With the Cowboys over half a year away from taking the field for the 2018 season, we are going to go back in time to check out a random game from the team’s past and make some observations after watching that game. Most of my collection of over 125 Cowboys’ games is from the relatively recent past, but I have collected some older games over the years and You Tube also allows for the viewing of some games I do not have in my collection. Today’s game is from October 18, 1992 at Texas Stadium when the up and coming Cowboys took on Marty Schottenheimer’s Kansas City Chiefs.
Dallas’ Alvin Harper and Kansas City rookie Dale Carter battle for a deep pass thrown by Troy Aikman in Dallas’ 17-10 win over the Chiefs on October 18, 1992. Carter would tip the ball away to prevent a Cowboys’ touchdown.
THERE’s NO PLACE LIKE HOME
There was electricity in the crowd at Texas Stadium on this fine October day in 1992, an electricity that was in large part caused by a run of success at home that the Cowboys had not seen in over a decade.
The victory over Kansas City was the Cowboys’ 10th in a row at home, giving Dallas the second longest run of consecutive wins at Texas Stadium in team history. Dallas would run the streak to eleven several weeks later with a 20-10 win over division rival Philadelphia before seeing the string end in an upset loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
The eleven consecutive wins remains the second longest regular season home win streak in team history, trailing only the remarkable 18 straight victories at home the Cowboys put up from late 1979 through 1981. After picking up late season victories over the New York Giants and Washington Redskins in 1979, the Cowboys were a perfect 8-0 at Texas Stadium in both 1980 and 1981.
KEEPING CONTROL
One of the characteristics of the 1992 Super Bowl Champion Cowboys’ team was an ability to control the clock by grinding out long possessions made possible by the running of Emmitt Smith behind Dallas’ unmatched offensive line. The victory over the Chiefs was an outlier in the season as Dallas won the game despite holding the ball roughly a minute and half less than the visiting Chiefs.
The Cowboys had a time of possession advantage in 13 of their 16 regular season contests in 1992, winning 12 of those games. Dallas went 1-2 in games where its opponent held the ball longer, with the two losses coming in October at Philadelphia and in December at RFK Stadium against the Redskins.
The victory over the Chiefs was also one of three games on the year where the Cowboys scored three or fewer points in the second half of contest. Lin Elliott’s field goal in the third quarter gave the Cowboys their 17-10 lead over Kansas City and marked the only points Dallas would score in the game’s final two quarters. In week four, the Cowboys were shut out in the second half by the Eagles. The same thing would happen in Dallas’ week 14 loss to the Redskins.
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BETTER
The physical Chiefs took the opening kickoff and held the ball for 8:30 minutes before settling for a Nick Lowrey field goal and a 3-0 lead.
As often was the case in 1992, the Cowboys had an immediate answer. On their first possession, the Cowboys drove 78 yards in eight plays to cash in for six points on a Troy Aikman to Daryl Johnston two yard scoring pass. The big chunk of yardage in the drive was a 28 yard pass interference penalty against game but inexperienced Chiefs’ corner Dale Carter, who was playing because Kansas City’s all-pro cornerback Albert Lewis missed the game due to injury.
ONE MAN SHOW
While the 1992 Cowboys may have been known more for their dominating running game, Troy Aikman and the team’s receivers gave Dallas one of the league’s best passing attacks as well.
The victory over the Chiefs featured an oddity in the championship season, namely a game where only one Cowboys’ wide receiver registered a catch. Cowboys’ leading receiver Michael Irvin caught six balls for 84 yards in the game, but no other Dallas wiedout caught a pass against the tough Chiefs’ defense. It would be the final week of the 1993 season, some 26 regular season games later, for that occurrence to happen again. In the Cowboys’ 16-13 division clinching win at New York against the Giants, Irvin would be the only Cowboys wide receiver with a reception (he had three for 50 yards).
CLASH OF THE TITANS
The Chiefs’ grind it out offense featured two larger than normal running backs. 6’2″, 242 pound Barry Word was the Chiefs’ leading rusher in the game, gaining 46 yards on 13 carries and scoring the Chiefs’ only touchdown behind an excellent block by Kansas City right tackle Rich Baldinger.
The solidly built Word, amazing, was not the largest tailback on Kansas City’s roster. That distinction went to 253 pound Christian Okoye, a back who had terrorized the Cowboys for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a 1989 Cowboys’ loss at Kansas City.
On this day, however, there were no nightmares for the Cowboys. Dallas held Okoye to a mere 17 yards on five carries. One play that showed the Cowboys’ resolve to stop the large back came on a second and five play from the Cowboys 41 in the second quarter. Emerging star Leon Lett shed a block from Kansas City’s talented center Tim Grunhard, met Okoye one yard beyond the line of scrimmage and took him down a powerful tackle that could probably have been heard all the way to Fort Worth.
LEADER OF THE PACK
The Cowboys sacked Kansas City’s Dave Krieg three times, with Lett, Russell Maryland and Jimmie Jones all registering quarterback traps.
While he did not pick up a sack and had only one tackle on the game, the Cowboys’ best player on defense may have been Hall of Famer Charles Haley who caused all sorts of havoc from his right end position.
Haley was able to apply consistent pressure on Krieg, with his teammates often being the beneficiaries. On the game’s pivotal play (a fourth quarter interception by Ray Horton deep in Cowboys’ territory), Haley’s pressure forced Krieg to throw the ball a split second before he wanted and caused the turnover that preserved a Dallas win. The play was typical of a season where Haley took what was a good Dallas defense in 1991 and made it a truly special group in 1992.
GAME OVER
In baseball, seeing a dominating closer emerge from the bullpen with his team ahead often causes an opponent to all but pack up its gear and focus on looking forward to the next day for a potential win. Following Horton’s interception, one wonders whether the Chiefs felt the same way.
Behind a key 19 yard slant from Aikman to Irvin and 20 yards of tough running by Smith, Dallas held the ball for the game’s final 3:42 to quash any hopes of a late Chiefs’ comeback. The slant pass, perfectly thrown by the impeccably accurate Aikman, helped Dallas dig out of a second and 10 hole to keep its drive going.
YOUTH WILL BE SERVED
In the early years of Jimmy Johnson’s tenure as Cowboys’ coach, the team’s secondary featured veteran players who were signed to help provide stability to a young squad. By the time Dallas and Kansas City faced off in 1992, it was clear that some of the younger Cowboys’ defense backs were on the fast track to a key role in the team’s fortunes.
After veteran corner Isaac Holt was beaten for a few first down catches, rookie Kevin Smith started to see more time and brought energy and speed to the Cowboys’ defensive backfield. Hard hitting Darren Woodson was becoming a force as a slot defensive back for the Cowboys, and newly acquired rock solid safety Thomas Everett was also emerging as a safety who opposing wide receivers probably saw in their nightmares before facing Dallas. Teamed up with intellegent and rangy veteran James Washington and second year pro Larry Brown, Smith, Woodson and Everett helped turn a one-time problem into a Cowboys’ strength.
A TOUGH TASK
With starting left tackle Mark Tuinei out with an injury, backup Alan Veingrad was given the unenviable task of trying to block Kansas City’s all-world pass rusher Derrick Thomas for most of the game. While Thomas certainly had his moments, including a second quarter sack of Aikman, Veingrad held up fairly well throughout the game. Veingrad’s effort was typical of a Cowboys’ season where contributions to the team’s success came from many different sources.
A-TEAM
Broadcasts of inter-conference Cowboys’ home games allow fans to experience listening to broadcasters they may not get to hear on a regular basis. These days, such games bring Jim Nantz and Tony Romo to Dallas. Back in 1992 the AFC’s games were broadcast on NBC, which meant Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy had the call.
Listening to Enberg’s brilliant call of the game reinforced to me what a treasure he was as a broadcaster.
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