1994 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Jerry Jones
General manager	Jerry Jones
Head coach	Barry Switzer
Offensive coordinator	Ernie Zampese
Defensive coordinator	Butch Davis
Home stadium	Texas Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1stNFC East
Playoffs	WonDivisional Playoffs (vs.Packers) 35–9 LostNFC Championship (at49ers) 28–38
Pro Bowlers	QBTroy Aikman RBEmmitt Smith FBDaryl Johnston WRMichael Irvin TEJay Novacek OLNate Newton OLMark Stepnoski OLMark Tuinei DLCharles Haley DLLeon Lett SDarren Woodson
Uniform
← 1993 Cowboys seasons 1995 →

The1994 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 35th season in theNational Football League (NFL). Following their second consecutiveSuper Bowl title, theCowboys would see a multitude of changes. In March, months of setbacks finally reached its climax as team ownerJerry Jones andhead coachJimmy Johnson held a press conference and announced Johnson's resignation.

After a run of dominance in the regular season and finishing with a record of 12–4, the Cowboys fell short of a record third straight Super Bowl title with a loss to theeventual Super Bowl championSan Francisco 49ers in theNFC Championship Game, ending their hopes of becoming the first NFL team tothree-peat in the Super Bowl. The 1994 Cowboys draft yielded only one notable addition to the team,offensive guardLarry Allen. Veteran linebackerKen Norton Jr. left the team to sign with San Francisco.

This season was the 75th anniversary of the NFL and was designated by a diamond-shaped patch worn on the left breast of every NFL team's uniform. The Cowboys celebrated the league's history by donning their inaugural white jerseys from the 1960–1963 seasons against the Detroit Lions. The team also later debuted a special white "Double-Star" jersey onThanksgiving Day 1994. These uniforms celebrated the Cowboys' most recent back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 1992 and 1993 seasons and were used in most of the Cowboys' remaining games of the season, including the playoffs.

In an attempt to be the first NFL franchise to "Three-Peat" Super Bowls, the Dallas Cowboys were off to a strong start under new head coach Barry Switzer.Offensive coordinatorNorv Turner had departed to become head coach of the rivalWashington Redskins and was replaced by veteran offensive assistantErnie Zampese. However dominant, the team was fielded with injuries to many key starters. The most notable injuries were a near fatal car accident to tackleErik Williams and a nagging hamstring strain to running backEmmitt Smith. The season also saw the brief emergence of back-up quarterback and future head coachJason Garrett as he led a comeback victory against theGreen Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day by leading the Cowboys to score 36 points in the second half.^[1] Dallas finished the regular season posting a 12–4 record and winning the NFC East.

Barry Switzer's debut as Cowboys head coach was a 26–9 victory over the Steelers and third-year coachBill Cowher. Undrafted kickerChris Boniol kicked four field goals while the Steelers managed aNeil O'Donnell touchdown run and a field goal. Despite the lopsided win,Michael Irvin said afterward, "We did not look sharp."

Dallas's home opener was a 20–17 win over their in-state AFC cousin the Houston Oilers. Though the Oilers closed to within 20–17 they got no further.

The Cowboys struggled against the Lions, falling behind 17–7, but rallied to tie the game. Lions' kickerJason Hanson missed a short field goal attempt ending regulation, then in overtime another Hanson kick was blocked.Troy Aikman fumbled to the Lions and Hanson booted a 44-yarder for the 20–17 Lions win.

The Cowboys came off their bye week and their former offensive coordinatorNorv Turner saw his Redskins get hammered 34–7 at RFK Stadium. The Skins lost four turnovers and managed just 110 yards of offense.

The Cardinals were obliterated atTexas Stadium 38–3 as quarterbacksSteve Beuerlein andJay Schroeder were intercepted five total times.

With both teams at 4–1 the Cowboys took care of business in a 24–13 win.Randall Cunningham was intercepted four times.

The Cardinals had long given little reason for confidence but this game was radically different.Troy Aikman completed three passes and a touchdown toAlvin Harper but was knocked out by a vicious hit fromWilber Marshall. The Cardinals led 21–14 in the fourth butRodney Peete completed 186 passing yards and two scoring drives for the 28–21 win. Arriving home, several players includingErik Williams went to a bar to relax. Seriously drunk, Williams drove away, then was seriously injured in a vicious highway accident, missing the remainder of the season.

Bengals coachDave Shula was disliked by Cowboys players during his time onJimmy Johnson's staff as a young offensive coach because of his mistrust of players and resultant dumbed-down play-calling. His Bengals entered this game winless and stayed that way after the Cowboys rallied from down 20–17 in the third quarter on two Boniol field goals.

The Cowboys led wire to wire in a 38–10 rout of the 3–6 Giants, out gaining them in yards 450–188 despite two fumbles. The game was marred by a scuffle between the two teams at the end of the first half.

Considered the game of the year going in, Dallas's fourth meeting in three seasons with the Niners was a defensive struggle with a combined fourteen punts for 592 yards. The Niners clawed out a 14–7 lead in the fourth and the Cowboys stormed to the Niners’ 7 when Aikman was intercepted (his third of the game). The Niners scored again before Dallas raced downfield and scored but could not recover an onside kick. The 21–14 win would mean San Francisco would host a playoff rematch.

Despite being out-gained in yardage 313–243 the Cowboys crushed the Redskins 31–7, snagging four interceptions and a fumble. Both teams used three quarterbacks apiece including future Cowboys head coachJason Garrett.

WithTroy Aikman out with injury, Garrett started against the 6–5 Packers. Green Bay raced to a 24–13 lead before Garrett erupted to two touchdown throws and led two more drives ending in rushing scores. The result was a 42–31 Cowboys win, a year after their embarrassing Thanksgiving loss to Miami.

After a 7–2 start the Eagles were in free fall at 7–5 and lost again, this time atVeterans Stadium. The Eagles clawed to within 24–19 butRandall Cunningham was intercepted byDarren Woodson at the Cowboys 6 and Woodson finished a 31–19 Cowboys win.

The Cowboys lost any realistic chance at the top seed in the NFC while the Browns closed in on the playoffs in a 19–14 Cleveland win, picking off Aikman twice and adding two Cowboys fumbles. It began a six-game winning streak against the Cowboys by head coachBill Belichick.

Dallas secured a playoffbye in a 24–16 win at theSuperdome despite two more Aikman interceptions.Jim Everett of the Saints was worse with three picks and the two teams combined for just 517 yards of offense. One of Aikman's interceptions was byDarion Conner, who was notably chased down by rookie offensive linemanLarry Allen.

Dallas rested most of its starters, since winning or losing this game would not affect its seeding in the playoffs. The Cowboys finished with twelve wins while the Giants, in winning 15–10, salvaged a 9–7 record after starting 3–7. The two teams combined for just 437 yards and twelve penalties altogether.

• Dallas: 9/19 (Det)

The Cowboys' 12–4 regular-season record earned them the #2 seed and a first-roundbye in theplayoffs. They defeated theGreen Bay Packers in thedivisional-round playoff game atTexas Stadium. They then traveled toCandlestick Park to face the San Francisco 49ers for the third straight time in as many years in theNFC Championship game. Down 21 points in the first quarter, the Cowboys fought back valiantly, but fell short, 38-28.

The Cowboys led wire to wire, winning 35–9 as Aikman erupted for 337 yards whileBrett Favre completed just eighteen passes and was benched with the game's competitive phase over forMark Brunell in his final game for the Packers before league expansion sent him to the sameJacksonville Jaguars whose interest inDallas's previous head coach had helped set off the controversial change of Dallas coaches before the 1994 season.

Dallas's run asSuper Bowl champions ended in bitter 38–28 fashion as three turnovers in the first eight minutes of action led to 21 Niners points and a 31–14 San Francisco lead at halftime. Aikman managed 380 yards but three interceptions were part of five Dallas turnovers. The most bitter moment came on an encounter between receiverMichael Irvin (targeted 26 times with twelve catches and two touchdowns) and Niners defensive backDeion Sanders that was considered flagrant pass interference but didn't draw a penalty. Team ownerJerry Jones stated afterward "there is nothing we need to change to beat the Forty Niners," but the Cowboys would sign Sanders as a free agent at the start of thefollowing season.

• Charles Haley, Defense,UPI NFC Player of the Year
• Emmitt Smith,Best NFL Player ESPY Award

The Football EncyclopediaISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total FootballISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My HeroesISBN 0-446-51950-2

• "1994 Dallas Cowboys Statistics & Players".Pro-Football-Reference.com.
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Dallas Cowboys Official Site
• Houston Oilers at Dallas Cowboys, Week Two onYouTube

• NFC East championship seasons
• Dallas Cowboys seasons
• 1994 NFL season by team
• 1994 in sports in Texas

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023