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Cowboys self-destruct in finale
Turnovers aid Packers in 20-10 win
12/25/1989
By JIM SOUHAN / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – The Cowboys found an appropriately dismal way to end one of the worst seasons in NFL history Sunday. They found a different way to lose. They fell to the Green Bay Packers, 20-10, not because of their patchwork defense, anemic running game or waiver-wire receivers. Those normally reliable alibis wouldn't stand up in court.
No, the Cowboys (1-15) tied the NFL record for most losses in a season because their two most-productive offensive players rejoiced in the spirit of giving on this frigid Christmas Eve. The Packers (10-6), who will win the NFC Central if the Cincinnati Bengals defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, were grateful recipients.
Quarterback Troy Aikman threw four interceptions and, for perhaps the first time since he regained his starting job seven weeks ago, played like the rookie he is. Fullback Daryl Johnston, another rookie, had a career-high 16 carries and 60 yards as the focus of a new-look, one-back offense. But his fourth-quarter fumble made those statistics meaningless.
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Coach Jimmy Johnson tried to accentuate the positive during his post-game news conference, saying, "I feel good about some of the young players on this team."
But Aikman, as usual, refused to accept losing as a part of learning.
"Moral victories became meaningless awhile ago," Aikman said with a shrug. "We moved the ball, but an offense is supposed to score points as well. We didn't do that."
Where do the Cowboys need help? "If it was up to me," he said, speaking of the upcoming draft, "we'd take 12 offensive players."
Although the defense played well, holding the Packers to 43 yards rushing, the Cowboys' lack of talent and experience on offense Sunday was dramatically evident. With running back Paul Palmer, the team's leading rusher, on the sideline in street clothes because he was not part of the game plan, Aikman and Johnston accounted for 222 of the offense's 229 net yards.
That doesn't mean the offense worked: The Cowboys were held without an offensive touchdown for the ninth consecutive quarter and the fifth game this season.
In fact, the Cowboys' only score came courtesy of the defense and nearly turned the game around. After Aikman threw his third interception, to Packers' linebacker John Anderson, Green Bay tried a reverse from its 34.
Cowboys reserve defensive tackle Jon Carter hit running back Brent Fullwood as he tried to hand to receiver Sterling Sharpe, knocking the ball loose. Cowboys linebacker Jack Del Rio picked up the bouncing ball, shook off a tackler at midfield and raced in, escorted by five teammates, for a touchdown that tied the score at 10-10 with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter.
But the Packers reacted to adversity like the playoff team they hope to be. They took the kickoff and drove 62 yards in six plays, scoring on a play-action pass that resulted in a five-yard touchdown pass from Pro Bowl quarterback Don Majkowski to tight end Ed West, making it 17-10.
This seemed like one time adversity wouldn't crush the Cowboys. Taking the ball on their 27, they used five Johnston runs and two Aikman passes and an Aikman run to move to the Packer 32.
Then Johnston carried for the last time and effectively ended the Cowboys' season.
He drove into the line, took a hit from nose tackle Bob Nelson and fumbled into the arms of safety Mark Murphy with 12:10 remaining.
"I don't really understand what the problem was," Johnston said. "I didn't have a fumbling problem in college, and I've had a couple up here. Maybe it's just the intensity of the game or it's the technique that a lot of teams use in going for the ball, but it's something I've got to get used to."
That fumble was all the Packers needed to wrap up their winningest season since 1972. They embarked on a 15-play, 63-yard demonstration of winning football, knocking 8:46 off the clock and taking a 20-10 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Chris Jacke, a Pearce High product.
"The eight-minute drive, the first downs, sitting on the ball at the end of the game, the defense getting the turnovers, you can go on and on," said Packers coach Lindy Infante. "Those were the reasons we won."
The Cowboys, thanks largely to their defense, had stayed within a touchdown most of the game. About six minutes after Jacke kicked a 28-yard field goal in the first quarter, Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas answered with a 41-yarder to tie the score.
The Cowboys actually had a chance to take control of the game shortly thereafter. Aikman, who finished the game 18-of-27 but for just 125 yards, hit four receivers while driving the offense 55 yards to the Packers 11. But after connecting with rookie tight end Keith Jennings for 14 yards on the right side, Aikman tried to duplicate that play on the left side.
But he telegraphed the pass, linebacker Johnny Holland reached high for an interception, and the offense's best chance for a touchdown ended with Aikman making an open-field tackle.
The Packers didn't capitalize on that immediately, but they went up, 10-3, late in the half when Majkowski burned an all-out Cowboys blitz with a short pass over the middle to rookie receiver Jeff Query.
Query beat cornerback Robert Williams and cut through the heart of the defense for a 14-yard touchdown. That capped a 12-play, 77-yard drive that ended with 31 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Cowboys came back on Del Rio's second career touchdown. But nobody on the Cowboys offense could match him in scoring, so they became the second team in NFL history, along with the 1980 Saints, to finish 1-15.
"This has been a long, hard season on everybody, and I guess the best thing about it is that it is behind us," Johnson said. "And that the Cowboys will have better days in the future."
Certainly, their season couldn't have been much worse.
