Before the 1991 season, the Cowboys made several changes. In 1990, the offense had ranked last among the twenty-eight teams of the NFL. So they demoted offensive coordinator David Shula and replaced him with Norv Turner. When Emmitt Smith met Turner for the first time, he went right up to the coach with a big smile on his face and asked, “Are you gonna give me the ball this year, or what?”
Turner just laughed and told Emmitt he had nothing to worry about. That’s all he needed to hear. He just wanted a chance. If he got one, he was convinced he would come through.
Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson had precisely the same attitude entering the upcoming season. He told his team, “Not only will we make the playoffs, but we will have success in the playoffs.” As far as Johnson was concerned, being competitive wasn’t good enough anymore. He expected the Cowboys to win.
Emmitt Smith had his goals, too. When he wrote down before the season what he hoped to accomplish, he added “NFL Rushing Title” to the list.
In the first game of the season Emmitt Smith and the rest of the Cowboys proved they were up to the task. Facing the always difficult Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, the Cowboys ground out a tough 26–14 win.
Emmitt Smith was magnificent. As Turner had promised, the Cowboys kept putting the ball in his hands. He carried the ball 32 times and caught six passes. Although he gained only 112 yards on the ground, his performance permitted the Cowboys to control the ball for a long time, keeping Cleveland off the field and allowing the Cowboys to protect their lead.
He followed that performance one week later by exploding for a 75-yard touchdown run against the Washington Redskins. But during the second half, he became sick to his stomach and had to leave the game. The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker, 33–31.
After losing their second game in a row the next week, the Cowboys suddenly caught fire, winning five of six. Emmitt Smith keyed the surge with his spectacular running, including a 182-yard game against Phoenix on September 22.
After nine games, the Cowboys were 6–3, in the middle of the playoff hunt. Emmitt Smith was averaging more than 100 yards per game and was among the NFL leaders in rushing yardage.
In Week Ten, the Cowboys faced the Houston Oilers, their intrastate rivals. At 7–2, the Oilers were also looking forward to the playoffs.
Through four quarters, the two teams played each other even. Tied at 23, the game went into overtime.
The Cowboys got the ball and started driving downfield. They were well within field goal range when they handed the ball to Emmitt Smith one last time.
Since Dallas was already within field goal range, his priorities should have been to protect the ball first, then worry about gaining yardage. But he just couldn’t help himself. He wanted to score a game-winning touchdown. When the Oilers tackled him, instead of going down, he struggled forward and lost his grip on the ball. Fumble!
Houston recovered. Quarterback Warren Moon marched them down the field, and the Oilers kicked a field goal to win, 26–23.
Emmitt felt terrible. He knew his miscue had cost his team the game.
He tried to make up for that mistake the following week against the New York Giants, but the harder he tried, the worse he played. He made two critical fumbles, and the Giants won, 22–9. Suddenly, the Cowboys were only 6–5. They were in danger of not making the playoffs.
Their schedule wasn’t getting any easier, either. Their next opponent, the Washington Redskins, were 11–0.
The Cowboys fell behind 7–0 in the first quarter. On third down at the 34-yard line, Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson knew he had to gamble. He crossed up the Redskins and called a draw play for Emmitt Smith.
A draw play is a run designed to start out looking like a pass. When the ball is snapped, the running back just stays in place and pretends to pass-block. The quarterback drops back as if to pass, the wide receivers race downfield, and the offensive line steps back to create a protective pocket around the quarterback.
Then the quarterback hands off the ball. By this time, the defense thinks the play is a pass. If the running back can make it through the line of scrimmage, the middle of the field is usually wide-open.
That’s just what happened. Emmitt burst through the line, then charged down the middle of the field for a game-tying touchdown.
The rest of the game was a seesaw battle. Even when Troy Aikman injured his knee in the second half, the Cowboys kept it a close game. They won, 24–21, to keep their playoff hopes alive.
With Aikman out of the lineup, the Cowboys’ offense depended on Emmitt Smith. Over the final five games of the season, including the Washington game, he averaged more than 30 carries per game. The Cowboys won all five and vaulted into the playoffs.
In their first playoff appearance since 1985, the Cowboys defeated the Chicago Bears, 17–13, in the first round. Emmitt Smith became the first running back, ever, to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bears in a playoff game. Scheduled to face the Detroit Lions in round two, the Cowboys may have started looking ahead to a potential rematch against the Redskins for the NFC championship.
It was not to be. The Lions took control early and beat Dallas in every way possible, 38–6. The Cowboys’ season was over.
Yet, despite the loss, they still accomplished much of what they had set out to do. As Johnson had promised, the Cowboys made the playoffs and had some success. And Emmitt Smith reached his personal goal. He won the NFL rushing title with 1,563 yards.
But a new season meant new goals. Johnson challenged his team to win the Super Bowl. So Emmitt added a Super Bowl win to his own list. He and the Cowboys couldn’t wait for the 1992 season to begin.
In the off-season, the team traded for San Francisco defensive lineman Charles Haley and defensive back Thomas Everett, solidifying the defense. Dallas began the 1992 season as bona fide Super Bowl contenders.
The Cowboys faced their first test in the season opener against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Washington Redskins. Even though it was only the first game of the season, Dallas knew the Redskins game was important. Both teams were in the same division. It would be almost impossible for the Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl without beating Washington.
Dallas passed the test with flying colors. The Cowboys shredded the Redskins’ defense for nearly 400 total yards. Emmitt Smith gained 140 yards all by himself. Dallas won, 23–10, and set its sights on the Super Bowl.
From the first week, the Cowboys were clearly one of the best teams in pro football. They roared through the remainder of the regular season and entered the final week with a stellar 12–3 record.
Emmitt Smith was a big reason why the Cowboys were so good. Every time they needed him to pick up a first down or keep a drive going, he did. He even added pass-catching to his offensive repertoire, as he finished third on the team in receiving, with 59 catches. Entering the final game against Chicago, all of his preseason goals were still within reach.
Earlier that day, Pittsburgh running back Barry Foster had ended his season with a total of 1,690 yards rushing. Emmitt Smith began the day with 1,582 yards, knowing he needed 108 yards to catch Foster and capture his second consecutive NFL rushing title.
He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Although the Bears had failed to make the playoffs, their defense, led by linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive end Richard Dent, was tough and experienced. They had nothing to lose and wanted to shut down Emmitt Smith.
The Bears’ defense keyed on Smith, and the Cowboys played conservatively. They just kept giving the ball to him and hoped he would pass Foster without getting hurt.
Early in the third quarter, the Cowboys led by two touchdowns and had the ball on the Chicago 31-yard line. Emmitt Smith had already rushed for 100 yards. He needed only eight more to tie Foster.
On the next play, the Cowboys gave the ball to Emmitt Smith for the 373rd time that season. And for the 373rd time, he was a split second ahead of everyone else on the field.
He burst through the hole in the middle of the line, then cut back against the grain, eluding the Bears’ linebackers. Then he headed upfield, zigging by one defensive back and zagging past another before taking aim at the end zone.
Crossing the goal line, he knew thafthe rushing title was his and that his day was over. Without breaking stride, he just kept running, right through the end zone and into the tunnel under the stands that leads to the dressing room, the ball tucked securely under his arm, and more than 60,000 Dallas fans roaring and cheering.
The Cowboys won, 27–14, to finish the regular season at 13–3. Emmitt Smith had accomplished one goal. There was one more he still wanted to reach.