The Dallas Cowboys are making a slight-but-significant change to their helmets for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos (1 p.m. ET on FOX) by adding a red stripe to their traditional blue and white striped design.
The red stripe is intended to honor the United States military and National Medal of Honor recipients, eight of which will be honored at halftime. It’s also a throwback to the 1976 season, when Dallas wore this exact striping pattern to commemorate the country’s bicentennial.
“This will truly be a special day for all of us as we salute the men and women around the world who protect and defend our country,” Cowboys executive vice president and National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation chairman Charlotte Jones said in a statement. “We are honored to have our Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, representing the 3,508 recipients of the nation’s most prestigious military decoration, who made heroic sacrifices, many the ultimate sacrifice, while preserving our freedom.
“The red stripe on the helmet provides a beautiful ribbon to wrap around this salute to those who currently serve our country’s military – and the patriotic love and appreciation that we all share for those who came before them.”
Both the Cowboys and Broncos will also wear a Medal of Honor decal, the NFL’s camouflage Salute to Service ribbon and an American flag on the back of their helmets, all of which are shown below.
This will be the first time since 2012 that the Cowboys will deviate from their standard helmet design, as they wore their white throwback helmets that season. The NFL implemented its one-helmet rule the following year, though the league will relax that that rule in 2022, allowing both alternate and throwback helmets moving forward.
This change, like other throwback helmets currently worn throughout the NFL, is simply swapping out the decal(s).
Photos courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys.
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