1993 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1993 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League and was the fifth and final year of the franchise under head coach Jimmy Johnson which the Cowboys made two of three Super Bowl appearance between 1992-95. and a won back-to-back Super Bowl titles. The season is notable for seeing the Cowboys that became the first team to start 0–2 and still reach (and subsequently win) the Super Bowl. The following off-season was marked by the sudden resignation of Johnson, though he would coach the Miami Dolphins for the 1996 season.

1993 Dallas Cowboys season
Head coachJimmy Johnson
OwnerJerry Jones
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 27–17
Won NFC Championship (49ers) 38–21
Won Super Bowl XXVIII (vs. Bills) 30–13

Regular season

The Cowboys' journey towards Super Bowl XXVIII proved more difficult than the previous season. Running back Emmitt Smith held out the first two regular season games over a contract dispute. Dallas would lose both games to the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills starting the season at 0–2. The team would also acquire veteran quarterback Bernie Kosar after his release from the Cleveland Browns as insurance for starting quarterback Troy Aikman, who suffered a severe concussion in the NFC Championship game versus San Francisco.

In arguably his finest game as a professional, Emmitt Smith suffered a 2nd degree separated shoulder in the regular season finale versus their NFC East division rival, New York Giants. Smith willed himself through excruciating pain and carried the Cowboys to an overtime win. Dallas finished with an NFC-best 12–4 record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Smith was later named the NFL MVP and with 1,486 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns, also gave him his third NFL rushing title. Smith would also later be voted Super Bowl MVP, giving him the honor of being the only player to win all three awards in the same season. Another outstanding Smith performance came against the Eagles, where he rushed for a career-high 237 yards.

The season was also notable for the Leon Lett "blunder" in the annual Thanksgiving Day game. With Texas Stadium unusually covered with snow and ice, Dallas led the Dolphins 14–13 with seconds remaining as the Dolphins' Pete Stoyanovich attempted a long field goal. The Cowboys' Jimmie Jones blocked the field goal, apparently ending the game. However, with the blocked ball rolling around at the Dallas 10, Lett attempted to fall on it and slipped, kicking the ball and making it "live" again. Miami recovered and Stoyanovich made the most of his shorter second chance, giving the Dolphins a most improbable 16–14 win.

Aikman finished the regular season completing 271 out of 392 passes for 3,100 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. While wide receiver Michael Irvin once again led the team with 88 catches for 1,330 yards and 7 touchdowns. Wide receiver Alvin Harper had 36 catches for 777 yards and 5 touchdowns and tight end Jay Novacek had 44 receptions for 445 yards and 1 touchdown. The offensive line consisted of Pro Bowlers Mark Stepnoski, Erik Williams, and Nate Newton. The defense was also anchored by Pro Bowlers such as Russell Maryland, Ken Norton Jr., Thomas Everett.

Schedule

November 25

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Game
recap
1 September 6 at Washington Redskins L 16–35 0–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
2 September 12 Buffalo Bills L 10–13 0–2 Texas Stadium Recap
3 September 19 at Phoenix Cardinals W 17–10 1–2 Sun Devil Stadium Recap
4 Bye
5 October 3 Green Bay Packers W 36–14 2–2 Texas Stadium Recap
6 October 10 at Indianapolis Colts W 27–3 3–2 Hoosier Dome Recap
7 October 17 San Francisco 49ers W 26–17 4–2 Texas Stadium Recap
8 Bye
9 October 31 at Philadelphia Eagles W 23–10 5–2 Veterans Stadium Recap
10 November 7 New York Giants W 31–9 6–2 Texas Stadium Recap
11 November 14 Phoenix Cardinals W 20–15 7–2 Texas Stadium Recap
12 November 21 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–27 7–3 Georgia Dome Recap
13 November 25 Miami Dolphins L 14–16 7–4 Texas Stadium Recap
14 December 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–17 8–4 Texas Stadium Recap
15 December 12 at Minnesota Vikings W 37–20 9–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap
16 December 18 at New York Jets W 28–7 10–4 Giants Stadium Recap
17 December 26 Washington Redskins W 38–3 11–4 Texas Stadium Recap
18 January 2 at New York Giants W 16–13 (OT) 12–4 Giants Stadium Recap

Game summaries

Week 7
1 234Total
49ers 10 070 17
• Cowboys 3 1373 26

[1]

Week 16
1 234Total
• Cowboys 0 7147 28
Jets 0 007 7

[2]

Standings
NFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(1) Dallas Cowboys 12 4 0 .750 376 229 W5
(4) New York Giants 11 5 0 .688 288 205 L2
Philadelphia Eagles 8 8 0 .500 293 315 W3
Phoenix Cardinals 7 9 0 .438 326 269 W3
Washington Redskins 4 12 0 .250 230 345 L2

Playoffs

Schedule
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Game Recap
Wild Card First-round bye
Divisional January 16, 1994 Green Bay Packers (6) W 27–17 1–0 Texas Stadium Recap
NFC Championship January 23, 1994 San Francisco 49ers (2) W 38–21 2–0 Texas Stadium Recap
Super Bowl XXVIII January 30, 1994 Buffalo Bills (A1) W 30–13 3–0 Georgia Dome Recap

NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas Cowboys 27, Green Bay Packers 17
1 2 34Total
Packers 3 0 7717
Cowboys 0 17 7327

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

NFC Championship Game
Dallas Cowboys 38, San Francisco 49ers 21
1 2 34Total
49ers 0 7 7721
Cowboys 7 21 7338

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Super Bowl XXVIII
Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13
1 2 34Total
Cowboys 6 0 141030
Bills 3 10 0013

at Georgia Dome, Atlanta

  • Scoring summary
  • DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 41 yards 3–0 DAL
  • BUF – FG: Steve Christie 54 yards 3–3 tie
  • DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 24 yards 6–3 DAL
  • BUF – TD: Thurman Thomas 4 yard run (Steve Christie kick) 10–6 BUF
  • BUF – FG: Steve Christie 28 yards 13–6 BUF
  • DAL – TD: James Washington 46 yard fumble return (Eddie Murray kick) 13–13 tie
  • DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 17 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) 20–13 DAL
  • DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 1 yard run (Eddie Murray kick) 27–13 DAL
  • DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 20 yards 30–13 DAL

Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1993 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

 Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

 Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics
53 Active, 4 Inactive

Awards and records

Publications
  • The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
  • Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
  • Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References
  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-May-18.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Apr-14.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2012-08-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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