Armed with a potent offense and backed by a dominant defense, it is easy to argue that the 1992 iteration of the Dallas Cowboys is considered the greatest team in franchise history.
For our tale to begin though, one will have to go back in the late 1980s when the Cowboys selected Michael Irvin with the 11th overall pick of the 1988 NFL Draft. While Irvin showed great potential in his rookie campaign, the Cowboys, under longtime head coach Tom Landry, seemingly cannot capture the magic that made Dallas formidable contenders in the 1970s.
A turning point for the Cowboys came in 1989 when business mogul Jerry Jones purchased the team from Bum Bright for a reported sum of $140M. On the field, Dallas’ misery would continue and finished the season with a disastrous 1-15 record which led to Jones cleaning house by firing Landry and appointing former Arkansas Razorbacks teammate Jimmy Johnson to call the shots from the sidelines. Jones’ hands-on approach would also see him take over as the Cowboys’ general manager, relieving Tex Schramm of his duties.
The Cowboys acquired key reinforcements from the draft under Jones’ watch, selecting Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith in 1989 and 1990 respectively. With these picks, the franchise’s promising future was set in stone.
With “The Triplets” in tow, Dallas slowly marched its way back to contention and in 1991, the 11-5 Cowboys made their way back to the playoffs after a five-year absence. However, their postseason run was marred by controversy with their quarterback situation as head coach Jimmy Johnson had the unenviable task of choosing between Troy Aikman, who has missed the last month of the regular season due to injury, and backup Steve Beuerlein. The ongoing dilemma, and the sensational play of Detroit Lions duo Barry Sanders and Erik Kramer proved to be too much to handle as Dallas made their exit in the Divisional Round.
Dallas’ postseason run set expectations to renewed heights and fortunately for the Cowboys faithful, the up-and-coming squad was ready to answer the call when the 1992 season rolled.
The Boys made an emphatic statement in the season’s first two weeks when they defeated the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants, winners of two previous Super Bowls on the road.
Dallas’ first home game of 1992 likewise produced a positive result with a win over the Phoenix Cardinals, 31-20, to improve their overall record at 3-0.
The Cowboys would suffer a temporary roadblock in Week 5 when they headed to Philadelphia to face off with former comrade Herschel Walker and the Eagles. Motivation wasn’t lacking in that reunion game as Walker went on to find the end zone twice. His fine performance, aided by the stifling Philly defense that picked off Troy Aikman three times, was just too much for the Cowboys to overcome, resulting in a 31-7 loss.
The humbling defeat ignited the Boys to 10-2 record for the rest of the regular season, defeating the opposition by an average of 16.7 points. Some of their impressive victories were a 27-0 shutout in Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks and a 37-3 thumping on the road over the Detroit Lions, the team that eliminated them from contention just less than a year prior.
Dallas was clicking on offense led by Emmitt Smith’s league-leading 1,713 rushing yards. Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were likewise doing damage in their positions as the trio earned invites in that year’s Pro Bowl.
The Cowboys were firing on all cylinders as the playoffs went on. Dallas easily dispatched the rival Eagles in the Divisional Round before gaining vengeance over the San Francisco 49ers, 11 years after “The Catch” that launched a dynasty in the NFC.
Dallas would not let up in Super Bowl XXVII as the Cowboys’ potent offense and suffocating defense proved to be too overwhelming for the Buffalo Bills. The Cowboys won the game in runaway fashion, 52-17.
The Cowboys’ impressive run in 1992 would kick off the franchise’s dominant run for the rest of the decade.
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