With an extra week to prepare, they traveled to Philly to play the Eagles with the division lead at stake and fell to the Eagles 31-7. The Cowboys started off their season with three wins against divisional opponents: a 23-10 defeat of the defending World Champs at home, a 34-28 win at Giants Stadium, and a 31-20 win t home against cellar dwelling Phoenix. The Cowboys offensive line was the best in the NFL, sending two players to the Pro Bowl: center Mark Stepnoski and left guard Nate Newton. Right guard John Gesek, left tackle Mark Tuinei and right tackle Erik Williams played exceptionally well. Tight end Jay Novacek was the Cowboys second leading receiver in terms of receptions and yards with 68 and 630, respectively. Harper finished third on the team with 562 yards on his 35 receptions.
He also scored 7 TD's, which was good for a fourth place tie among NFC receivers. Irvin finished fourth in the NFC in receptions with 78 and 2nd in the NFC with 1,396 receiving yards. Wide receivers Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper are both young wideouts that are blessed with size, speed, and strength. Fullback Daryl "Moose" Johnston was one of the NFL's best lead blockers and gets some of the credit for Emmitt's success. Halfback Emmitt Smith led all NFL rushers with 1,713 yards and 18 rushing TD's.
His 89.5 rating was third in the NFC, his 23 TD passes were 2nd in the NFC, and his 3445 passing yards were also second in the conference. During that stretch he threw 28 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Quarterback Troy Aikman was the hottest QB in the NFL over the last 8 weeks of the regular season and playoffs. The defense led the NFL in fewest yards and 2nd in points allowed, yet sent no players to the Pro Bowl. Starting free safety James Washington and nickelback Kenneth Gant led the team with 3 interceptions. Former 12th round pick Larry Brown was a solid starter at cornerback. Rookie Robert Jones was a good run stuffer on the inside and Vinson Smith and Godfrey Myles shared time on the outside. The Cowboys also had a linebacker rotation led by Ken Norton, Jr who plays both insie and outside. Jim Jeffcoat, a reserve end led the club with 10.5 sacks. Haley and Tony Tolbert were the stating defensive end and registered 6 and 8.5 sacks, respectively. The Cowboys' 4-3 defense boasted of four fine defensive tackles: Russell Maryland, Tony Casillas, Leon Lett, and Jimmie Jones. The Cowboys kept their defensive linemen fresh by rotating them in and out of the lineup. They were able to acquire Charles Haley via trade from the 49ers to help solidify their pass rush and he did and they also acquired Thomas Everett from Pittsburgh, was the starting strong safety, and solidified the young secondary, which go younger when rookie Kevin Smith replaced veteran Issiac Holt as a starting cornerback 11 games into the season. The Cowboys made few changes from the 1991 squad that lost in the NFC Semifinal Round. The Cowboys entered the 1992 season as the youngest team in the NFL so many experts dismissed their chances of bringing home the Vince Lombardi Trophy for that very reason, especially since they played in the league's toughest division with the defending World Champion Redskins, the Eagles and a Giants team that was a year removed from a World Championship. Home Stadium: Texas Stadium in Irving, TX
Points Allowed: 243 (5th out of 28 NFL teams) Points Scored: 409 (2nd out of 28 NFL teams)