Best Dallas Cowboys player to wear No. 78 isn't remembered for Super Bowl heroics

Welcome back to our series covering the best Dallas Cowboys players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.

As we get toward the end of the 70s, our penultimate entry of the group here at No. 78 highlights a player who is sadly not remembered for a key play in the Cowboys' second Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills but instead for a pair of bonehead plays that made him the laughingstock of the league for years.

Longtime fans of America's Team likely already know who we're talking about, but before we get to the reveal, let's first have a look at every player to don this digit for Dallas over the years.

Bob Asher, C
Charles Brown, OT
John Dutton, DL
Dean Hamel, DT
Don Healy, DT
Leon Lett, DL
John Meyers, DT
Jermey Parnell, OT
Greg Schaum, DE
Terence Steele, OT
Kurt Vollers, OT
Bruce Walton, OL
Dave Widell, OT
Maury Youmans, DE

Coming in a close second for this slot is defensive tackle John Dutton, who was a solid and reliable piece of the Dallas D-line for nearly a decade, appearing in 126 total games for the club between the regular season and postseason from 1979 to 1987, starting 98 of them and tallying 26.5 sacks.

If we were to take Dutton's full career into account, he'd be the winner here, as he was a three-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro, and once finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. But as all of those accolades came during his five-year run with the Baltimore Colts before he came to Dallas, he takes the runner-up spot.

And as such, the call here, of course, is none other than Leon Lett.

Leon Lett is remembered for two bonehead plays but should be remembered for his big play in Super Bowl 28

Following a solid collegiate career at NAIA Emporia State, Lett was taken by Dallas in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft with the 173rd overall selection.

While the Alabama native appeared in just six total games between the regular season and postseason as a rookie after a back injury landed him on injured reserve during the preseason, he didn't miss a single game in 1992 and proved to be a key reserve for the Dallas defense, especially during the playoffs, as he was arguably the unit's best overall player.

That '92 campaign, of course, ended with the Cowboys absolutely destroying the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 27 by a score of 52-17. But as everyone who watched that game knows, the margin of victory could have been bigger had it not been for what we'll call bonehead player number one.

With Dallas holding that 52--17 lead with roughly four and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, backup Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich, filling in for an injured Jim Kelly, was hit from behind by Cowboys defensive end Jim Jeffcoat and fumbled the football. Lett quickly picked it up at the Dallas 36-yard line and was seemingly in line to set a Super Bowl record, as it looked like he was going to go 64 yards untouched the other way for a touchdown.

But as he approached the goal line, he slowed down and stretched out his arm for an early celebration, only to have speedy Bills wideout Don Beebe, who never once gave up on the play, knock the ball out of his hands for a touchback. The play obviously didn't matter, given the score, but it was undoubtedly embarrassing. What some may not remember about that night is that Lett sacked Reich on the final play of the game.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder took on a bigger role in 1993, and that season brought bonehead play number two. Just a few weeks after he returned from a five-game absence due to a fractured ankle, the Cowboys hosted the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day, an afternoon that saw a snowstorm hit the old Texas Stadium.

With Dallas clinging to a 14-13 lead, Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich lined up for a go-ahead 41-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, only to have his kick blocked by Jimmie Jones.

Now, had nobody touched the ball as it spun on the snowy turf, the Cowboys win the game, which is why Dallas defenders went nowhere near it, at least not until Lett slid into it and kicked it forward, at which point a scramble ensued that ultimately resulted in Miami offensive lineman Jeff Dellenback recovering it on the 1-yard line. Stoyanovich then kicked a much simpler 19-yarder as time expired to give the Dolphins a 16-14 victory.

So, those are easily the two plays he's remembered for.

But what people often forget are his heroics in the Cowboys' rematch with Buffalo in Super Bowl 28. The Bills played far better football in the early going than they had the year before and actually held a 13-6 lead at the half. They also got the ball to open the second half, but on just the third play of the third quarter, it was Lett who forced a fumble from superstar running back Thurman Thomas, with James Washington picking up the ball and running it back 46 yards for a touchdown.

That one play completely changed the momentum of the game, and the Cowboys ultimately went on to cruise to a 30-13 victory. But again, nobody seems to talk about that as much as the other two players. And some may also not remember that Lett earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl the following year and a second in 1998.

It's always going to come back to that pair of plays for Leon Lett, but he was so much more than that, and that's why he takes this title of the best Dallas Cowboys player to wear No. 78.

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so please be sure to check back in with The Landry Hat for updates.

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Leon Lett is remembered for two bonehead plays but should be remembered for his big play in Super Bowl 28

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

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