It is Day 45 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain
dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
Welcome to Day 45 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, when we revisit one of the toughest individual performances in Cowboys history. Dallas and New York both entered with identical records, with the NFC East, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage all sitting on the line. The game was close and went into overtime, but the score only tells a fraction of the story. This was the Emmitt Smith separated-shoulder game in 1994.
Sunday, January 2, 1994 — 1:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. CT
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 16, New York Giants 13 (OT)
Dallas controlled the first half with the ball in Smith’s hands. Eddie Murray opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal, then Troy Aikman found Smith for a five-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Another Murray field goal from 38 yards made it 13-0 at halftime. The Cowboys had the lead, the division within reach, and Smith was already carrying the offense.
Then came the injury that turned a big game into a franchise legend. Smith separated his shoulder on a 46-yard run before halftime, but he refused to come out. Jimmy Johnson wanted to use Lincoln Coleman more, but Smith pushed back and made it clear he did not want to be a decoy. He wanted the ball. That is what made the performance feel different from a normal tough-guy story. Smith was not just surviving pain, he was still deciding the game.
The Giants made their move after halftime. Jarrod Bunch scored from one yard out in the third quarter, David Treadwell added a 29-yard field goal, and suddenly Dallas’ 13-0 lead was down to 13-10. Early in the fourth quarter, Treadwell hit again from 32 yards to tie the game. The Cowboys had stopped scoring, the Giants had the home crowd behind them, and Smith was playing with one arm.
That is where the game became one of the defining moments of the 1990s Cowboys. The Giants won the overtime toss and took the ball, but Dallas forced a punt. Starting at their own 25, the Cowboys put together an 11-play drive built almost entirely around Smith. He ran it. He caught it. He absorbed contact. He kept getting up. The drive ended with Murray’s 41-yard field goal, and Dallas walked out with the NFC East title, the bye, and home-field advantage.
Smith’s final numbers were ridiculous given the circumstances. He had 32 carries for 168 rushing yards, 10 catches for 61 receiving yards, and Dallas’ only touchdown. That gave him 229 total yards on a day when the Giants knew exactly where the ball was going. Aikman was efficient, completing 24 of 30 passes for 180 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, but this game belonged to number 22.
This game belongs on the countdown because it is one of the clearest examples of what made Emmitt Smith great. He was not the biggest back, not the fastest back, and not the flashiest back, but in the biggest moment of the regular season, with the Cowboys’ Super Bowl path hanging in the balance, he carried the team with a separated shoulder. Dallas would use the bye, beat Green Bay, beat San Francisco, and then defeat Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVIII. This win in the Meadowlands helped make that road possible and Smith showed the NFL what made him the greatest running back in league history.
Interesting Facts About the Game
Smith clinched his third straight NFL rushing title with this performance. He stayed in the game after the shoulder injury, rushed for 168 yards, helped Dallas win in overtime, and wrapped up the rushing crown.
Countdown To Kickoff by day:
100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75, 74, 73, 72, 71, 70, 69, 68, 67, 66, 65, 64, 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58, 57,56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50, 49, 48, 47, 46
