Sunday, January 12, 1997

Recap of the 1996 season

By the Associated Press (Jan. 11, 1997)

Here is a thumbnail recap of the Dallas Cowboys 1996 season:

GAME 1-Chicago 22, Dallas 6.

Emmitt Smith fell on his head and got hurt after gaining 70 yards and the Dallas offense went with him, getting two field goals from Chris Boniol in what was to become a familiar offensive refrain for the season. The defending Super Bowl champions finally went down when Brian Cox recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

GAME 2-Dallas 27, New York Giants 0.

The defense held the Giants to a total of 105 yards while Troy Aikman threw two touchdown passes. Smith, nursing a neck injury, still gained 82 yards on 24 carries and Aikman went over 20,000 yards (career) in passing.

GAME 3-Indianapolis 25, Dallas 24.

Boniol's 57-yard field goal attempt at the gun bounced off the crossbar and the cowboys lost a heartbreaker to the Colts. Cary Blanchard's 43-yard field goal with a minute remaining sealed the deal for the Colts, who got two touchdown passes from Jim Harbaugh.

GAME 4-Buffalo 10, Dallas 7.

Dallas dropped to 1-3 for the first time since 1990 in this defensive struggle. Smith's two-yard touchdown run was all the offense the Cowboys could muster. He gained only 25 yards on 15 carries while Thurman Thomas rushed 22 times for 51 yards and scored a touchdown for the winners.

GAME 5-Dallas 23, Philadelphia 19.

Herschel Walker's 49-yard kickoff return set up the Cowboys first touchdown after they trailed 10-0 and it inspired Dallas to this important win at Veterans Stadium. Boniol had three field goals, Aikman passed for a touchdown and Smith rushed 22 times for 92 yards and a touchdown in the last game Dallas would have to play without the suspended Michael Irvin.

GAME 6-Dallas 17, Arizona 3.

Michael Irvin returned after his NFL suspension and caught five passes for 51 yards as the Cowboys evened their record at 3-3. Aikman completed 12 of 14 passes in the second half and finished with 199 yards for the day.

GAME 7-Dallas 32, Atlanta 28.

It was a wild shootout and Dallas rallied on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to Kelvin Martin to pull the game out in the fourth quarter. Smith scored two touchdowns and rushed for 50 yards as the defense took the day off. Aikman was 17 of 24 for 265 yards and two touchdowns.

GAME 8-Dallas 29, Miami 10.

Jerry Jones and Barry Switzer wanted this game and they got it, the scalp of former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson. Aikman's 363 passing yards were the second highest of his career. He had three touchdown passes, including one to Irvin. A crowd of 75,283 fans watched the Dolphins go down in their own stadium.

GAME 9-Philadelphia 31, Dallas 21.

The Cowboys fell to 5-4 with the loss at Texas Stadium. Herschel Walker returned the opening kickoff 86 yards and Smith scored but the promising beginning fizzled out as Ricky Watters rushed for 166 yards and scored a touchdown.

GAME 10-Dallas 20, San Francisco 17.

Boniol's 29-yard field goal in overtime won it for the Cowboys, who knocked Steve Young out of the game. Aikman hit 24 of 39 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown as Dallas won the much anticipated showdown in 3Com Park. Linebacker Fred Strickland made a key interception in the final period that set up the Dallas touchdown pass from Aikman to Eric Bjornson to tie in regulation.

GAME 11-Dallas 21, Green Bay 6.

Boniol kicked an NFL record-tying seven field goals as Dallas dominated the Monday Night Football defensive struggle. His field goals traveled 45, 37, 42, 45, 35, 39 and 28 yards. Coach Barry Switzer called time out so Boniol could hit the last one, infuriating the Packers.

GAME 12-New York Giants 20, Dallas 6.

Giants Stadium proved to be a poor place for offense as two Boniol field goals were all the Cowboys could get. The record fell to 7-5 with the loss as the Dallas offense hit the eight quarter mark without a touchdown. Smith was benched in the fourth quarter.

GAME 13-Dallas 21, Washington 10.

Winning games when they had to, the Cowboys moved into a tie for the NFC East lead with the important Thanksgiving Day win over the Redskins. Smith had his best day of the year, gaining 155 yards and scoring three touchdowns as the rested Cowboys rolled.

GAME 14-Dallas 10, Arizona 6.

The Cowboys beat their favorite NFL patsies for the 13th consecutive time. It didn't take much offense. Aikman hit Irvin with a 50-yard touchdown pass and Boniol kicked a 31-yard field goal to beat the Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium. The win gave Dallas the NFC East lead.

GAME 15-Dallas 12, New England 6.

The Cowboys earned their fifth consecutive NFC East title with the win at Texas Stadium over the playoff-bound Patriots. Boniol was muy bueno again with four field goals as the Dallas defense dominated Drew Bledsoe, who served up three interceptions.

GAME 16-Washington 37, Dallas 10.

Dallas mailed this one in because there was nothing to be gained by a win, ending the regular season at 10-6. Aikman and Smith and other stars didn't play. Dallas went into the game with the NFL's No. 1 rated defense but because Switzer played all of his backups they came out of the game No. 3 in the league.

GAME 17-Dallas 40, Minnesota 15.

Dallas gave one of its best offensive performances of the year in the NFC wild-card rout of the Vikings. Aikman even ran two-yards for a touchdown, his first rushing score in 12 playoff games. Dallas rushed for a season high 255 yards and had a total of 438 yards, second highest of the season.

GAME 18-Carolina 26, Dallas 17.

Irvin went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter and Deion Sanders got knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter. Aikman was intercepted three times and the season was over for the defending Super Bowl champions, who didn't have top defensive star Leon Lett in the playoffs because of NFL suspension. Carolina made hay by running up the middle. Dallas was inside the Carolina 20 on four occasions and got one touchdown. "That was the story of our season," Switzer said.