Draft:1993 Miami Dolphins vs. Dallas Cowboys game

• Comment: Likely notable given the secondary coverage well after the event, in accordance with WP:NEVENT. There are, however, large sections that go uncited. Bobby Cohn (talk) 00:06, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

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On November 25, 1993, the Dallas Cowboys played host to the Miami Dolphins in their annual Thanksgiving game at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The game was won by the Dolphins, 16-14, but is remembered today both for the unseasonable playing conditions at Texas Stadium and the finish to the contest.

Background

The Cowboys entered the matchup with a 7-3 record, having lost the previous week against the Atlanta Falcons; the loss snapped a seven game winning streak for the Cowboys, as they had lost the first two games of the season while star running back Emmitt Smith chose to holdout rather than join the Cowboys. They were locked in a tight division race with the New York Giants, whom they held a tiebreaker over for the division lead thanks to their head-to-head victory over New York the week before.

The Dolphins were 8-2 entering the game, with their only two losses coming against their division rivals in the New York Jets. This included their most recent road victory two weeks earlier against the Philadelphia Eagles, a win which gave Don Shula the record for most wins by a head coach in league history. The Dolphins were performing so well in spite of a severe injury to quarterback Dan Marino, who was lost for the season with a ruptured right Achilles tendon in Week 6.

The weather

The forecast for the Dallas area on Thanksgiving was for record setting cold, with the high temperature for the day reaching 35 degrees. This was due to a front called a Blue Norther, which is is a weather phenomenon exclusive to the southern Great Plains, passing through Texas the night before the game.

By the time of kickoff, the temperature had dropped below 30 degrees. In addition to this, a significant amount of frozen precipitation began falling in the late morning. This resulted in 0.3 inches of sleet covering the field, which in turn resulted in slippery conditions for both players and officials alike for the entire game. Emmitt Smith was quoted as saying that the conditions were so bad that they "might as well have put on ice skates" to play the game.

Broadcasting

Because the game featured an AFC team as the road team, the broadcast rules of the day meant that NBC Sports woild televise the game. Dick Enberg provided the play-by-play with Bob Trumpy as analyst (NFL cross-flexing rules now allow for the league to schedule anyone they like on Thanksgiving; the networks instead alternate from year to year on whether they will carry the Cowboys or Detroit Lions).

The game was carried on the radio locally by KVIL-FM in Dallas, which at the time was the flagship of the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. Brad Sham called the game with Dale Hansen as analyst. In Miami, the game was broadcast on WIOD-AM with Rick Weaver as the lead and Jim Mandich on commentary. Nationally, the game as broadcast on CBS Radio.

Game summary

Miami opened up the scoring as Keith Byars took a handoff from Steve DeBerg and went 77 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Dallas responded with two second quarter touchdowns by receiver Kevin Williams, one on a 64 yard punt return and another on a pass from Troy Aikman from 4 yards. The Cowboys led at the half by a score of 14-7.

Although the conditions were not optimal for kicking, Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich managed to convert on two short kicks to cut the lead to one in the fourth quarter.

Final sequence

With 15 seconds left in the game, Stoyanovich was again sent out to try and convert. The kick was from 41 yards, and he had already missed from beyond 40 yards once in the game. The kick was blocked by Jimmie Jones and the ball rolled forward to the seven yard line, where it sat spinning. Once it managed to stop, the play would be blown dead and the Cowboys would take over. However, Dallas defensive end Leon Lett, who had been pressed into service on special teams that day due to the conditions, made a move to try to recover the ball. As he did, Lett slid and made contact with the ball, which rolled forward toward the end zone. The ball was recovered by Dolphins center Jeff Dellenbach, whose momentum had carried him into the end zone.

After the officials conferred, referee Ed Hochuli explained that the play was being treated as a muffed kick since Lett had touched the ball past the line of scrimmage. Since muffs cannot be advanced, the Dolphins received the ball at the spot where Dellenbach recovered it, the Dallas one-yard line. From there, Stoyanovich hit a much shorter field goal from eighteen heard out and won the game for the Dolphins.

Following the game, Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson said that it had been his idea to put Lett on the field goal unit, figuring he could block kicks with a low trajectory if the conditions dictated. He later said he "outsmarted" himself by doing so; he also told a disconsolate Lett, who was sitting alone in the training room crying and worried about being released, that he he would remain a member of the Cowboys for years to come.

Aftermath

Both teams went in different directions after the game. The Dolphins ended the week in first place after the Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, They would then lose to the Giants and see a comeback against the Pittsburgh Steelers fall short. Those two games were followed by the Dolphins giving up 47 points to the Bills and 45 to the San Diego Chargers, leaving Miami at 9-6 entering the season finale against the last place New England Patriots. In their first year under Bill Parcells, the Patriots had started 1-11 but were coming off of three consecutive wins and could knock the Dolphins out of the playoffs with a win. In a game where they trailed nearly the entire day, the Dolphins rallied in the fourth quarter to take a lead only for the Patriots to regain it late. Stoyanovich made a field goal to force overtime, but a touchdown pass from Drew Bledsoe to Michael Timpson ended their season and made them the first team to start 9-2 and not qualify for the playoffs.

The Cowboys, after temporarily losing first place to the Giants following their defeat of the Phoenix Cardinals, went on a winning streak. They defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, securing a season sweep, then won against the Minnesota Vikings and the reeling Jets, who like the Dolphins were in a slump and would ultimately miss the playoffs. Then, in Week 17, the Cowboys moved back into a first place tie as they beat the Washington Redskins while the Giants were upset by the Cardinals; this set up a winner take all matchup on the final week of the season for the top seed in the NFC, which Dallas won in overtime en route to their second consecutive Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XXVIII.