1964, sports writer Gary Cartwright of the Dallas Morning News coined the phrase "Doomsday Defense".{{Cite web|url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1979/september/fifty-things-you-never-knew-about-the-dallas-cowboys/|title=Fifty Things You Never Knew About The Dallas Cowboys|access-date=September 7, 2022}} The Doomsday Defense is often recognized as having two different "generations," but different listings of players and time periods exist.{{Cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/208544-the-top-10-greatest-defensive-teams-of-all-time|title=The NFL's 10 Greatest Defensive Teams of All Time |access-date=September 7, 2022}} The original "Doomsday Defense" can generally be identified as the Cowboys' defenses from 1966 to 1974. "Doomsday II" had its heyday from approximately 1975 to 1982.{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1982/01/03/a-better-doomsday-looms-for-dallas/fdefe1db-ae5d-4ba3-ba5e-ad995d30eae1/|title=A Better Doomsday Looms for Dallas |access-date=September 7, 2022}} Many Cowboy fans recognize the defense from 1992 to 1996 as "Doomsday III", though to a lesser extent. This defense was in part, responsible for the Cowboys being the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a four-year span.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-01-sp-898-story.html|title=Cowboys Make Third Time Doomsday for Bills, 52–17|access-date=September 7, 2022}}

The first defensive player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Super Bowl was linebacker Chuck Howley (V).{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/18/archives/one-cowboy-wins-howley-gets-award.html|title=One Cowboy Wins: Howley Gets Award|access-date=September 7, 2022}} Later linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White became the first (and only) teammates (co-MVPs) to win the award (XII).{{Cite web|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1978/01/23/doomsday-in-the-dome-that-ferocious-dallas-defense-forced-and-recovered-four-denver-fumbles-and-intercepted-four-passes-as-the-cowboys-belted-the-broncos-in-the-super-bowl|title=Doomsday In The Dome|access-date=September 7, 2022}}