Thomas82
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On this day 30 years ago, we had the last head-to-head matchup between Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders on Monday Night Football. The battle between the running backs was as good as it gets. You had 2 superstars with totally different styles going head-to-head on the NFL's prime time stage. Emmitt Smith hammered away between the tackles and inflicted as much punishment on the Lions' tacklers as they did on him. Barry Sanders jitterbugged his way through a stout Cowboys defense. Emmitt went into this game as the NFL's reigning MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and he had also won the last 3 rushing titles. Barry was the eventual rushing champion for 1994, and he would also be named the NFL's Offensive Player Of The Year.
Here are the things that stand out most to me from this all-time great running back duel, along with some additional observations:
*Even to this day, a lot of people make the mistake of just looking at the rushing totals of both players from that night and think Barry Sanders had the better game by far. While it's true that the Cowboys had no answers for Barry, both running backs actually canceled each other out. Barry had more carries and rushing yards, but he and Emmitt averaged about the same yards per carry. Emmitt was also used more effectively in the passing game and scored a touchdown.
*Even thought it was a loss for the Cowboys, I always felt like this was one of Emmitt Smith's most underrated performances. He was brilliant that night. He was both the team's leading rusher and receiver. In fact, Emmitt led the team in carries, rushing yards, receptions, and receiving yards. He kept this game from being a blowout.
*Here are the numbers again: Emmitt - 36 touches for 192 total yards and 1 touchdown, Barry - 40 carries for 194 yards. Again, Emmitt led the Cowboys in rushing and receiving. Barry's rushing numbers were also his yards from scrimmage total since he didn't have a reception. Oh yeah, and Emmitt had a 41-yard run called back in the 3rd quarter due to offsetting penalties, which kept his numbers from being even bigger.
*This was only the 2nd time in the Super Bowl Era that opposing running backs had 190+ yards from scrimmage in a game. The first time came on 10/14/90, when Barry Sanders had 225 total yards and Barry Word had 200.
*Barry Sanders' 40 carries were his career-high, as well as an all-time record for most carries against the Cowboys. It was also 5 short of the NFL single-game record.
*What makes Barry Sanders' performance even more impressive is that he put up those numbers on the road against a reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion whose defense finished No. 1 in total yards allowed and No. 3 in total points allowed in 1994.
*The announcers implied multiple times during the game that Barry Sanders did much of his damage on his own and that he didn't have a great offensive line. From what I saw, this was one of the better performances by the Lions O-line while Barry was there. They dominated the Cowboys defensive line and opened up some big holes for Barry. For starters, Lomas Brown did an excellent job at slowing Charles Haley down. Barry had a lot of room to run and was often able to get to the 2nd level without having to break a tackle or make a guy miss at or behind the line of scrimmage. You didn't see him break that huge run, but he was able to pick and prod his way through the defense with 40 carries, still averaging almost 5 yards per carry. That O-line did something right for Barry to get all of those yards.
*Another thing that stood out to me from this game was the consistency of Emmitt Smith and his ability to carry a drive. When the Cowboys got the ball back on their 2nd possession of the 3rd quarter, they were down 17-7. That's when they decided to feed Emmitt. He got 7 yards on 1st down, 2 on 2nd down, and a little under a yard on 3rd down to set up 4th & inches. That's when he broke the 41-yarder that was called back for offsetting penalties. When they replayed the down, Emmitt got the ball again and went for 11 yards to give the Cowboys a new set of downs. That's 5 straight carries where it was all Emmitt. The Cowboys finished the drive with a field goal. This was a 15-play drive where Emmitt carried the ball 11 times. It was a little reminiscent of how the Cowboys leaned on him to take control of Super Bowl XXVIII.
*You would think that with both superstar running backs combining for 69 carries for 337 yards and 76 touches for 376 scrimmage yards that the combined score of the game would be much higher than 37. Both teams' defenses were bend-but-don't-break in this game, and ironically it was a defensive play that set the Lions up to get in field goal range and win the game.
*What was most frustrating about the turnover that did the Cowboys in was that Emmitt Smith was having such a good game that I questioned why they didn't give him the ball one more time, and also at other times in regulation. But nonetheless, it was a real treat to watch the 2 greatest running backs of their generation go head-to-head that night.
*The Lions were determined to take away the Cowboys outside receivers that night. Most of the production the Cowboys got from their passing game came from either Jay Novacek or Daryl Johnston over the middle, or Emmitt Smith in the flat. The Lions had some vicious and nasty hitters on that defense such as Chris Spielman, Pat Swilling, Bennie Blades, and Broderick Thomas.
*Overall, the Cowboys were just out of sync for the entire night. It showed in things like costly penalties, the passing game being off, linemen missing blocks and running into each other, and on one play you even had Derek Kennard colliding with Emmitt Smith on one of his runs to take yards off the play. It was just one of those nights.
*There was a noticeable lack of passion and emotion from the Cowboys in this game. You could tell right away that Jimmy Johnson's presence was missed.
*This game was personal for the Lions. They had a big emotional letdown after beating the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions on the road, going on to lose their next 3 games.
***I know for some this post might be depressing to read, but this was a good game even thought he Cowboys didn't come out on top. Also, this was a time when we didn't have to worry about our running game being up to par, unlike today.***
Here are the things that stand out most to me from this all-time great running back duel, along with some additional observations:
*Even to this day, a lot of people make the mistake of just looking at the rushing totals of both players from that night and think Barry Sanders had the better game by far. While it's true that the Cowboys had no answers for Barry, both running backs actually canceled each other out. Barry had more carries and rushing yards, but he and Emmitt averaged about the same yards per carry. Emmitt was also used more effectively in the passing game and scored a touchdown.
*Even thought it was a loss for the Cowboys, I always felt like this was one of Emmitt Smith's most underrated performances. He was brilliant that night. He was both the team's leading rusher and receiver. In fact, Emmitt led the team in carries, rushing yards, receptions, and receiving yards. He kept this game from being a blowout.
*Here are the numbers again: Emmitt - 36 touches for 192 total yards and 1 touchdown, Barry - 40 carries for 194 yards. Again, Emmitt led the Cowboys in rushing and receiving. Barry's rushing numbers were also his yards from scrimmage total since he didn't have a reception. Oh yeah, and Emmitt had a 41-yard run called back in the 3rd quarter due to offsetting penalties, which kept his numbers from being even bigger.
*This was only the 2nd time in the Super Bowl Era that opposing running backs had 190+ yards from scrimmage in a game. The first time came on 10/14/90, when Barry Sanders had 225 total yards and Barry Word had 200.
*Barry Sanders' 40 carries were his career-high, as well as an all-time record for most carries against the Cowboys. It was also 5 short of the NFL single-game record.
*What makes Barry Sanders' performance even more impressive is that he put up those numbers on the road against a reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion whose defense finished No. 1 in total yards allowed and No. 3 in total points allowed in 1994.
*The announcers implied multiple times during the game that Barry Sanders did much of his damage on his own and that he didn't have a great offensive line. From what I saw, this was one of the better performances by the Lions O-line while Barry was there. They dominated the Cowboys defensive line and opened up some big holes for Barry. For starters, Lomas Brown did an excellent job at slowing Charles Haley down. Barry had a lot of room to run and was often able to get to the 2nd level without having to break a tackle or make a guy miss at or behind the line of scrimmage. You didn't see him break that huge run, but he was able to pick and prod his way through the defense with 40 carries, still averaging almost 5 yards per carry. That O-line did something right for Barry to get all of those yards.
*Another thing that stood out to me from this game was the consistency of Emmitt Smith and his ability to carry a drive. When the Cowboys got the ball back on their 2nd possession of the 3rd quarter, they were down 17-7. That's when they decided to feed Emmitt. He got 7 yards on 1st down, 2 on 2nd down, and a little under a yard on 3rd down to set up 4th & inches. That's when he broke the 41-yarder that was called back for offsetting penalties. When they replayed the down, Emmitt got the ball again and went for 11 yards to give the Cowboys a new set of downs. That's 5 straight carries where it was all Emmitt. The Cowboys finished the drive with a field goal. This was a 15-play drive where Emmitt carried the ball 11 times. It was a little reminiscent of how the Cowboys leaned on him to take control of Super Bowl XXVIII.
*You would think that with both superstar running backs combining for 69 carries for 337 yards and 76 touches for 376 scrimmage yards that the combined score of the game would be much higher than 37. Both teams' defenses were bend-but-don't-break in this game, and ironically it was a defensive play that set the Lions up to get in field goal range and win the game.
*What was most frustrating about the turnover that did the Cowboys in was that Emmitt Smith was having such a good game that I questioned why they didn't give him the ball one more time, and also at other times in regulation. But nonetheless, it was a real treat to watch the 2 greatest running backs of their generation go head-to-head that night.
*The Lions were determined to take away the Cowboys outside receivers that night. Most of the production the Cowboys got from their passing game came from either Jay Novacek or Daryl Johnston over the middle, or Emmitt Smith in the flat. The Lions had some vicious and nasty hitters on that defense such as Chris Spielman, Pat Swilling, Bennie Blades, and Broderick Thomas.
*Overall, the Cowboys were just out of sync for the entire night. It showed in things like costly penalties, the passing game being off, linemen missing blocks and running into each other, and on one play you even had Derek Kennard colliding with Emmitt Smith on one of his runs to take yards off the play. It was just one of those nights.
*There was a noticeable lack of passion and emotion from the Cowboys in this game. You could tell right away that Jimmy Johnson's presence was missed.
*This game was personal for the Lions. They had a big emotional letdown after beating the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions on the road, going on to lose their next 3 games.
***I know for some this post might be depressing to read, but this was a good game even thought he Cowboys didn't come out on top. Also, this was a time when we didn't have to worry about our running game being up to par, unlike today.***