Dallas Wins One, Loses One Cowboys Subdue Chiefs, But Smith Hurts Knee

The Dallas Cowboys completed their rout of the AFC on Thursday. Success came at a high price.

Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s leading rusher, sprained his left knee, and center Ray Donaldson broke a bone near his right ankle in the 24-12 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs before 64,901 at Texas Stadium.

Smith, who went down without being touched in the third quarter, will undergo an extensive examination Friday. Owner Jerry Jones said there was no initial sign of structural damage. Smith, the leg in a splint, told coach Barry Switzer before leaving that he does not believe the injury is serious.

Donaldson, heart of the offensive line, will miss the rest of the season. Derek “Big Baby” Kennard replaced Donaldson in the first quarter and will man the position the rest of the season.

“Ray is the big reason we are where we are,” left guard Nate Newton said. “We’re going to miss him. But you’ll see ‘Big Baby’ filling the hole.”

The injuries muted that joy that comes from beating the team that had the NFL’s best record. The injuries made the post-Thanksgiving break - the Cowboys do not play again until Dec. 3 - more important to the team.

“I’m beat up; we’re all beat up,” quarterback Troy Aikman said. “We can all use the time off.”

The Cowboys also played without middle linebacker Robert Jones, who has a groin injury, and punter John Jett, who developed back spasms during warmups.

In a five-day span, the Cowboys defeated two AFC powers - Oakland and Kansas City - by a combined score of 58-33. The victories put the Cowboys at 10-2, tied with Kansas City for the NFL’s best record, and in ideal position for another needed break.

The Cowboys will finish the weekend with no worse than a two-game lead in the race for NFC’s best record and home-field advantage in the playoffs. Their remaining four games are against the rest of the NFC East. Those teams have a combined record of 16-28.

“We’re in great shape, no question about it,” Aikman said.

The two victories followed the crushing loss to San Francisco. How the Cowboys went from ineffective to dominating against two AFC powers can be explained in one word:

Turnovers.

Against San Francisco, the Cowboys had four turnovers without taking the ball from the 49ers. In the last two games, the Cowboys are plus-three turnovers: four takeaways and one giveaway.

The performances came against teams that live on the turnover. When the Cowboys played Oakland, the Raiders had the NFL’s best turnover rate. The Chiefs began this game with that distinction.

“Our team has done a good job of that,” said Aikman, who has gone 53 passes without an interception. “We’re not a team that turns the ball over a lot. Three games ago, we did. But we feel that if we don’t beat ourselves, we have a pretty good chance to win.”

The Chiefs committed the lone turnover. It was significant.

Trailing 21-12 early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had second down at the Cowboys’ 15-yard line. Quarterback Steve Bono, facing a blitz, rolled out to his right.

Bono never saw defensive end Tony Tolbert. He separated Bono from the ball, and linebacker Darrin Smith returned the fumble 63 yards to the Chiefs’ four. The Cowboys turned the play into a game-icing field goal.

“They made one mistake,” Switzer said. “They hadn’t made any in a lot of games. We’ll take it.”

One unusual fact said much about this game. In the first 24 minutes, the Cowboys had more points (14) than the Chiefs had yards (10).

Cowboys 24, Chiefs 12

Kansas City 0 6 6 0 - 12

Dallas 14 0 7 3 - 24

First quarter

Dal-Smith 15 run (Boniol kick), 6:19.

Dal-Irvin 33 pass from Aikman (Boniol kick), 14:31.

Second quarter

KC-FG Elliott 34, 13:10.

KC-FG Elliott 37, 14:56.

Third quarter

Dal-Novacek 33 pass from Aikman (Boniol kick), 8:57.

KC-Dawson 45 pass from Bono (pass failed), 12:31.

Fourth quarter

Dal-FG Boniol 20, 4:04.

A-64,901.

KC Dal First downs 19 23 Rushes-yards 19-73 35-118 Passing 261 175 Punt Returns 1-12 1-3 Kickoff Returns 5-108 4-107 Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0 Comp-Att-Int 20-36-0 21-29-0 Sacked-Yards Lost 1-15 2-17 Punts 3-38 3-39 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-Yards 11-68 5-29 Time of Possession 23:05 36:55

Individual statistics RUSHINGKansas City, Hill 8-41, Anders 5-16, Vanover 1-7, Thompson 2-5, M.Allen 3-4. Dallas, E.Smith 18-56, S.Williams 11-44, Johnston 5-11, K.Williams 1-7.

PASSINGKansas City, Bono 20-36-0-276. Dallas, Aikman 21-29-0-192.

RECEIVINGKansas City, Vanover 4-85, Dawson 3-61, W.Davis 3-54, Cash 3-31, Anders 2-11, Slaughter 1-13, M.Allen 1-11, Thompson 1-6, Hill 1-2, Hughes 1-2. Dallas, Irvin 11-121, Novacek 4-52, E.Smith 3-11, Johnston 2-4, Bjornson 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALSNone.