Oct. 18, 1964 - Don Meredith and the Dallas Cowboys passed the point of no return today in the Cotton Bowl, and it cost them a 20-16 decision to the Cleveland Browns.
Meredith threw an apparent 37-yard touchdown pass to Tommy McDonald in the final four minutes that set a crowd of 37,456 howling in glee.
The cheers shortly turned to jeers as officials ruled Meredith had wandered past the line of scrimmage before getting airborne.
The erasure left Bernie Parrish’s 54-yard sprint with an intercepted pass late in the final quarter as the game’s pivotal play. It came with 6:29 remaining and kept Cleveland in step with St. Louis as Eastern Conference kingpins at the 4-1-1 level.
The Cowboys were customarily helpful by being flagged four times for holding at the most inopportune times. Add a 15-yard roughing violation that touched off a brief, fist-swinging skirmish after the final gun, and Dallas showed 105 reverse yards.
The tale of woe becomes even more painful to recall because of another spectacular second half defensive stand. Cleveland notched only three first downs after intermission, one on the last-second penalty.
But Cleveland Jim Brown, who was to gain 188 yards on 26 carries, had built a 13-6 halftime lead that stood until the final play of the third period.
Don Perkins’ one-yard leap closed a 47-yard drive set up by a Frank Ryan fumble and put the Cowboys on top, 16-13.
Dallas was forced to its comeback task after Brown touched the ball for the first time this raw, windy afternoon. He whisked 71 yards to the Cowboy 3 before Mel Renfro rode him down.
Ernie Green cracked through from a yard out on fourth down, Lou Groza converted, and Dallas was down seven points after 2:42 had elapsed.
Brown is once again the NFL’s rushing leader with 608 total yards.
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