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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Dallas Cowboys were playing the New York Giants Monday night. But the statement they made was to the San Francisco 49ers:
We're baaaaaaaaack.
With Emmitt Smith, going 60 yards for a touchdown on Dallas' third play from scrimmage and scoring three other times, the Cowboys blew away the Giants 35-0 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. The only negative for the Cowboys was an Achilles tendon injury to Kevin Smith, their left cornerback.
The prime-time game allowed the nation -- and the 49ers -- to see a Dallas team that looked every bit as good as the one that won two Super Bowls before losing in the NFC title game to San Francisco last year.
The Cowboys led 21-0 at the half and scored twice more after intermission before sending in the scrubs, winning a lot more impressively than did the 49ers, who beat New Orleans 24-22 Sunday.
Smith, who finished with 163 yards in 21 carries, also scored three times on 1 yard runs to reach 75 touchdowns for his career, three better than Tony Dorsett's Dallas record. It's only the second time he's scored four times in a game -- the other time was Dec. 16, 1990 against the Cardinals.
But the defense and special teams were just as good against a Giants team not ready for prime time -- because of a series of injuries, their full offense never played together during the exhibition season. Dave Brown was 20 of 34 for 155 yards, much of the yardage meaningless.
It showed Monday night before the largest Giants Stadium crowd ever -- 77,454.
Whether it was the New York offense and the Dallas defense, the Giants, who won their last six games in 1994, never crossed midfield until 2:20 remained in the first half as they suffered their worst regular-season loss since 1980.
The last time the Giants were shut out at home was in 1976, a 10-0 loss to Philadelphia in New York's first game under coach John McVay.
Five of their first possessions began inside their own 20 and the sixth began only at their own 26. The Giants had hoped to challenge the Cowboys in the NFC East, but their defense got blown off the field.
It took three plays to score the first touchdown -- a 15-yard pass from Troy Aikman to Jay Novacek, a dropped pass by Michael Irvin and then Smith's burst up the middle.
Aikman, who finished 15 of 20 for 228 yards, threw for the second score, a 7-yarder to Irvin. Irvin had seven catches for 109 yards and Novacek had five for 91.
Then, with Smith already over 100 yards -- he hit 102 with 9:08 left in the in the half -- the Cowboys went 59 yards in nine plays to make it 21-0 at the half. The Giants' only threat ended when Tony Tolbert got a hand on Brad Daluiso's 42-yard field goal attempt.
That made Smith's two 1-yard TD runs in the second half incidental and left only two items of note -- the retirement of Phil Simms' number at halftime and the announcement of another deal by Dallas owner, Jerry Jones, this one with Nike.
