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Thursday, November 20, 1997

Veteran Cowboys trio targets Packers again

By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman are 8-0 against the Green Bay Packers in the 1990s.

This potent trio in the Dallas Cowboys' offensive arsenal has always played well against the Packers. Seven of the wins have come in Texas Stadium, where weather problems are limited.

Now running back Smith, wide receiver Irvin and quarterback Aikman take on Green Bay again Sunday, this time in the hostile environs of Lambeau Field, where no Dallas team has won in three tries.

Smith, Irvin and Aikman are coming off their best performance of the year. In fact, it's the best game they've had together in three seasons.

Aikman led the Cowboys on a 97-yard drive in the final five minutes Sunday to beat Washington 17-14 to keep Dallas alive in the NFC East championship race with a 6-5 record. Irvin caught a 6-yard touchdown pass after being the target on a 31-yard completion on fourth and 2 from the 50. Smith caught a 2-point conversion pass.

"It was great to see the trio put it together again like that," Smith said. "Now we have to do it again against Green Bay. We have to go out and get our jobs done. We've done it before against the Packers. We have to do it again no matter what the weather elements are.

"We expect it to be very loud and very rowdy. But those fans can't be more rude than the people in Philadelphia and New York."

The Dallas offense, ranked 19th in the NFL, goes against the No. 22-ranked defense, which is 27th against the rush.

"We've got guys missing like the Moose (fullback Daryl Johnston) who were instrumental in our success against Green Bay before," Smith said. "Green Bay isn't chopped liver -- I don't care what the stats say. Without Johnston and (offensive tackle) Mark Tuinei then it kind of evens things up. We've had to shuffle a lot of people. But we did do it against Washington and have success."

Irvin said he hopes the way the trio played against Washington will carry over.

"We made that drive for the season," Irvin said. "But we still have to keep doing it. Some people want to know why we can't do that all the time. I'd like to know that myself. But we've always had good luck against Green Bay."

Aikman said the Cowboys will have a battle on their hands.

"We beat them last year when they went to the Super Bowl," Aikman said. "Green Bay is finding out how tough it is to repeat as Super Bowl champions. It's hard to achieve. I think that drive we had against Washington is something we can build on. We did what needed to be done and Emmitt and Michael made some great plays."