Dallas Cowboys
vs.
San Francisco 49ers
Wow! It's hard to believe that it really has been this long.
But I guess the calendar doesn't lie.
Yes, today is the 25th anniversary of what was then a huge game between the two teams that would wind up being one of the greatest rivalries in NFL history, and the rivalry of the 1990's!
The San Francisco 49ers, the defending "Team of the Decade," were the establishing powerhouse, and got to host this game at Candlestick Park by virtue of an impressive 14-2 regular season. The young, upstart Dallas Cowboys were on the rise, having gone from 1-15 in 1989 to 7-9 in 1990, and then finished 11-5 and won a Wildcard Game before bowing to Detroit in the divisional rounds following the 1991 season. Dallas had finished the 1992 regular season with a 13-3 record, second best in the league behind the 49ers, and many picked them to become the new "Team of the Decade" for the 1990's.
San Francisco came in as the favorites, with Vegas favoring them by four. Weather was a factor, as heavy rains in the days prior had made the field soggy and muddy and very slippery. That would be a factor, perhaps especially in terms of the turnovers. However, by the second half, the sun was beginning to peak through.
Very early on, the crowd got wild when Steve Young completed a long 63-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice, but this wound up being negated because of a holding penalty on offensive lineman Guy McIntyre. The 49ers were forced to punt. Dallas also punted shortly thereafter, but the Niner's Alan Grant lost the ball after a hit by the Cowboys Dixon Edwards. The "Mouse," Daryl Johnson, recovered, and the 'Boys were in business. The 'Niners defense held tough, but the Cowboys managed to get a field goal, taking an early 3-0 lead.
San Fran's Mark Logan returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to get the home crowd excited again. With some big plays by Ricky Watters and Steve Young, the 49ers answered with a touchdown drive of their own, and a 7-3 lead. For a while after that, the 'Niners seemed to threaten to dominate, sacking Aikman twice, and getting into scoring position when they got the ball back, although Mike Coffer missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
Then, another turnover by San Francisco's special teams gave the Cowboys an opportunity when Watters fumbled the football, and it was recovered by Kevin Smith of the Cowboys. Not too much later, Dallas took a 10-7 lead when Emmitt Smith ran it in, after a holding call by Pierce Holt kept the drive alive. The 49ers managed to get a field goal of their own, and after a missed field goal attempt for Dallas just before halftime, the two teams went into the locker room with the game tied, 10-10.
I remember broadcast booth announcers John Madden and Pat Summerall discussing things at that point, and suggesting that the young and still largely inexperienced Cowboys must have been feeling good about their situation, tied with the 49ers after one full half of football in San Francisco. Indeed, that was the way that it felt. The 49ers were a dangerous team to play, and games could quickly get out of hand if their opponents allowed them to get on a roll. So, for the Cowboys to hold them to a 10-10 tie seemed pretty good to that point.
San Francisco came in as the favorites, with Vegas favoring them by four. Weather was a factor, as heavy rains in the days prior had made the field soggy and muddy and very slippery. That would be a factor, perhaps especially in terms of the turnovers. However, by the second half, the sun was beginning to peak through.
Very early on, the crowd got wild when Steve Young completed a long 63-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Rice, but this wound up being negated because of a holding penalty on offensive lineman Guy McIntyre. The 49ers were forced to punt. Dallas also punted shortly thereafter, but the Niner's Alan Grant lost the ball after a hit by the Cowboys Dixon Edwards. The "Mouse," Daryl Johnson, recovered, and the 'Boys were in business. The 'Niners defense held tough, but the Cowboys managed to get a field goal, taking an early 3-0 lead.
San Fran's Mark Logan returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to get the home crowd excited again. With some big plays by Ricky Watters and Steve Young, the 49ers answered with a touchdown drive of their own, and a 7-3 lead. For a while after that, the 'Niners seemed to threaten to dominate, sacking Aikman twice, and getting into scoring position when they got the ball back, although Mike Coffer missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
Then, another turnover by San Francisco's special teams gave the Cowboys an opportunity when Watters fumbled the football, and it was recovered by Kevin Smith of the Cowboys. Not too much later, Dallas took a 10-7 lead when Emmitt Smith ran it in, after a holding call by Pierce Holt kept the drive alive. The 49ers managed to get a field goal of their own, and after a missed field goal attempt for Dallas just before halftime, the two teams went into the locker room with the game tied, 10-10.
I remember broadcast booth announcers John Madden and Pat Summerall discussing things at that point, and suggesting that the young and still largely inexperienced Cowboys must have been feeling good about their situation, tied with the 49ers after one full half of football in San Francisco. Indeed, that was the way that it felt. The 49ers were a dangerous team to play, and games could quickly get out of hand if their opponents allowed them to get on a roll. So, for the Cowboys to hold them to a 10-10 tie seemed pretty good to that point.
In the second half, Dallas capitalized on the opening drive of the half. They went 78 yards down the field, with the key play being a 38-yard pass from Aikman to Alvin Harper. The drive was capped by a short run by Mouse Johnson, and Dallas retook the lead, 17-10.
Frisco managed to get a field goal to keep it close, but Dallas then cobbled together a solid 79-yard drive that ate more than nine minutes of the clock, taking the game into the fourth quarter. Aikman hit Kelvin Martin for a 16-yard touchdown, and the Cowboys now had a serious 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
It looked like the Cowboys would lock it up when Ken Norton intercepted a pass by Young on San Fran's ensuing drive. Dallas got all the way to the San Francisco 7-yard line, but that was when the drive stalled. Instead of kicking the field goal, the 'Boys went for it on fourth down and one, and lost that gamble.
The 'Niners were back in business. And they took advantage, going 93-yards down the field that ended with a touchdown pass from Young to Rice. It got the crowd pumped up again, although Rice was not in a celebratory mood. Perhaps that was because, by that point, there were less than five minutes to play in the game.
Maybe it seemed like Dallas would look to kill the clock on the next drive, but instead, on the very first offensive play of the drive, Aikman hit Alvin Harper for a 14-yard pass, but Harper then sprinted down the open field for an additional 70 yards, and Candlestick got quiet once again. Dallas was again in scoring position. Three plays later, Aikman hit Martin, who was kind of flipped around by the San Fran defense, but the play was good for a touchdown. The Cowboys missed the extra point, but they had a comfortable 30-20 lead, with time and opportunity rapidly running out on the 49ers.
San Francisco had one more opportunity, but Young was intercepted by James Washington, ending the 49ers last real hopes of pulling off a comeback. The Cowboys won the big showdown by the bay, and would go on to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, where they dismantled the Buffalo Bills, 52-17, en route to the first of what would be three title runs in a span of four years, which set a new standard. No other team had previously done that (although the New England Patriots managed the feat later on).
One of the most iconic images, if you will, to come from that game happened after it was all over. CBS, the network that covered the NFC back in those days, had footage of head coach Jimmy Johnson's celebratory speech, and he asked his men, "How 'bout them Cowboys?"
It was a good game, to boot! Highly anticipated, and hugely entertaining. You just sensed that these were the two best teams all season long not only in the NFC, but in the NFL overall. And frankly, this was just the beginning of an era when these two teams would dominate the league, an era that only ended when the 49ers were shocked by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in the 1995-96 playoffs, and even then, the Dallas Cowboys ultimately proved to be the best team, winning the last of their titles. But it all started here, with this game, when they proved themselves capable of beating the NFL's best, which seemed to be the San Francisco 49ers entering this epic NFC Championship Game.
It was a good game, to boot! Highly anticipated, and hugely entertaining. You just sensed that these were the two best teams all season long not only in the NFC, but in the NFL overall. And frankly, this was just the beginning of an era when these two teams would dominate the league, an era that only ended when the 49ers were shocked by Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in the 1995-96 playoffs, and even then, the Dallas Cowboys ultimately proved to be the best team, winning the last of their titles. But it all started here, with this game, when they proved themselves capable of beating the NFL's best, which seemed to be the San Francisco 49ers entering this epic NFC Championship Game.
Those were exciting times, both on the football field and off it. I was happy that the Dallas Cowboys managed to beat the hated 49ers, and it seemed to be one more indicator of youthful energy taking over. Just a few days after this, the young Bill Clinton would take the oath of office, and like Kennedy's passing of the torch from one generation of Americans to another, it seemed to embody a passing from the World War II generation, to the Baby Boomers. Also, music was changing, as the Seattle scene was popular at fever pitch. Alternative music was quickly gaining in popularity, and had already largely taken over.
And, of course, in my own life, things were changing. I had just graduated high school months before, and right around the time that this game took place, I started the spring semester at Bergen Community College, which gave me a new sense of direction and purpose, as well as the beginnings of a period when I would enjoy a better, fuller social life than anytime before or since.
Ah, what a time that was, a quarter of a century ago!
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