SB 28 Champion Dallas Cowboys - Super Bowl XXVIII - Superbowl XXVIII- Super Bowl 28 - Dallas Cowboys - Buffalo Bills

Many sports writers and fans were a bit upset that the Bills advanced to their fourth consecutive Super Bowl. They were tired that Buffalo lost the three previous Super Bowl games and did not want to see them lose again. Some Bills fans appeared to be defensive about their team's presence in the game; during Buffalo's victory in the AFC championship game a week earlier, one fan displayed a banner defiantly proclaiming, "We're back; deal with it, America!"

Therefore, the Super Bowl hype was more focused onto Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones and head coach Jimmy Johnson. Although the two rebuilt the team with young talent that eventually won the previous year's Super Bowl, both men had huge egos that conflicted with each other.

The Cowboys' journey to Super Bowl XXVIII proved more difficult than the previous contest. Pro Bowl running back Emmitt Smith held out the first two regular season games over a contract dispute, and Dallas lost both of those contests. Pro Bowl quarterback Troy Aikman, along with a few other key players, missed games due to injuries. Dallas still managed to finish with an NFC-best 12-4 record after defeating the New York Giants in their final regular season game.
Aikman finished the regular season completing 271 out of 392 passes for 3,100 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Smith recorded 1,486 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns, while catching 57 passes for 414 yards and another touchdown, earning him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Pro Bowler Michael Irvin was once again the team's leading wide receiver with 88 catches for 1,330 yards and 7 touchdowns. Wide receiver Alvin Harper had 36 catches for 777 yards and 5 touchdowns, while Pro Bowl tight end Jay Novacek had 44 receptions for 445 yards and 1 touchdown. Pro Bowlers Mark Stepnoski, Erik Williams, and Nate Newton anchored the offensive line.
The Cowboys defense was anchored by such Pro Bowlers as lineman Russell Maryland, linebacker Ken Norton Jr., and defensive back Thomas Everett.

Emmitt Smith rushed for 132 yards and two second-half touchdowns to power the Cowboys to their second consecutive NFL title.

By winning, Dallas joined San Francisco and Pittsburgh as the only franchises with four Super Bowl victories. The Bills, meanwhile, extended a dubious string by losing in the Super Bowl for the fourth consecutive year.

To win, the Cowboys had to rally from a 13-6 halftime deficit. Buffalo had forged its lead on Thurman Thomas's 4-yard touchdown run and a pair of field goals by Steve Christie, including a 54-yard kick, the longest in Super Bowl history.

But just 55 seconds into the second half, Thomas was stripped of the ball by Dallas defensive tackle Leon Lett. Safety James Washington recovered and weaved his way 46 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 13-13. After forcing the Bills to punt, the Cowboys began their next possession on their 36-yard line and Smith, the game's most valuable player, took over.

He carried seven times for 61 yards on the ensuing 8-play, 64-yard drive, capping the march with a 15-yard touchdown run to give Dallas the lead for good with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Washington intercepted Jim Kelly's pass and returned it 12 yards to Buffalo's 34. A penalty moved the ball back to the 39, but Smith carried twice for 10 yards and caught a screen pass for nine, and quarterback Troy Aikman completed a 16-yard pass to Alvin Harper to give the Cowboys a first-and-goal at the 6.

Smith took it from there, cracking the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to put Dallas ahead 27-13 with 9:50 remaining. Eddie Murray's third field goal, from 20 yards with 2:50 left, ended any doubt about the game's outcome.

Smith had 30 carries in all, with 19 of his attempts and 92 yards coming after intermission. Washington, normally a reserve who played most of the game because the Cowboys used five defensive backs to combat the Bills' No-Huddle offense, had 11 tackles and forced another fumble by Thomas in the first quarter.

Aikman completed 19 of 27 passes for 207 yards. Buffalo's Kelly completed a Super Bowl-record 31 passes in 50 attempts for 260 yards

Dallas, the first team in NFL history to begin the regular season 0-2 and go on to win the Super Bowl, also became the fifth to win back-to-back titles, following Green Bay, Miami, Pittsburgh (the Steelers did it twice), and San Francisco.

Buffalo became the third team, along with Minnesota and Denver, to lose four Super Bowls.

The Cowboys' victory was the tenth in succession for the NFC over the AFC.