With the departure of Barry Switzer the Cowboys turned to Chan Gailey to become the fourth head coach in team history.
Gailey brought back a focus on the running game and the Cowboys drafted to upgrade the offensive and defensive lines.
Picking eighth, the Cowboys drafted defensive end Greg Ellis in the first round. Ellis would give Dallas 11 good years, starting 155 games with 502 tackles and 77 sacks.
Ellis also managed to score a touchdown on both an interception and fumble return in his second season in Dallas.
In the second round, Dallas selected offensive tackle Flozell Adams. The rookie would go on to start 178 games over 12 seasons in Dallas.
It was one of the better drafts for Dallas in the post-Johnson era but did come with some controversy. The Cowboys had been expected to take Randy Moss out of Marshall.
But with a recent string of off-field issues plaguing the team, the Cowboys decided to pass on the receiver. That decision would come back to haunt the team many times over.
The Chan Gailey Era Begins
The season started off well as the Triplets led the team to an easy 38-10 win over the Cardinals in Gailey’s debut.
Troy Aikman threw for 256 yards and two scores, Michael Irvin had 119 yards on nine catches, and Emmitt Smith added 124 yards rushing.
Aikman was injured early the next week in a 42-23 loss at Denver. Jason Garrett would start the next five games for Dallas as Aikman healed.
Garrett was a respectable 3-2 in relief. The Cowboys trounced the Giants 31-7 in New York, but fell to the Raiders at home 13-12.
Dallas rolled to a 31-10 win over the Redskins as both Smith (120 yards, 1 touchdown) and Chris Warren (104 yards, 2 touchdowns) dominated the game.
Garrett outdueled former Cowboys quarterback Steve Beuerlein as Dallas finally beat Carolina for the first time ever with a 27-20 win at Texas Stadium.
In Garrett’s final start before the bye week, and Aikman’s return the week after, the Cowboys came up short to the Bears, 13-12.
Aikman Returns
The rest appeared to do Aikman good as he threw two touchdowns in a 34-0 victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia.
He followed that up with the only touchdown of the game, a pass to Eric Bjornson, in a 16-6 win over the Giants.
Smith took over the next week, scoring three touchdowns on 118 yards rushing in a 35-28 win over the Cardinals. Dallas made it four wins in a row with a 30-22 win over the Seahawks.
Maybe We Should Have Drafted Moss
The Vikings came to town for the Thanksgiving Day game. Randy Moss brought a huge helping of “Chip On My Shoulder.”
Even though 20 other teams – including the Titans who took wide receiver Kevin Tyson over Moss – passed him over, Moss took Dallas not picking him personal.
He took it out on Dallas on national television, catching three passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. The rookie outshone veterans Irvin (10 catches, 137 yards) and Cris Carter (7 catches, 135 yards).
Aikman wound up passing for 455 yards and one touchdown while Smith scored three rushing touchdowns. But the Vikings won the game 46-36.
Dallas would drop the next two games to the Saints (22-3) and the Chiefs (20-17). The Cowboys sat at 8-6 and held a slim one game lead over the Cardinals for the division.
With the tie-breaker in hand, they only needed to win one game in their final two of the season to secure a playoff berth.
They got it, but it wasn’t pretty as Dallas edged the Eagles 13-9 at Texas Stadium. Smith scored two touchdowns in the season finale to seal a 23-7 win over the Redskins.
The Cowboys were back in the playoffs with their sixth division title in seven years. They would host the Cardinals in the wild card round.
The Third Time Wasn’t A Charm
The Cardinals hadn’t won a playoff game in 50 years and that was back when they called Chicago home. During their time in St. Louis they’d gone 0-3.
They made the playoffs for the first time since moving to Phoenix in 1988 and for the first time overall since 1982.
Coming into the game, Dallas had beaten the Cardinals 16 times in the last 17 meetings and both times in 1998. The lone Cardinals’ win had come in overtime at that.
In short, this should have been a cakewalk for the Cowboys. It was an unmitigated disaster.
The Cardinals scored the first 20 points of the game. Aikman’s favorite receiver appeared to be Arizona’s Aeneas Williams, who he hit for two of this three interceptions.
Smith was a non-factor and nearly 63,000 fans in attendance exited Texas Stadium stunned at what they’d just seen. That included the Cardinals’ fans in attendance.