DALLAS 26, PITTSBURGH 9 --- September 4, 1994

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   09-04-94 (c) Copyright the News & Observer Publishing Co. and The
   Associated Press, 1994 
      
   
   PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Maybe the land of Longhorns can learn to love a
   Sooner.
   
   Michael Irvin threw trash cans in disgust when ex-Oklahoma coach Barry
   Switzer replaced Jimmy Johnson as coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Texas
   fans taunted Switzer with flippant gestures in training camp that
   certainly weren't the "Hook 'Em, 'Horns" sign.
   
   But after six months of wailing and worrying that Switzer would, as he
   put it, "screw this team up," things don't look so bad for the
   two-time defending Super Bowl champs.
   
   "They came here to play. That's all I can say. They came here to
   play," Pittsburgh tackle John Jackson said after Dallas beat the
   Steelers 26-9 Sunday. Guess what, America? The Cowboys emerged from
   months of potentially destructive unrest not only be as good as
   before, but maybe even better.
   
   Maybe Switzer's onto something here. His methods in 16 seasons at
   Oklahoma never varied: Sign the best players in America, pump them up
   with emotion and enthusiasm and turn them loose on inferior teams.
   
   He's in a different league now, but the theory works as well as ever.
   The Cowboys have assembled the NFL's best collection of talent, and
   not even a coaching change has yet to disrupt it.
   
   "Barry has a great team, that's all I can say," three-time NFL rushing
   champion Emmitt Smith said after a 171-yard, one-touchdown day.
   "Barry's doing a great job for the Cowboys. We're doing a great job
   for the Cowboys."
   
   It was much worse than the Steelers, themselves billed as a possible
   Super Bowl team, ever anticipated.
   
   The Steelers' game plan was to pound former AFC rushing leader Barry
   Foster into the heart of the Cowboys' free-agent depleted defense,
   keep the 'Boys offense out of sync with safety blitzes and five-man
   secondaries and burn the clock.
   
   It worked -- for seven plays.
   
   Pittsburgh drove from its 25 to a first down at the Cowboys' 38 on its
   first possession before it all fell apart. O'Donnell was sacked on
   three consecutive plays, twice by Charles Haley, for 25 yards in
   losses, and the psychological impact was evident.
   
   "I didn't know where they were coming from at times," O'Donnell said.
   
   It never got any better as the Cowboys finished with nine sacks --
   four by Haley and three by Jim Jeffcoat -- for 56 yards in losses, or
   more yards than Pittsburgh's offense had gained until deep into the
   second half.
   
   Offensively, Smith was as elusive ever, ripping off 111 yards by
   halftime as the Cowboys scored on the first four possessions, and
   rookie free-agent kicker Chris Boniol was 4-for-4 in field goals in
   his NFL debut.
   
   Troy Aikman was ... well, Troy Aikman, near-perfect and surgically
   precise as the Cowboys outgained Pittsburgh 442-126. He was 21-for-32
   for 245 yards, including eight throws to Irvin and a 2-yard touchdown
   throw to fullback Daryl Johnston.
   
   Aikman threw that one blindly as 250-pound linebacker Kevin Greene put
   him on his back.
   
   "I didn't see it until I saw the replay on the video screen," Aikman
   said.
   
   To the rest of the NFL, it was an instant replay of the Cowboys' eight
   consecutive, season-ending victories of a year ago.
   
   "All I know was it seemed we dominated," Switzer said.
   
   The Steelers offered no arguments. Foster's 44 yards were his
   second-lowest output in his last 21 games, and the often-disrupted
   O'Donnell finished 13-for-26 for a scant 127 yards.
   
   "Throwing isn't just Neil and running isn't just Barry," Steelers
   coach Bill Cowher said. "There were numerous breakdowns."
   
   If they can avoid injuries and avoid internal disruptions, great
   things seem destined for these Cowboys. Just ask them.
   
   "We're going to do it," Alvin Harper said. "We're going to take it all
   the way to (the Super Bowl in) Miami and see what we can do."
   
   Didn't owner Jerry Jones say they would?
   
   "I literally just crossed my fingers to get out of here with a win,"
   Jones said. "But to play that well and play that well in the areas
   where we've been criticized most was outstanding."