By virtue of a league-worst 1-15 record in 1989, the Dallas Cowboys should have had the No. 1 pick in the 1990 NFL Draft.
They didn’t because they gave up that pick by selecting quarterback Steve Walsh in the 1989 Supplemental draft. While Walsh did start five games in 1989, he might not have been worth the loss of that pick.
But the Cowboys still had a first round pick in their pocket by virtue of a trade with Pittsburgh. And with the 17th pick of that round they landed a Hall of Fame running back.
Florida’s Emmitt Smith was the second running back taken in the draft behind Penn State’s Blair Thomas who went to the Jets with the second pick.
Nearly every team, and especially the Jets, that passed on Smith that day regretted their decisions ever since.
Only Seattle (Cortez Kennedy), San Diego (Junior Seau), and Miami (Richmond Webb) landed players that made long-term impacts on their clubs.
Dallas was more than happy to land a bell cow in the backfield. The Triplets had gathered in Irving and the NFL would soon take notice.
Finally, A Home Win
The Cowboys snapped a 14-game home losing streak with a 17-14 win over San Diego to open the season. Troy Aikman threw for a touchdown and scored the game winner on a one-yard run.
Losses to the Giants (28-7), Redskins (19-15), and again to the Giants (31-17) followed.
Smith ran for 121 yards and the game-winning touchdown in a 17-14 victory at home over Tampa Bay. The Cowboys traveled to Arizona and fell 20-3 to the still-Phoenix Cardinals.
You Guys Again?
With only 28 teams in the NFL, there was one division in each conference with just four teams. Which led to a quirky schedule until the league expanded a few years later.
The fifth place teams in each five-team division got to play each other twice a year, just like they did their four divisional rivals.
Which meant Dallas hit the road for Tampa Bay for a rematch just two weeks later. The Cowboys snapped a six-game road losing streak with a 17-13 win.
An Aikman 28-yard pass to Michael Irvin provided the game winning points. Issiac Holt’s 64-yard interception return had tied the game at 10-10 early in the fourth quarter.
A Tale Of Two Streaks
Buddy Ryan would continue to be a thorn in the Cowboys’ side as the Eagles got a late touchdown for a 21-20 win.
Dallas’ offense would struggle the next two weeks, falling 24-9 to the Jets and 24-6 to the 49ers. The Cowboys’ record fell to 3-7 on the year.
A return trip to Los Angeles rejuvenated Aikman, who had played his college football for UCLA. Aikman threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns, two going to Irvin, for a 24-21 win over the Rams.
Smith ran for 132 yards and two scores as Dallas scored the last 10 points in a 27-17 win over the Redskins. Another 10-point, final-quarter rally got Dallas past the Saints, 17-13.
After a bye week, the Cowboys hosted Phoenix and blasted the Cardinals 41-10 to level their record to 7-7. A single win over the last two weeks of the season would qualify Dallas for the playoffs.
Learning To Win The Big Games
Unfortunately for Dallas, Ryan’s Eagles were next up. The four-game winning streak died when Eric Allen returned an interception 35 yards to seal a 17-3 win for Philadelphia.
With the tie-breaker over the Saints in hand by virtue of the earlier win, Dallas hosted the 4-11 Falcons in the regular season finale.
With a wild card berth on the line the Cowboys fell flat on their face. Leading 7-0 at halftime, the Falcons returned the opening kickoff of the second half 76 yards for a 14-0 lead.
Smith was tackled in the end zone to extend the lead to 16-0. After a Falcons field goal, Deion Sanders picked off a pass and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown.
Babe Laufenberg threw a 27-yard pass to Jay Novacek to finally get the Cowboys on the board in a 26-7 loss.
At 7-9, Dallas failed to get a wild card berth as the Saints (8-8) advanced to the postseason.
The Cowboys had improved from 1989. But they still had a ways to go.