In this week’s Super Bowl re-watch, I sat down to see the Dallas Cowboys return to glory as they dismantled the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII in 1993.
In the second biggest blowout in Super Bowl history, the Cowboys officially took back the title of America’s Team with a 52-17 win against the tragic Bills franchise. It would be the first of three in four years that would cement Dallas as the team of the decade.
The win was the culmination of a four-year rebuild that followed once current owner and general manager Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989.
The 1980s were not as kind to the Dallas franchise as the glorious 1970s. The Cowboys started the decade making it to the conference championship game three straight years, but lost each time. After that Dallas made the playoffs just one other season in 1985.
As the new owner, Jones made a splash by first firing the only coach in franchise history Tom Landry. Replacing him with the brash college coach Jimmy Johnson, a former teammate of his at Arkansas, was a recipe for disaster if things went south.
The first year together things did. Besides the first season in franchise history in 1960, there has never been a worse Cowboys team. Dallas went 1-15.
To make matters worse at the time, the Cowboys traded their only Pro Bowl level player, Herschel Walker, for five journeyman players and six draft picks.
While the move was criticized at the time, it is now remembered as one of the best trades in sports history. With the plethora of draft picks, Dallas drafted 23 players the next two seasons. More importantly, the Cowboys picked the right players and were loaded up on young talent.
The most important player was future Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, who would become the centerpiece of the offenses power running game.
Along with past first round picks quarterback Troy Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin, the three would become the faces of the franchise and nicknamed the triplets.
Combine the young talent with a coaching staff filled with a who’s who of future head coaches and it’s no surprise it was the start of a mini dynasty.
The 1992 Dallas Cowboys won a franchise best 13-3. With the triplets leading the way, the offense was the second highest scoring team in the league. On defense, despite no Pro Bowl players, the Cowboys led the league in fewest yards given up. Only one Hall of Fame player played on defense, but defensive end Charles Haley impacted the game in more ways than just quarterback sacks.
Eleven years after “The Catch” and after watching the 49ers win four Super Bowls throughout the 1980s, Dallas got some measure of revenge.
The Cowboys beat San Francisco at Candlestick Park in the conference championship to make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 15 years. Johnson’s famous “How bout them Cowboys” speech after the game is still quoted to this day.
The Buffalo Bills were in the middle of going to four straight Super Bowls to start the decade, with Super Bowl XXVII being the third. The team had four HOF players in Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith as well as HOF coach Marv Levy.
The Bills also made famous the no-huddle offense, which limited defensive substitutions and sped up the pace of the game. Buffalo had lost its first two Super Bowl games to divisional rivals New York Giants and the Washington Redskins before taking on Dallas.
Even with their experience, the Bills were not favored. After going 11-5, Buffalo only qualified for the wild-card game where it almost lost to Houston.
The Super Bowl win signaled the start of the second set of glory years that Cowboy fans are still living off the fumes of decades later. America’s Team was back on top.
What was your favorite memory from the 1990 Dallas Cowboys?

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.