THROUGH THE EYES OF A FAN, Part 9 of 16

"THROUGH THE EYES OF A FAN"

THE LONG ROAD BACK TO THE TOP

FOR THE DALLASCOWBOYS

JANUARY 31, 1993: The day had finally arrived and the game was about to be played. Before the game even started I had to sit through two and a half hours of pre-game.  It was a beautiful day in California as the sun was shining on the Rose Bowl and there was barely a cloud in the sky. As the Cowboys were introduced to the 98,374 fans, I wanted to take it all in as I watched them come out of that tunnel.

The Cowboys were forced to punt on their first possession. It didn't help matters any when the Bills Steve Tasker blocked Mike Saxon’s punt and the Bills took over deep in Cowboys territory. Then a few plays later Thurman Thomas scored on a two yard run to give the Bills an early 7-0 lead.

Not sure if was the all the excitement of the Super Bowl and all the nerves, but the Cowboys were not playing like they had been playing leading up to the Super Bowl. All it took was the first big play for the Cowboys that seemed to wake them up. Safety James Washington intercepted a Jim Kelly pass at mid-field and that allowed the Cowboys offense to take over. Then with the Cowboys facing a third down and 18 in Bills territory, Troy Aikman threw a strike to Michael Irvin for a first down that seemed to ignite the team. Aikman led the Cowboys to a touchdown with a 23 yard pass to Jay Novacek to tie the game at 7-7.

On the Bills next possession they found themselves pinned against their own goal line. Charles Haley who usually plays right defensive end, switched to the left side and made the Bills pay. He beat his blocker with ease and hit quarterback Jim Kelly, forcing Kelly to fumble the ball. The Cowboys Leon Lett tipped the ball in the air and Jimmie Jones caught it as he fell into the end zone for a Cowboys touchdown. It put the Cowboys up 14-7 at the end of the first quarter and they would never look back.

In the second quarter the Cowboys defense held the Bills to no points on a goal line stand. On third and goal Bills running back Kenneth Davis thought he had a clear shot at the end zone until he hit a wall at the one yard line. That wall was Ken Norton Jr. Norton grabbed Davis, stood him straight up and pushed him back with some help from his teammates. It set up a fourth and goal and the Bills decided to go for it instead of attempting a field goal. Defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt and defensive line coach Butch Davis seemed to know what the Bills were going to try. Instead of the Cowboys running their goal line defense, they brought in their nickel defense. Jim Kelly took the snap and rolled to his right and threw into the end zone. That's where Cowboys safety Thomas Everett leaped over everyone and came down with the interception to end the Bills threat.

Even though the Bills seemed to move the ball well against the Cowboys defense at times, the no-huddle offense of the Bills did not seem to be giving the Cowboys any problems. They were still able to make their defensive substitutions when they had to. Then things got worse for the Bills when Ken Norton Jr. blitzed up the middle and landed on Kelly's knee in the second quarter. Kelly was lost for the rest of the game and was replaced by backup quarterback Frank Reich.

In the second quarter with the Cowboys leading 14-10, Troy Aikman and the Cowboys offense put together a drive that ended when Aikman connected with Irvin on a 19 yard touchdown that put them ahead 21-10. On the Bills next possession, Thurman Thomas fumbled and the Cowboys recovered. Only 18 seconds after Irvin scored, he scored again from 18 yards on Aikman's third touchdown pass of the first half. The Cowboys went into halftime with a commanding 28-10 lead over on the Bills.

The Cowboys only points of the third quarter were a Lin Elliott field to increase their lead to 31-10. The Bills scored on the last play of the third quarter to make the score 31-17. Frank Reich threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to Don Beebe, but the touchdown should have been called back because Reich was clearly over the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball. Somehow the officials missed it and allowed the touchdown. Even with a two touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter Jimmy Johnson was not happy about the Bills touchdown. It would be the last points the Bills would score in Super Bowl XXVII.

The fourth quarter started with Aikman connecting with a wide open Alvin Harper for a 45 yard touchdown to make the score 38-17. Harper celebrated his touchdown by slam dunking the ball over the crossbar. Emmitt Smith got his own Super Bowl touchdown later in the fourth quarter with a ten yard run to increase the Cowboys lead to 45-17.

The Cowboys collected another defensive touchdown when Ken Norton Jr. returned a Frank Reich fumble ten yards for a touchdown. With the score 52-17 the Cowboys had a chance to break the Super Bowl scoring record. Leon Lett recovered yet another Bills fumble and started running down the sideline towards the end zone, but Lett started his touchdown celebration a little early. The Bills Don Beebe had chased Lett all the way down the field and was able to knock the ball out of Lett's hand as he held the ball out in celebration before crossing the goal line. The ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback. It's a Super Bowl blunder that nobody will ever forget. It would also not be the last blunder in Lett's career. The play cost the Cowboys a chance at 59 points which would have been a Super Bowl record. With the final score 52-17 it really didn't matter much as the celebration began for the Cowboys.

Super Bowl XXVII was over and the Dallas Cowboys were Champions of the football world. After years of waiting, the Cowboys were finally Super Bowl Champions again. From 1-15 in 1989 to Super Bowl Champs in 1992. The Cowboys had won their third World Championship.

The Cowboys defense forced a record nine turnovers in Super Bowl XXVII. Four interceptions and five fumble recoveries. They returned two of the fumble recoveries for touchdowns. They also sacked the Bills quarterbacks four times.

The MVP of Super Bowl XXVII was given to Troy Aikman for his outstanding performance. He completed 22 out of 30 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. Emmitt Smith had another great game with 108 yards rushing and a touchdown. Michael Irvin had 114 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Jay Novacek caught seven passes for 72 yards and scored once.

In Troy Aikman's three playoff games from 1992 he completed 61 out 89 passes for 795 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Emmitt Smith added 336 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

After enjoying the Super Bowl XXVII victory for a while I started to wonder if the Cowboys could actually win second straight Super Bowl in 1993. They had all the players, all the coaches and it just seemed like there would be no issues in challenging for another title. However, it does not work that way in the NFL and the Cowboys off season would become very interesting and also very disruptive.

To be continued...