The 40th season – and the final one of the 20th Century – was less than stellar for the Cowboys. In an attempt to ignite the passing game Dallas acquired free agent wide receiver Rocket Ismail.
But the team’s drafting continued to underwhelm. Only linebacker Dat Nguyen – the first Vietnamese-American to play in the NFL – made any significant impact.
For the third time since Jones assumed full control over the General Manager duties in 1994, the Cowboys drafted a defensive lineman in the first round.
But Ebenezer Ekuban never really panned out in Dallas. Second round pick Soloman Page, an offensive tackle, also failed to impress.
A 3-0 Start
The Cowboys looked to be ready to make another run at an NFC title game in the first three weeks.
Trailing 35-21 at Washington after three quarters, Aikman threw two touchdowns to Michael Irvin in the final four minutes to tie the game.
In overtime, Aikman threw his fifth touchdown – a Cowboys’ record he now shares with Tony Romo – on a 76-yard connection with Ismail for a 41-35 win.
Daryl “Moose” Johnston played briefly in the game before suffering an injury. He would not play another down of football, retiring at the end of the season.
Emmitt Smith scored two touchdowns on 109 yards and Greg Ellis returned an interception 87 yards to lead Dallas to a 24-7 home win over the Falcons.
After a very early bye week in Week 3, Dallas steamrolled the Cardinals at Texas Stadium, 35-7.
George Teague opened the scoring with a 32-yard interception return. Ellis closed it out with a 98-yard fumble return for his second straight game with a defensive touchdown.
The Tackle That Ended The Dynasty
Despite not having made it back to the conference championship game the last three seasons, Dallas was still considered a threat to make it back in 1999. The 3-0 start fueled such talk.
Dallas traveled to Philadelphia and took an early 10-0 lead. But one play turned around the game, and the season, for Dallas.
Irvin – The Playmaker – caught a pass on his first target from Aikman for an eight-yard gain. Irvin was driven into the turf by Tim Hauck. Irvin did not get up after the play.
Suffering a non-life-threatening cervical spine injury, he was carted off the field and taken to a nearby hospital. He would later be diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis.
Another shot to the head or neck could lead to a more serious injury. Irvin, like Johnston, would not return to the field as a player again.
He announced his retirement in May of 2000, a few months after the death of Tom Landry. Irvin had been the last active Cowboys player to have played for Landry.
Dallas’s offense stalled without Irvin and a late pass by Doug Pederson to Charles Johnson gave the Eagles a 13-10 victory.
Downward Spiral
Another 13-10 loss awaited then against the Giants the following week. The Cowboys rebounded with a 38-20 victory over the Redskins.
But they fell back to .500 with consecutive losses to the Colts (34-24) and the Vikings (27-17). The loss to Minnesota was particularly galling as Dallas jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
But two Randy Moss touchdown catches led a 27-point scoring run for the Vikings.
The Cowboys came back with a 27-13 win over the Packers, only to fall to the Cardinals, 13-9 to drop back to .500 for the year at 5-5.
Jimmy Johnson In The House
The Cowboys’ former coach, Jimmy Johnson, returned to Texas Stadium for the first and only time as a visiting head coach, on Thanksgiving Day.
After a scoreless first half, Dexter Coakley picked off a Dan Marino pass for a 46-yard interception return and the game’s first touchdown.
Aikman hit Ismail for a 65-yard touchdown and Richie Cunningham added two field goals for a 20-0 win over their former leader.
For the fourth time in 1999, Dallas’ opponent would win a game despite scoring only 13 points. The Cowboys dropped a 13-6 decision at the Patriots in a lackluster effort on offense.
The roller coaster ride continued with a 20-10 victory at home over the Eagles to get to 7-6 on the season.
Staggering Down The Stretch
Dallas nearly let a playoff berth slip away in its final three games of the season. Leading 21-13, the Cowboys let the visiting Jets score nine unanswered points for a 22-21 win.
The Cowboys fell below .500 for the first time in 1999 after blowing another late lead, this time to the Saints in New Orleans.
Less than 80 seconds after the Saints had tied the game with over 11 minutes remaining, Fred Weary returned a Smith fumble 58 yards to give New Orleans a 31-24 victory.
Aikman drove the team to the six-yard line with 1:14 to play. But his first down pass to David LaFleur was picked off at the goal line.
The loss put Dallas in a must-win game at home against the Giants in the season finale. Two Aikman touchdown passes put the Cowboys up 23-3 going into the final quarter.
New York scored twice, but Dallas had just enough to hold on for a 26-18 win and advanced to the playoffs as an 8-8 wild card team to play at Minnesota.
C’mon Man
Once again, the Cowboys got out to an early lead, 10-0, after the first quarter. And once again their personal demon was there to torment them.
Moss would haul in a 58-yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings in the lead for good and finished the game with 127 yards on five catches.
The Vikings finished off the Cowboys’ season with a 27-10 victory.
By The Numbers
For Aikman, the loss to the Vikings would be his last playoff game. For Chan Gailey, it would be his last game as the head coach.
Jerry Jones would fire him soon after despite an 18-14 record overall but a 0-2 record in the playoffs.
For Irvin and Johnston, both 33 years old, the season would be a less than glorious end to their careers. Although both were three-time Super Bowl champions.
Irvin would take his 750 receptions for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns over 12 years to the Hall of Fame.
Johnston’s 11-year run would end with 753 yards and eight touchdowns rushing with 294 catches for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns. Not to mention being Smith’s blocking back.
The decade of the 1990s might not have ended in glory, but it was the best in franchise history. Three Super Bowl wins and four straight conference championship game appearances attest to that.
The Cowboys would go 101-59 (.631) in the regular season and 12-5 in the playoffs during the decade.
The run included the team winning seven straight playoff games over three consecutive seasons.