"THROUGH THE EYES OF A FAN"
THE LONG ROAD BACK TO THE TOP
FOR THE DALLAS
The Cowboys had 11 days to prepare for their next game against the Eagles after losing to the Dolphins. Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith were back and ready for the Eagles game. The Cowboys built a 16-3 halftime lead with the help of kicker Eddie Murray, who kicked three field goals. Even though the Eagles outscored the Cowboys in the second half 14-7, the Cowboys held on for a 23-17 win and broke their two game losing streak. Troy Aikman completed 17 of 24 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown to Michael Irvin. Emmitt Smith rushed for 172 yards on 23 carries.
The Cowboys traveled to Minnesota the following week to take on the Vikings. In the second quarter the Vikings were leading 6-3 and then the Cowboys scored 24 unanswered points to take the lead 27-6. Troy Aikman only passed for 208 yards, but his main target was Michael Irvin as he caught eight passes for 125 yards and scored once. Emmitt Smith rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown. The Cowboys beat the Vikings 37-20 and improved to 9-4.
The following week the Cowboys played the Jets at Giants Stadium. In all my years as a fan I had never had the opportunity to go to a Cowboys game. For the Jets game I was able to see them in person for the first time as I went to the game with a few other Cowboys fans. I saw more Cowboys blue and silver then Jets green outside the stadium as well as inside the stadium. It was not the greatest game the Cowboys played in 1993, but it was still exciting being there. The Cowboys offense turned the ball over five times, with Aikman throwing three interceptions. Even with his interceptions Aikman was still 21 of 27 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns went to Michael Irvin, one from 42 yards and the other from three yards.
With the Cowboys leading 14-0 in the third quarter, cornerback Kevin Smith intercepted a Boomer Esiason pass and returned it 32 yards for the touchdown to increase the Cowboys lead to 21-0. Daryl Johnston closed out the Cowboys scoring with a four-yard touchdown run. The "Moose" call was heard throughout Giants Stadium as he scored and the Cowboys walked away with a 28-7 victory over the Jets.
As the game ended, Jimmy Johnson went to shake hands with Jets head coach Bruce Coslet, but Coslet just walked away from him. After the game, Coslet complained about Johnson sending a blitz after Esiason and trying to intentionally hurt him. When Johnson talked to the media, he didn't seem to care and with a slight smile he said:
"Someone needs to pass me a note or give me the rule when we are supposed to blitz or when we can't blitz. I don't know, we just try and win ball games. I haven't read the manual yet as far as what defenses we're supposed to play at the end of a game."
A few days after beating the Jets the Cowboys announced that they had signed Troy Aikman to a new eight year, $50 million contract. The contract made Aikman the highest paid player in NFL history.
The re-match with the Redskins was nothing like opening day when the Redskins beat the Cowboys 35-16 without Emmitt Smith. The Cowboys defense recorded four sacks and intercepted Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien twice. They allowed only a first quarter field goal to the Redskins and then the Cowboys scored the next 38 points and won 38-3. Emmitt Smith rushed 153 yards on only 21 carries and scored once. Troy Aikman threw for 193 yards as he completed 16 out of 20 passes and two touchdowns. Then for the second time in 1993, rookie Kevin Williams returned a punt for a touchdown from 62 yards out.
The Cowboys had put together a four game winning streaking since that horrible ending against the Dolphins on Thanksgiving. With one week left in the 1993 regular season the Cowboys and Giants were tied for the NFC East lead with 11-4 records. They would both meet for in the final game of the season at Giants Stadium and the winner would take the NFC East title. The winner would also secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The game was played on January 2, 1994 and weather would not be a concern as temperatures were in the mid 40s and sunny. The Cowboys went ahead early, 3-0 on an Eddie Murray field goal. Then in the second quarter Emmitt Smith caught a five yard touchdown pass from Troy Aikman to increase the Cowboys lead to 10-0. Murray added another field goal to end the first half, but it came with a price as Emmitt Smith was injured on the drive. The Cowboys went into halftime leading the Giants 13-0.
On the play that Emmitt Smith was injured he had broken free for a 47 yard gain, but was tackled hard and landed on his right shoulder. It was unsure how bad the shoulder injury was as Smith was taken off the field, but it was clear just how much pain he was from the look on his face. In the first half Smith had rushed for 109 yards and caught the touchdown pass from Aikman.
As the third quarter got under way it was announced that Smith had separated his shoulder, but that he would try to play. With a 13-0 lead the last thing the Cowboys wanted to do was give the Giants any momentum. But that is exactly what they did early in the third quarter when Kevin Williams tried to catch a Giants punt that the Cowboys had deflected. Instead of just letting the ball drop he ran towards it and as he tried to catch it the ball bounced off of his chest and the Giants recovered in Cowboys territory. The Giants took full advantage of the Cowboys turnover by scoring a touchdown to cut the Cowboys lead to, 13-7.
Emmitt Smith, despite a separated shoulder and being in a lot of pain, put on his helmet and ran onto the field on the Cowboys next possession. What ended up happening was the most incredible, courageous, selfless performance any player has ever done. With each play the pain that showed on Smith's face became worse. Every few plays Smith would come to the sidelines for a rest and just look towards the sky almost as if he was looking for the strength to continue. Even playing with all the pain and only one arm, the Giants could not slow Emmitt Smith down. The Giants did however stop the Cowboys from scoring in the second half and were able to battle back and tie the game 13-13 with ten seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
The Giants got the ball first in overtime, but after an illegal chop block was called on the Giants' Jumbo Elliott, the Giants were forced to punt. The Cowboys took over and continued to feed the ball to Emmitt Smith. Smith would later say that every time he was hit he could hear a crunching noise in his shoulder. Through all of the pain, Emmitt continued to play.
The Cowboys put together an 11 play drive in overtime. Emmitt Smith touched the ball on nine of those 11 plays. He ran the ball, he caught the ball. It was the most amazing performance I have ever seen on the football field by a player. Emmitt Smith got the Cowboys into range for an Eddie Murray field goal attempt to win the game. With less than five minutes left in overtime, Murray kicked a 41-yard field goal to win the game, 16-13. The Cowboys clinched their second straight NFC Eastern Division title and received home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Emmitt Smith rushed for an incredible 168 yards on 32 carries as well as catching 10 passes for 61 yards. Aikman connected on 24 of 30 passes for 180 yards the one touchdown to Smith.
The Cowboys finished the 1993 season winning their last five games to go 12-4. They had to fight through injuries to Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Ken Norton Jr., Mark Stepnoski, Charles Haley and many others. They started the season 0-2 because of Emmitt Smith’s holdout. Even with all those obstacles the Cowboys faced in 1993 they still finished with the best record in the NFC and tied for the best record in the NFL with the Bills and Oilers.
Emmitt Smith had another great season for the Cowboys in 1993. Smith missed almost four games during the season with his holdout and injuries, but he still managed to rush for 1,486 yards and captured his third straight rushing title. Smith was also named the NFLs MVP for the 1993 season. Troy Aikman also had a great season as he threw for 3,100 yards, 15 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The signing of kicker Eddie Murray at the beginning of the season paid off for the Cowboys as Murray connected on 28 of 33 field goals. Michael Irvin had 1,330 yards receiving and scored seven touchdowns. Alvin Harper added 777 yards receiving and scored five times.
The Cowboys also filled the NFL Pro-Bowl roster with their own offense. They became the first team to ever to have a starter at every position with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Daryl Johnston, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, Mark Stepnoski, Nate Newton and Eric Williams. Defensively for the Cowboys, Russell Maryland, Ken Norton Jr. and Thomas Everett were voted to the Pro-Bowl as well.
To be continued...
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