"THROUGH THE EYES OF A FAN"
THE LONG ROAD BACK TO THE TOP
FOR THE DALLAS
The Cowboys and the Giants were tied for the NFC East lead going into their Week 7 match-up. Some Giants players were complaining about the Thanksgiving Day game back in 1992 when the Cowboys beat the Giants, 30-3. They didn't like that that the Cowboys were continuing to blitz them at the end of that game with the game out of reach. Johnson called them all babies and told them to just play the game. He believed that if an offense is trying to score even with the game out of reach that he should continue to play his defense to stop the opposing offense.
Before getting to the game I want to mention that at halftime it was a celebration for Tom Landry, who coached the Cowboys for 29 years. Landry was finally inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Landry was one of the greatest coaches of all-time and he deserved all the praise in the world for his accomplishments. The players in the Cowboys Ring of Honor have their jersey numbers next to their names going around Texas Stadium. The Cowboys put a different spin on that tradition and placed a famous Landry hat next to his name. It was a nice touch by owner Jerry Jones.
The first half of the Cowboys-Giants game was the Troy Aikman and Alvin Harper show. Aikman connected with Harper on a 28 yard touchdown pass, which put the Cowboys ahead 10-0. Then after a Giants field goal, Kevin Williams returned a kickoff to mid-field. On the Cowboys first play Aikman found a wide open Harper for a 50-yard touchdown, that increased the Cowboys lead to 17-3. In the third quarter Aikman was scrambling toward the sideline when he fell in pain without even being touched. The reports from the Cowboys locker room were that Aikman pulled his hamstring. He would not return to the game. Before Aikman went down with the injury he had completed 11 out of 13 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys led 17-6 when Aikman left the game. The Cowboys had to turn to backup quarterback Jason Garrett for the rest of the game.
After a scoreless third quarter the Cowboys focused on their running game and Emmitt Smith. Smith scored twice in the fourth quarter and rushed for 117 yards in the game. Also in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Johnson reached into his bag of tricks. It may have been to send a message to the Giants that he would never stop attacking whether it was on offense or defense. The Cowboys ran a reverse with Alvin Harper. Harper stopped and threw the ball down field and connected with Michael Irvin on a 46 yard completion. The Cowboys beat the Giants 31-9, took first place in the NFC East and also celebrated Tom Landry on the same day.
The Cowboys defense recorded five sacks against the Giants. Phil Simms was knocked out of the game twice. If the Giants were looking for Jimmy Johnson to cut down on the blitzes late in this game, they were mistaken. Johnson sent all kinds of blitzes at them late in this game too just like he did back on Thanksgiving in 1992.
Aside from Aikman’s hamstring injury, another injury that was made public concerned Ken Norton Jr. He tore his bicep muscle in the 23-10 win over the Eagles earlier in the season, but Norton decided to play the rest of the season with the pain and then deal with surgery after the season.
It was decided that Aikman would not play the next game against the Cardinals. Jimmy Johnson quickly went out and signed quarterback Bernie Kosar, who had been released by the Browns. That meant Jason Garrett would drop to third string behind Kosar.
Against the Cardinals, Jimmy Johnson started Jason Garrett, but put Kosar in early even though Kosar had only been with the team four days. The Cowboys took a commanding 17-0 first half lead on the Cardinals. The second half was the complete reverse as the Cardinals dominated the Cowboys and outscored them 15-3. The Cowboys Kenny Gant came up with a late interception as the Cardinals were driving late in the game and the Cowboys won, 20-15. Kosar ended the game with 199 yards passing and a touchdown to Jay Novacek. Emmitt Smith rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown as well as catching four passes for 102 yards. One of those receptions was only five yards, but Smith turned it into an 86-yard gain. After starting the 1993 season 0-2, the Cowboys had won seven straight games and led the NFC East with a 7-2 record.
The following week the Cowboys traveled to Atlanta to play the Falcons and Bernie Kosar got his first start for the Cowboys. The Falcons dominated from the start and built a 20-0 third quarter lead. Kosar only managed to throw for 186 yards and the Cowboys as a team only rushed for 48 yards in the game. That was mainly because Emmitt Smith left the game in the first quarter with a deep quadriceps bruise.
The Cowboys defense had no answer for the Falcons Run and Shoot Offense. Falcon's quarterback Bobby Hebert, threw three touchdown passes. The last touchdown pass going to an unlikely receiver. The Falcons put Deion Sanders in at wide receiver. He caught a short pass from Hebert and took it 70 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons walked away with a 27-14 win against the Cowboys, dropping the Cowboys record to 7-3 and snapping their seven game winning streak.
With Ken Norton Jr. hurting and Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith doubtful for the next game, the Cowboys needed to get healthy fast with the next game only four days away on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving and the Cowboys have always gone together as long as I’ve been a fan. There have been many great memories of past games on Thanksgiving for the Cowboys and then there was 1993. The good news was that Troy Aikman was ready to play and Emmitt Smith would get some playing time. The bad news was the weather that day.
In all my years as a fan of the Cowboys I cannot remember a home game ever being affected by winter weather. The Texas Stadium field was covered with snow and ice. Aikman played the entire game, but it wasn’t long before Jimmy Johnson decided to take some of the pressure off of Emmitt Smith by playing his backup Lincoln Coleman at times during the game.
Dolphins running back Keith Byars broke loose in the first quarter for a 77 yard touchdown run giving them a 7-0. The Cowboys tied the game when Troy Aikman connected with rookie Kevin Williams on a four-yard touchdown pass. Then Kevin Williams broke the 7-7 tie with a 64 yard punt return for a touchdown giving the Cowboys a 14-7 halftime lead.
As the game continued the field conditions became worse. The field remained covered with snow and because everything was frozen, the field crew couldn't clear anything off the field.
Daryl Johnston became a big part of the Cowboys offense as he caught 11 passes for 75 yards. The Dolphins managed to convert two field goals in the second half to pull with 14-13. With only seconds remaining in the game the Dolphins lined up for the game winning field goal, but the Cowboys blocked the kick. What happened next has become one of the most famous NFL bloopers of all time. After the Cowboys blocked the Dolphins field goal, the ball rolled towards the Cowboys goal line. Many Cowboys were waving their arms and yelling to leave the ball alone and not to touch it, which would then give the Cowboys a 14-13 victory.
As the ball rolled around by the Cowboys goal line, one man decided not to listen to his teammates and take things into his own hands. Out of nowhere came Leon Lett, who attempted to fall on the ball. But because of the slippery conditions Lett ended up kicking the ball, which made the ball live. The Dolphins players who had been standing around watching quickly jumped on the loose ball and got possession at the Cowboys one-yard line. They lined up for another field goal attempt and this time it was successful giving them a 16-14 win over the Cowboys and handing the Cowboys their second loss in a row.
To be continued...
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