NY GIANTS 10, DALLAS 38 --- November 7, 1994
Emmitt Smith carried a club-record 35 times for 163 yards and two
touchdowns as the Dallas Cowboys slammed the New York Giants, 38-10.
Troy Aikman was 19-of-24 for 241 yards and a touchdown to go with a
touchdown run for Dallas, which won for the sixth straight time. The
Giants have lost six straight games.
Aikman has thrown a touchdown pass in a team-record 15 straight games.
"To stop us, I think you've got to shut down our passing game," said
Aikman. "Certainly you've got to stop the run, but when our passing
game is on, we are really effective."
Dallas (8-1), which has won 13 straight games against the NFC East,
matched its longest winning streak of last season.
Dallas broke out to a 7-0 lead five seconds into the second quarter
when Aikman through a 22-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Harper,
completing a 10-play, 95-yard drive. Harper sustained a probabale tear
of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee later in the game.
"We were moving the ball and felt we could do so, even without Harper
and (Jay) Novacek and those guys," Aikman said of the team's injuries.
"We're going through what San Francisco went through at the beginning
of the year. We're certainly not as good a football team without
them."
David Treadwell kicked a 23-yard field goal 5:01 later to get the
Giants on the board, but Dallas wrapped up the game with 31 straight
points.
Smith ran for the first of his one-yard scoring plunges with 2:47 left
in the first half to make it 14-3. The drive was 80 yards in 13 plays
covering 7:07.
Harper was hurt leaping for a pass at the goal line on the final play
of the half when he was hit by Tito Wooten and banged his knee against
the turf. Television replays revealed that Wooten clearly hit Harper
before the ball arrived, but there was no penalty assesed.
Dallas coach Barry Switzer said that Harper will undergo an MRI on the
knee but that it was probably a tear of the anterior cruciate
ligament, which would likely sideline Harper for the season.
"It was a blatant pass-interfence on Harper at the end of the half,"
said Aikman. "Harper was having a great year and not having him will
certainly hurt us. Without all our injured guys, we are not the same
football team."
Dallas safety James Washington, who had an interception, did not have
kind words.
"The ball was in the air and I don't think the guy went for the ball,
he went for the knees instead," said Washington. "Now we don't know
whether or not we'll have one of our great receivers for San Francisco
next week."
Smith's second TD plunge 2:31 into the second half ended a five-play,
64-yard drive that gave Dallas a 21-3 advantage. Aikman hit Michael
Irvin, who had seven catches for 118 yards, for a 36-yard pass to the
New York one to set up Smith's score.
"I think tonight was a great test for our offense," Smith said. "We
were able to execute offensively. I think this was the best we've
looked."
Aikman scored on a three-yard run just under 10 minutes into the third
quarter to increase Dallas' bulge to 28-3. The drive was 79 yards in
nine plays over 5:16.
Daryl Johnston scored the Cowboys' final touchdown with a nine-yard
run with 29 seconds left in the third quarter. After Chris Boniol
kicked a 45-yard field goal to make it 38-3 and Howard Cross grabbed a
nine-yard scoring pass from backup quarterback Kent Graham to get New
York its only touchdown.
"A lot of teams spent the off-season trying to dissect the Cowboys and
figure out how to knock us off," said Dallas defensive tackle Russell
Maryland. "We expect that every week and have to be prepared for it."
Giants' starter Dave Brown, who was 4-of-17 for 56 yards, had taken
every snap this season before Graham entered the game late in the
third quarter. Graham finished 9-of-14 for 98 yards and Cross caught
five passes for 44 yards.
"I pulled Dave Brown because the game was out of hand and we wanted to
look at Kent Graham and give him a chance," said New york coach Dan
Reeves. "Right now, we're at the point where we have to assess where
we are, what we've got and where we need help. It's not too early to
start looking at next year and assessing what areas we need help in.
Tonight it looked like we had a lot of those areas."
"I don't know if I'll start next week," said Graham. "That's Mr.
Reeeves' decision and I have no idea what he's thinking."
Rodney Hampton was limited to 14 rushing yards on 11 carries for the
Giants, who have been outscored in their last three games at Dallas,
102-29.
"I really can't add too much," Reeves said. "You all saw what happened
there tonight. We looked like a team that came in on a five-game
losing streak and they looked like the World Champions that they are.
"We basically took it on the chin on offense. On defense, they were
just too good for us."
The Giants, who opened the season with three straight wins, have lost
six straight for the first time since the 1980 season, when they lost
eight in a row following a season-opening win. The Giants also had a
long winless streak in 1983, going 0-6-1 in a seven-game stretch.
Dallas leads the all-time series with the Giants, 41-21-2, and has won
the last six meetings.
Teams with five-or-more-game losing streaks have met clubs with
five-or-more-game winning streaks 32 times in NFL history, with the
winning streak continuing each time.
The teams met for the first time since Dallas took a 16-13 overtime
win from the Giants at the Meadowlands in the season finale last
season, a game that decided the home-field advantage in the NFC.
"I'm not surprised to see such a difference between this year's team
and last year's team," said New York running back Dave Meggett of the
fall of the Giants. "A lot can happen in a year with the salary cap
and free agency."