Jerry’s Boys Pound Jimmy
Jerry Jones went into his grudge match against Jimmy Johnson with a big advantage: the Dallas Cowboys.
The Super Bowl champions beat the coach who built them Sunday. Troy Aikman threw for 363 yards, including 12 completions to Michael Irvin for 186 yards, and Dallas dominated Johnson’s Miami Dolphins 29-10.
The Cowboys won their fourth in a row, but still they trail Washington by two games in the NFC East. Miami has lost four of five games.
“This was a big win, and it was a little nicer because it was the Miami Dolphins and Jimmy Johnson,” Jones, the Cowboys’ owner, said. “I don’t think any matchup in the future will have the intensity of this one. This one was special because it created closure.”
In the week leading up to the long-anticipated showdown, Johnson was on his best behavior while talking about the game, possibly because he knew he was outmanned. Dallas outscored Miami 20-0 in the second half and finished with 482 yards to 221 for the Dolphins.
“We got beat by a better team,” said Johnson, who took only a few questions at his postgame news conference before departing. “We played well for a half, but couldn’t hold on for the second half.”
Jones, who hired Johnson at Dallas and fired him five years later after two Super Bowl titles, watched from a skybox as their Ego Bowl turned into a rout. The game attracted 800 members of the media and a crowd of 75,283, the largest in stadium history.
For the first time, Johnson had reason to regret drafting Aikman while at Dallas. Aikman hit 33 of 41 passes for three scores with no interceptions.
His most damaging completion came when a breakdown in the secondary left Irvin wide open on third-and-17. The result was a 61-yard gain, setting up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to Irvin for a 22-10 lead in the third quarter.
Aikman also threw for touchdowns covering 4 yards to former Washington Husky Eric Bjornson and 10 yards to Emmitt Smith.
Dan Marino, back in the Miami lineup after missing three games with a broken right ankle, hit only 12 of 27 attempts for 173 yards.
Patriots 28, Bills 25
At Foxboro, Mass., New England beat the Buffalo Bills at their own game - a very close one - and made the AFC East race extremely tight.
Just when it seemed the Bills were headed for their fifth three-point victory of the season, the Patriots scored two touchdowns in the last 1:25 for a 28-25 win.
Curtis Martin got the go-ahead touchdown on a 10-yard run. Then, with Jim Kelly trying to lead his 24th successful fourth-quarter comeback, Willie McGinest returned the first interception of his career 46 yards for another touchdown with 41 seconds remaining.
The 28-18 lead seemed secure, but these are the Bills.
So, with 24 seconds to play, Kelly connected with Andre Reed on a 48-yard desperation pass for a touchdown.
But Keith Byars, in just his second game since being picked up from Miami, recovered the on-side kick and the Patriots held on.
49ers 10, Oilers 9
At Houston, Steve Young wasn’t able to save the San Francisco 49ers this time. Seldom-used Jeff Brohm and the 49ers defense did.
Young suffered a concussion on the third play of the game and was replaced by Brohm, who completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens with 4:27 to play, rallying the 49ers to their victory over Houston.
Packers 13, Buccaneers 7
At Green Bay, Brett Favre, who leads the NFL with 21 touchdown passes, didn’t throw for a TD for the first time since Nov. 5, 1995, a span of 17 games, including the playoffs. He was just 19 of 31 for 178 yards and an interception.
But Edgar Bennett rushed 20 times for 93 yards and Dorsey Levens ran seven times for 21 yards and a touchdown for the Packers.
Broncos 34, Chiefs 7
At Denver, John Elway threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns, two to Shannon Sharpe, as Denver took command of the AFC West against division rival Kansas City.
The Chiefs’ lone score came on Tamarick Vanover’s 97-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.
Jets 31, Cardinals 21
At Phoenix, Adrian Murrell rushed for 199 yards, including a 78-yarder to the 2 that set up the clinching touchdown as New York won for the first time in nine tries this season.
Eagles 20, Panthers 9
Ty Detmer passed for a career-high 342 yards and a touchdown, while Irving Fryar, who caught eight passes for 116 yards and four touchdowns last week, caught seven passes for 143 yards for host Philadelphia.
Ricky Watters, averaging 107 rushing yards, was limited to 33 by Carolina, but he did score the Eagles’ other touchdown on a 3-yard run.
Redskins 31, Colts 16
Terry Allen rushed for 124 yards and had his second consecutive three-touchdown game, while Brian Mitchell returned a punt 71 yards for Washington, which extended its winning streak to seven games.
Ravens 37, Rams 31 (OT)
Vinny Testaverde threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jackson with 10 seconds left in overtime as host Baltimore avoided the first NFL tie in seven years.
The Ravens won despite committing four turnovers and missing two field goals and a conversion. The Rams also had four turnovers, blew a 14-point lead in the second half and botched a field-goal try in overtime.
Giants 35, Lions 7
New York snapped Detroit’s 10-game home winning streak by forcing six turnovers.
The Giants secondary picked off five passes and helped hold Barry Sanders of Detroit to 47 yards on 16 carries.
Steelers 20, Falcons 17
For the second straight week, Atlanta came close to knocking off one of the best teams in the NFL, only to fall short in the fourth quarter.
Norm Johnson kicked a 20-yard field as time ran out, giving visiting Pittsburgh the victory and sending the winless Falcons to their eighth straight loss.
Bengals 28, Jaguars 21
At Cincinnati, Jeff Blake threw a touchdown pass and Ki-Jana Carter ran for two scores in Bruce Coslet’s coaching debut for Cincinnati.
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST Quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde 31-51-429-3-2 Drew Bledsoe 32-45-373-1-0 Troy Aikman 33-41-363-3-0 Running backs Adrian Murrell 31-199-1 Jerome Bettis 26-126-1 Terry Allen 22-124-3 Receivers Isaac Bruce 11-229-1 Michael Irvin 12-186-1 Michael Jackson 7-113-1