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1993 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Jerry Jones
General manager	Jerry Jones andJimmy Johnson
Head coach	Jimmy Johnson
Offensive coordinator	Norv Turner
Defensive coordinator	Butch Davis
Home stadium	Texas Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1stNFC East
Playoffs	WonDivisional Playoffs (vs.Packers) 27–17 WonNFC Championship (vs.49ers) 38–21 WonSuper Bowl XXVIII (vs.Bills) 30–13
Pro Bowlers	QBTroy Aikman WRMichael Irvin RBEmmitt Smith FBDaryl Johnston TEJay Novacek OTErik Williams OGNate Newton CMark Stepnoski DERussell Maryland LBKen Norton Jr. FSThomas Everett
Uniform
← 1992 Cowboys seasons 1994 →

The1993 Dallas Cowboys season was thefranchise's 34th season in theNational Football League (NFL) and was the fifth and final year of the franchise under head coachJimmy Johnson. During Johnson's tenure, the Cowboys made two of their three Super Bowl appearances between 1992 and 1995 and won back-to-backSuper Bowl titles. The season is notable for seeing the Cowboys become the first team to start 0–2 and still reach (and subsequently win) the Super Bowl. The following off-season was marked by the surprising resignation of Johnson, who departed the Cowboys due to a dispute with ownerJerry Jones about who deserved more credit for the back-to-back Super Bowl wins. This would be Johnson's last head coaching job until 1996, when he became the new head coach of theMiami Dolphins to replace the retiringDon Shula, who had served as their head coach since1970. They are, as of 2025, the most recentNFC team to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

The 1993 Cowboys ranked #23 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.^[1][2]

The Cowboys' journey towards Super Bowl XXVIII proved more difficult than the previous season. Running backEmmitt Smith held out the first two regular season games over a contract dispute. Dallas lost lose both games to theWashington Redskins andBuffalo Bills starting the season at 0–2. The team acquired veteran quarterbackBernie Kosar after his release from theCleveland Browns as insurance for starting quarterbackTroy Aikman, who suffered a severe concussion in the NFC Championship game versus San Francisco, and backupSteve Beuerlein signed with thePhoenix Cardinals.

In arguably his finest game as a professional, Emmitt Smith suffered a second degree separated shoulder in the regular season finale versus their NFC East division rivalNew York Giants, with the winner clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.^[3] Smith willed himself through excruciating pain and carried the Cowboys to an overtime win. Dallas finished with an NFC-best 12–4 record and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.^[4] Smith was later named theNFL MVP and with 1,486 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, also earned his third NFL rushing title. Smith would also later be votedSuper Bowl MVP, giving him the honor of being the only player to win all three awards in the same season. Another outstanding Smith performance came against the Eagles, where he rushed for a career-high 237 yards.

The season was also notable for theLeon Lett "blunder" in the annual Thanksgiving Day game. With Texas Stadium unusually covered with snow and ice, Dallas led the Dolphins 14–13 with seconds remaining as the Dolphins'Pete Stoyanovich attempted a long field goal. The Cowboys' Jimmie Jones blocked the field goal, apparently ending the game. However, with the blocked ball rolling around at the Dallas 10, Lett attempted to fall on it and slipped, kicking the ball and making it "live" again. Miami'sJeff Dellenbach recovered and Stoyanovich made the most of his shorter second chance, giving the Dolphins a most improbable 16–14 win.

Aikman finished the regular season completing 271 out of 392 passes for 3,100 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Wide receiverMichael Irvin once again led the team with 88 catches for 1,330 yards and seven touchdowns. Wide receiverAlvin Harper had 36 catches for 777 yards and five touchdowns, and tight endJay Novacek had 44 receptions for 445 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line consisted of Pro BowlersMark Stepnoski,Erik Williams, andNate Newton. The defense was anchored by Pro Bowlers such asRussell Maryland,Ken Norton Jr., andThomas Everett.

Despite two touchdown catches byAlvin Harper the Cowboys, playing withoutEmmitt Smith, fell 35–16 at RFK Stadium.Derrick Lassic, replacing Smith for the time being, rushed for 75 yards but the Cowboys offensive line, whose loyalty was to Smith, didn’t block for him with the same effort; safetyJames Washington called it “totally unfair to Lassic.”

Before a home crowd frustrated by the Cowboys’ slow start and the continuing contract holdout by Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys fell behind the Bills 10–0, clawed back to tie the game, then fell onSteve Christie’s 35-yard field goal.Lin Elliott missed two kicks (and was cut from the team),Troy Aikman was intercepted twice, and Derrick Lassic fumbled twice. An enragedCharles Haley threw his helmet through the wall in the locker room demanding ownership to end the Emmitt Smith contract issue.

Three days before the game, the Cowboys finally negotiated a four-year deal with Emmitt Smith. In Smith’s first game back,Derrick Lassic scored twice, but his 60 total yards came on fourteen carries, where Smith coming in cold had 45 yards on eight carries. Dallas outgained the Cardinals in yards 410–273 and won 17–10.

For the first time in NFL history, teams were allowed two bye weeks.

The Cowboys’ new kickerEddie Murray booted five field goals as the Packers were crushed 36–14.Emmitt Smith had his first rushing score of the season.

Whilea Louisiana high school quarterback was winning multiple high school player of the year awards that year, the present day quarterbacks of theColts (Jack Trudeau and ex-PackerDon Majkowski) were being intercepted four times by the Cowboys in a 27–3 runaway. Emmitt Smith burst past 100 yards on the game with a score.

• Michael Irvin 12 Rec, 168 Yds, 1TD

^[5]

Emmitt Smith rushed for 237 yards as the Cowboys broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to win, 23–10.Troy Aikman and former JetKen O'Brien for the Eagles combined for just 203 yards and 23 incompletions.

With both teams at 5–2, the battle for theNFC East was joined atTexas Stadium and this game became another Cowboys runaway, asTroy Aikman scored two touchdowns andEmmitt Smith added two more. In falling 31–9,Phil Simms andKent Graham were sacked a combined five times.

The win proved costly, as Aikman suffered a leg injury in the fourth quarter and would miss the next two games.

During halftime, the Cowboys inductedTom Landry into their Ring Of Honor.

Jimmy Johnson decided to start rookieJason Garrett, but after Garrett proved ineffective with just two completions, Johnson benched him for recently signed ex-BrownBernie Kosar, who completed thirteen passes for 199 yards and a touchdown, this despite an end zone intentional grounding penalty that made the final score 20–15 Cowboys.

Despite two touchdowns Kosar could not get a victory as the struggling Falcons triumphed 27–14. Emmitt Smith gained just one yard as the Cowboys were limited to 230 yards of offense to 400 for the Falcons.

Troy Aikman returned as the opening atopTexas Stadium allowed slushy snow onto the field. The Cowboys clawed to a 14–13 lead. In the final seconds, aPete Stoyanovich field goal was blocked. The kick landed beyond the line of scrimmage, and once the ball stopped moving the play would be declared dead and Dallas would gain possession. However, the ball landed and began spinning on its tip, leading Cowboys linemanLeon Lett to try to gain possession. Lett slipped, fell, and knocked the ball forward. He had been pressed into service on the Cowboys' field goal block team despite having never played onspecial teams before. When it squirted off his foot, it became a live ball and the Dolphins recovered. Stoyanovich booted the ensuing field goal and the Dolphins had the 16–14 win.

While some teammates were angered at Lett’s gaffe, Jimmy Johnson blamed himself and reassured a disconsolate Lett in the locker room. It was Jimmy Johnson's last loss as Head Coach of Dallas.

Despite being sacked four times, Troy Aikman completed seventeen passes for 178 yards and a first quarter score toMichael Irvin as the Cowboys led wire to wire and won 23–17. Emmitt Smith had 172 yards on the ground.

In a penalty-plagued game (twenty combined fouls for 124 yards) the Cowboys again led from start to finish in winning 37–20. Emmitt Smith added another 104 yards on the ground.

^[6]

The Redskins were obliterated 38–3 as Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith accounted for 346 of Dallas’ 380 yards of offense.

Emmitt Smith put on a heroic effort overcoming a serious shoulder separation late in the second quarter to put up 229 yards of offense, 40 of them in overtime after the Giants tied the game. Eddie Murray's game winning field goal earned the Cowboys the division title and a first-round playoff bye. Following the game CBS broadcasterJohn Madden visited Smith in the locker room to shake his hand at his courage in finishing the game.

• Scoring summary
• DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 41 yards3–0 DAL
• BUF – FG: Steve Christie 54 yards3–3 tie
• DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 24 yards6–3 DAL
• BUF – TD: Thurman Thomas 4 yard run (Steve Christie kick)10–6 BUF
• BUF – FG: Steve Christie 28 yards13–6 BUF
• DAL – TD: James Washington 46 yard fumble return (Eddie Murray kick)13–13 tie
• DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 17 yard run (Eddie Murray kick)20–13 DAL
• DAL – TD: Emmitt Smith 1 yard run (Eddie Murray kick)27–13 DAL
• DAL – FG: Eddie Murray 20 yards30–13 DAL

• Emmitt Smith,UPI NFC Player of the Year
• Emmitt Smith, Most Valuable Player, Super Bowl XXVIII
• Emmitt Smith,Bert Bell Award^[7]
• Emmitt Smith,Best NFL Player ESPY Award
• Emmitt Smith, Most Valuable Player, NFL
• Emmitt Smith, NFL rushing leader

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

• 1993 Dallas Cowboys
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Dallas Cowboys Official Site

• NFC East championship seasons
• 1993 NFL season by team
• Dallas Cowboys seasons
• National Football Conference championship seasons
• Super Bowl champion seasons
• 1993 in sports in Texas

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