PeakDash

Cowboys Crumple Same Old Bills, 52-17

By Richard Justice
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 1, 1993; Page C1

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 31 – Led by their brilliant young quarterback and backed by a defense that forced a record nine turnovers, the Dallas Cowboys finished what a maverick owner and a rookie coach began dreaming about in the spring of 1989, as they crushed the hapless Buffalo Bills, 52-17, to win Super Bowl XXVII in front of 98,374 today at the Rose Bowl.

Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was named most valuable player after a near-perfect performance that included 22 completions in 30 pass attempts for 273 yards and four touchdowns. But he could have carved the trophy into small pieces and handed one to running back Emmitt Smith for his 108 rushing yards, another to wide receiver Michael Irvin for 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns and still another for an offensive line that neutralized end Bruce Smith and the Bills defense.

Safety Thomas Everett could have gotten a chunk for intercepting two passes as could defensive end Charles Haley for forcing a fumble and keeping relentless pressure on the Buffalo quarterbacks. Defensive tackle Jimmie Jones and linebacker Ken Norton scored touchdowns after picking up fumbles and Norton had a touchdown-saving tackle at the goal line.

"It's as great a feeling as I've ever had in my life," Aikman said. "I wish every player could experience it."

The Cowboys won by forcing mistakes, making big plays and scoring in waves, getting a pair of scores in a 15-second stretch of the first quarter, two more in an 18-second stretch of the second quarter and three more during a 2:33 span of the fourth quarter. They turned five of the nine turnovers into touchdowns.

Haley and Everett arrived last summer when owner Jerry Jones and Coach Jimmy Johnson began putting together the final pieces of the championship team they began building when Jones bought the Cowboys four years ago and promptly fired one Texas legend -- Coach Tom Landry -- and forced out another -- team president Tex Schramm.

"We said all year that the best game we were going to play was the last game," Johnson said, "and we saved the best for last. We really played well throughout the playoffs. I felt all along we had the best foot ball team. Sometimes that's misconstrued as far as our expectations because we're very optimistic. But there was never any doubt we'd get to this point."

President Clinton telephoned the winning locker room to offer congratulations to Johnson and Jones. "I think you understand how much we put into this thing," Johnson told the president. "It's a great feeling for all of our team. You know a little bit about perseverance yourself, so I know you understand."

Schramm and Landry had helped make the Cowboys one of the dominant teams of the 1970s and early '80s, as they won two Super Bowls. But the franchise slipped before the Jones-Johnson team took over.

Johnson proved his coaching genius, not just in the 46 trades that pulled the Cowboys out of the dumps, but also in proving he can win at every level. He became the first man to play for a national college champion (University of Arkansas in 1964), coach a national college champion (University of Miami 1987) and coach a Super Bowl champion.

"Understand this," he told his players after the game. "As good as you feel right now, you must understand that the love and support you have for each other, the commitment you made, is what got you here. Don't ever forget that."

And the Bills?

No, not the bickering Bills. They had done little bickering this week. But after keeping their mouths shut, they went out and became the first team to lose three straight Super Bowls. They ushered the NFC to its ninth straight victory with the third most lopsided Super Bowl in history and etched themselves a place in NFL lore as a team that played its worst when the most was at stake.

"If I knew the answer, we'd have won," linebacker Shane Conlan said. "We just didn't produce. Troy Aikman is a great quarterback, but if you can't stop the running game, you've got problems. It's tough. There's nothing a coach or anyone else can do about it when you're not stopping them up front, and I mean pressuring the quarterback and running the ball. We know we have a great team. We've been down by more than two touchdowns, but today we couldn't turn things around."

Bills quarterback Jim Kelly threw a pair of interceptions before departing with a sprained knee in the second quarter. He forced one bad pass into the end zone that delayed the rout, but in the end the Bills lost five fumbles and threw four interceptions for a Super Bowl record.

Running back Thurman Thomas wasn't a factor for a second straight Super Bowl. A year after getting 13 yards on 10 carries against the Washington Redskins, he went for 19 yards on 11 carries against the Cowboys. The lone Bill who can walk away proud of his day was wide receiver Andre Reed, who caught eight passes for 152 yards.

Former University of Maryland quarterback Frank Reich entered the game after Kelly got hurt, but this time there would be no comeback as there had been four weeks ago against the Houston Oilers.

The Bills hung around for a while, trailing 14-10 when Steve Christie kicked a 21-yard field goal with 3:24 left in the first half. But the Cowboys put it away in a span of 18 dizzying seconds with a Thomas fumble sandwiched between a pair of Aikman-to-Irvin touchdown passes.

"I can't sit here, I promise you, and put into words how this feels," Irvin said. "You dream about the moment. You dream about what it would be like. It's such a dream. Actually, it's a fantasy."

eich's 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Don Beebe made it 31-17 as the third quarter ended, but the Cowboys finished with three scores and missed another (and a Super Bowl record for most points scored) only because defensive tackle Leon Lett began celebrating a touchdown before he'd crossed the goal line and lost control of the ball as Beebe stripped it.

Dallas led 28-10 at the half thanks to five Buffalo turnovers and a brilliant performance by Aikman, who completed 14 of his first 19 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bills had some moments early, beginning with the Cowboys' first possession when special teams star Steve Tasker slipped around rookie linebacker Robert Jones and blocked Mike Saxon's punt.

Buffalo took over at the Dallas 16, and five plays later, Thomas bulled across the goal line from the 2 for a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. The score came two plays after Kelly almost made his first mistake of the day when Haley stripped the ball from him on third and three at the 9. Haley tried to pick it up, dropped it again and tackle Will Wolford recovered for the Bills.

"I told our players how I expected the ballgame to go," Johnson said. "I said we would be somewhat conservative early because I felt we'd get some takeaways. I felt we had the best football team. As far as the domination, when you turn the ball over that much you're going to have problems. It's going to snowball.

"They should be proud of what they've accomplished," Johnson said he told his team. "I've been around a lot of championship teams, and the common thread is you have good common people committed to being the very best.

"I felt as the game went on, we would be stronger the second half. I felt because of the depth and the way we rotate players. I was a little concerned about it taking some time to adjust to the no-huddle, but we'd prepared very hard for it."

The Bills led 7-0 and had a first down at the 50-yard line when Kelly made a big mistake. Safety Kenneth Gant got pressure on him, and trying to force a ball into coverage, Kelly was intercepted by safety James Washington.

Six plays later, Aikman lofted a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Novacek.

The unraveling of the Bills had begun. On the next Buffalo play, Haley slammed Kelly at the 2-yard line, the ball popped out and Jimmie Jones caught it in the air and bounced into the end zone for a 14-7 lead.

The Bills drove to the Dallas 1 and were a yard away from a tie when Kelly blundered again. Reed turned a short pass into a 40-yard gain, but from the 1, the Bills couldn't score. On second and goal, linebacker Vinson Smith stopped Thomas for no gain. On third down, Norton made a great play in nailing running back Kenneth Davis in the open field for no gain. Bills Coach Marv Levy passed up the field goal attempt, but on fourth and goal, Kelly rolled right and made a bad pass.

He seemed to be throwing for tight end Pete Metzelaars, but Everett was closer to the ball. He caught it and the Bills had missed a big chance.

It was 14-10 when Aikman led a five-play, 72-yard drive that ended with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Irvin. The Bills then coughed it up again when Lett stripped the ball from Thomas and Jimmie Jones recovered at the Buffalo 19. Aikman made it 28-10 with a 19-yard strike to Irvin and the rout was on.

The Cowboys opened the second half by driving 77 yards for Lin Elliott's 20-yard field goal. Beebe's touchdown catch made it 31-17, but that was it for the Bills.

After exchanging punts, Dallas got the ball on its 44. Emmitt Smith gained 11 and then wide receiver Alvin Harper got behind the Buffalo secondary and caught a 45-yard touchdown pass. Two plays later, Everett got his second interception and returned it 22 yards to the 8. Smith made it 45-17 with a weaving 10-yard touchdown run and when Norton picked up Reich's fumble moments later, it was 52-17.

"There was a certain amount of pressure on us," Aikman said, "but it couldn't compare with the pressure they were under. They have a great team. They've accomplished so much. It's sad they'll be remembered in a negative way. They've done what only one other team has done. It's very tough."

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