the eighth leading rusher in the AFC through the first 4 games, until he tore his left hamstring against the Houston Oilers. He was replaced with rookie Franco Harris, who would not relinquish the position again on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1973, he was switched to wide receiver during training camp, but was moved back to running back before the start of the season. His relationship with Noll eventually became strained, because of being an outspoken person and his role as one of the Steelers player representatives during the 1974 strike. In 1974, he was the team's third leading rusher even though he missed five games with a hamstring injury. On September 16, 1975, the team waived him after deciding to keep rookie running back Mike Collier instead. At the time, only six players in franchise history had run for more yards. Dallas Cowboys On September 19, 1975, after losing Calvin Hill and Walt Garrison, the Dallas Cowboys were looking for an experienced running back, so they signed Pearson as a free agent and in turn waived rookie quarterback Jim Zorn to make room for him on the roster. It has been noted that the acquisition of Pearson and the success of the Dirty Dozen draft were the key reasons that helped the team reach the Super Bowl that year. His best season came in 1975, when he became a starter and rushed for 509 yards, caught 27 passes for 351 yards, and gained another 391 yards on kickoff returns. He then went on to assist the Cowboys to a Super Bowl X appearance by catching 12 passes for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in their two playoff games, including a reception for 123 yards and three receiving touchdowns (tied a league record) against the heavily favored Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game. His team ended up losing the Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Pearson rushing for 14 yards and catching 5 passes for 53 yards. During his time with the Cowboys he was widely recognized as the player who defined the position of "third-down back", forcing defenses to use nickel schemes to assign a cornerback to cover him, or to double-team him. He was an all-around player, contributing in running, receiving, blocking and special teams. Head coach Tom Landry once said: "He's one of the best halfback blockers