As we sit on the brink of the 2023 NFL season, I can’t help but think back to some of the most memorable season openers in Dallas Cowboys history.
The Cowboys have been in business for 64 years, and have had their share of ups and downs.
There have been more ups, as evidenced by the five Lombardi Trophies on display at Cowboys headquarters.
I wasn’t born until December of 1986, and most of my earliest memories of Cowboys football begin in 1993.
So I apologize to some of the older readers, as your favorite opening day game is unlikely to be included in this article.
Instead of putting these games in my favorite order, I’ll just list them chronologically.
I hope you enjoy taking this stroll down memory lane with me in the lead up to the Sunday Night Football matchup in MetLife Stadium.
Opponent: New York Giants
Location: Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands
Date: September 4th, 1995
Final Score: Cowboys 35, Giants 0
I was only nine years old at the time of the 1995 opener, but I vividly remember a few things.
First, I remember I had football practice that day as a member of the Raiders, my Peewee league football team.
I can recall getting home just in time to hear Hank Williams Jr. belt out his famous “Are you ready for some football??!!” line from the intro on ABC’s Monday Night Football.
Burned into my memory is the image of Emmitt Smith breaking free up the middle of the Giants defense for a 60 yard touchdown scamper on the Cowboys’ first possession.
It was the first of four rushing touchdowns for Emmitt on the evening, and would be the springboard for his then record-breaking season of 25 rushing touchdowns.
His remaining three touchdowns of the evening were all from just one yard out.
The only other scoring play was a seven yard strike from Troy Aikman to Michael Irvin.
The Dallas defense pitched the only shutout of Week 1 that season, and the Cowboys won the game by the second largest margin in the NFL.
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Location: Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh
Date: August 31, 1997
Final Score: Cowboys 37, Steelers 7
What I remember most about this game is the Dallas defense absolutely eliminating the threat of Kordell “Slash” Stewart.
Stewart managed only four yards rushing, and was sacked three times.
He also threw an interception to one of my favorite linebackers of all time, Dexter Coakley.
This probably shouldn’t come secondary to the defense’s performance, but Aikman and Irvin were on fire.
On a day where Emmitt and the Cowboys struggled to run the football, the passing game picked up the slack.
Aikman finished with four touchdown passes on just 19 completions for 295 yards.
Irvin was his main target, hauling in seven of those passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
The season wouldn’t end as well as it started due to several injuries to major players, but this game will always be etched into my memory.
Opponent: Washington Redskins
Location: Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in Washington
Date: September 12, 1999
Final Score: Cowboys 41, Redskins 35 OT
This game is special in my heart as being the largest deficit I’ve seen the Cowboys overcome.
I know it as the Rocket Ismail game, named after one of the Cowboys’ biggest free agent signings that offseason, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail.
Dallas went into the fourth quarter facing a 35-14 deficit, but the experience of the team led by Aikman stormed them back to tie, and eventually win in overtime.
Ismail dropped a sure touchdown earlier in the game, but hauled in the game winner in overtime to complete the epic comeback.
It was also a franchise record fifth touchdown pass of the game for Aikman, whose feat has since been matched by Tony Romo.
Although there are several other notable season openers, the three mentioned are my favorite.
I would be ecstatic for this year’s opener to end up like any of these three.