Game Summary
Things started out well in the beginning for Buffalo. On their first possession, the Cowboys were forced to a three-and-out. Bills special teams expert Steve Tasker then blocked the ensuing punt, knocking the ball out of bounds at the Cowboys 16-yard line. Four plays later, Thurman Thomas scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Bills the 7-0 early lead.
Dallas then reached their own 40-yard line on their next drive, but an illegal formation penalty nullified running back Emmitt Smith's 12-yard run. Troy Aikman then threw two consecutive incompletions, and the Cowboys were forced to punt again. The Bills subsequently advanced to midfield with the aid of a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Cowboys defensive lineman Leon Lett and a 21-yard reception by wide receiver Andre Reed.
Then the wave of turnovers began. On the next play, a blitz by reserve defensive back Kenneth Gant forced a pass by Jim Kelly that Dallas safety James Washington intercepted and returned it 13 yards to the Bills' 47-yard line. The Cowboys then drove 47 yards in 6 plays to tie the game on Aikman's 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Novacek.
On the Bills' first play of their next drive, Dallas defensive end Charles Haley sacked Kelly and forced a fumble. Cowboys defensive tackle Jimmie Jones picked the ball out of the air at the 2-yard line and dove into the end zone for a touchdown to give his team a 14-7 lead. Dallas had scored 2 touchdowns in a span of 15 seconds, the fastest pair in Super Bowl history.
Early in the second quarter, Kelly's 40-yard completion to Reed gave the Bills a first down at the Cowboys 4-yard line. But the Bills failed to score on 3 rushing attempts. On fourth down, Kelly's pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Thomas Everett.
On Buffalo's next drive, linebacker Ken Norton, Jr. hit Kelly, re-injuring the quarterback's knee that he sprained earlier in the season, and playoff hero Frank Reich took Kelly's place. Reich started out well, completing his first 2 passes, including a 38-yard completion to Reed to advance the ball to the Dallas 22-yard line. But then Thomas was stopped for no gain on third down and 1 at the 4-yard line. Rather than attempt another fourth down play near the goal line, the Bills settled for Steve Christie's 21-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 14–10 with 3:24 left in the half.
The Cowboys then stormed down the field on their next possession, scoring in just 5 plays. After a pair of completions by Aikman for 17 yards, Smith's 38-yard run gave the Cowboys a first down inside the Bills' 20-yard line. Aikman then finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Irvin, increasing his team's lead to 21–10. On the first play of the Bills' ensuing drive, Thomas caught a swing pass, but fumbled the ball while being tackled by Lett, and Jones recovered it at the Bills 18-yard line. Aikman then threw his second touchdown pass to Irvin to give the Cowboys a 28-10 lead. (Irvin's two touchdown receptions made him the 7th player to do so in a Super Bowl. Irvin also became the second player, after Washington Redskins wide receiver Ricky Sanders in Super Bowl XXII, to catch two touchdowns in a single quarter. Furthermore, Irvin's two catches occurred in a span of 18 seconds, the fastest pair of touchdowns ever scored by a single player in Super Bowl history).
With about a little over a minute left in the first half, Buffalo barely avoided another turnover when running back Kenneth Davis recovered a fumbled handoff from Reich. But 2 plays later, defensive back Larry Brown intercepted Reich's pass at the Dallas 28-yard line to preserve the Cowboys' 18-point lead at halftime.
Dallas then took the opening drive of the second half and advanced 77 yards in 11 plays, featuring a 25-yard reception by Irvin. However, on third down and 2, Aikman's pass to Novacek in the end zone was overthrown, forcing Dallas to settle for Lin Elliot's 20-yard field goal. This increased their lead to 31-10. Both teams were unable to score on each of their next possessions, but on the period's final play, Reich threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Bills receiver Don Beebe, despite Cowboy complaints that the touchdown should have been nullified because Reich, while scrambling to avoid the Cowboy rush, crossed the 40-yard line for what should have been ruled an illegal forward pass. So despite 5 first half turnovers, the Bills were only trailing Dallas 31–17 going into the final period, and after their comeback from the 32-point deficit in the playoffs, a 14-point comeback seemed perfectly within their capabilities.
But early in the fourth quarter, Aikman threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Alvin Harper. Then on the second play of the Bills' next possession, Everett intercepted a pass from Reich and returned it 22 yards to Buffalo's 8-yard line, setting up another touchdown on Smith's 10-yard run. After Buffalo received the ensuing kickoff, Reich fumbled a high snap while in a shotgun formation. Norton recovered the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown, increasing the Cowboys' lead to 52-17. The 21 points by the Cowboys is the most ever for a team in the 4th quarter. The Cowboys also became just the second team to score two non-offensive touchdowns in a game. The Raiders also did so in Super Bowl XVIII with a blocked punt return and an interception return.
The most memorable moment of the game came well after the Cowboys had built an insurmountable lead. After both teams lost a fumble on their next possessions, the Bills managed to advance to the Cowboys' 31-yard line. But Reich lost a fumble while being sacked by Cowboys lineman Jim Jeffcoat. Lett picked up the ball with no one in front of him and appeared to be headed for a 64-yard touchdown return. As he started to showboat just before crossing the goal line, Don Beebe raced in from behind and knocked the ball out of Lett's arm and into the end zone. The ball then rolled out of bounds for a touchback. If Lett had scored the touchdown, the Cowboys would have topped the previous Super Bowl record of 55 points scored in a game that the 49ers had set three years prior.
Smith was the top rusher of the game, rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 6 passes for 27 yards. Irvin was the Cowboys' leading receiver with 6 receptions for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. Novacek added 7 receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. Lett recorded a sack, a fumble recovery, and 2 forced fumbles.
Reich and Kelly combined for 22 out of 38 completions for 276 yards and a touchdown, but also threw 4 interceptions. Thomas, who gained 2,113 combined rushing and receiving yards during the season, was held to just 29 combined rushing and receiving yards in the game. Reed was the Bills' top receiver with 8 receptions for 152 yards. Bills running back Kenneth Davis was their leading rusher with 86 yards. Davis also caught 3 passes for 16 yards and returned a kickoff for 21 yards, giving him 123 total yards.
Irvin and Bills receiver Andre Reed each had over 100 yards receiving, making it the first time players from different teams had at least 100 yards receiving. Irvin had 114 yards while Reed had 152. Reed's total is the highest for a player on a losing team.
Read more about this topic: Super Bowl XXVII
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