SB XXVIII: Atlanta’s first

The NFL’s grand game came to Atlanta for the first time on Jan. 30, 1994. Smith was in his fourth season in the NFL and on his way to a storied career that would land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Dallas Cowboy star running back was excited.

“Being from the Southeast Pensacola, is near southern Georgia and lower Alabama if you will, being from that region, it just screamed of SEC football,” Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was good to be home.”

Smith didn’t play in Atlanta much, but he liked it when he did.

“I have very fond memories of playing in the ATL dating all the way back to playing in the old baseball stadium, Fulton County Stadium,” Smith said. “Being in the Georgia Dome was always a pretty cool experience. I was only in there a couple of times. Twice during the regular season and one other time in the Super Bowl.”

The Cowboys had won the previous Super Bowl over the Buffalo Bills, 52-17, but started the 1993 regular season 0-2. Still, led by coach Jimmy Johnson and the powerful offensive triumvirate of quarterback Troy Aikman, wide receiver Michael Irvin and Smith, the Cowboys powered their way to Atlanta for a Super Bowl rematch.

After winning the NFC East, the Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game to reach Atlanta.

“The Super Bowl itself was a tremendous experience, because it was a unique year for me after leading the league in rushing for the second year in a row,” Smith said. “But we were also playing in our second straight Super Bowl. We did something that no one else had ever done after starting 0-2 and getting back to the Super Bowl.”

The Bills played strong early and held a 13-6 lead at halftime.

“Halftime was pretty calm,” Smith said. “People were walking off the field talking about what we needed to do.”

Cowboys cornerback Darren Woodson, currently a NFL commentator on ESPN, recalled the halftime situation.

“I felt like Buffalo flat out out-played us in the first half of that game, which I didn’t think was possible, honestly,” Woodson told the AJC. “I’m not saying that I was overconfident. I don’t think we were overconfident, but we had just beaten them 52-17 the year before. We were a bad matchup for them. They came out and executed well in the first half.”

Woodson backed up Smith’s contention that it was a calm Cowboys locker room at halftime.

“As bad as we played in the first half, we were walking into locker room and Jimmy met us all at the front door,” Woodson said. “Every player that walked in. I can remember him saying as if it was yesterday, ‘Don’t worry about the first half. We’re going to make adjustments and we’re going to come out and win this football game.’ As bad as we played, that’s all he said. … There was no screaming and yelling, even as bad as we played.”

The Cowboys responded and shut out the Bills the rest of the way as they posted a 30-13 victory. It was the Bills’ fourth straight Super Bowl loss.

“We went back out there and we got back to our old ways,” Woodson said. “Jimmy could have easily been the opposite. After watching that debacle in the first half, he could have just went off on us at halftime like he’d done before in games previous. He’d gone after us in regular season games even when we were up. But he had this confidence and this swagger and this understanding about his team. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a coach who understood his team better than Jimmy Johnson.”

Smith felt the Cowboy coaches, offensive coordinator Norv Turner and defensive coordinator Butch Davis, made fluid adjustments, too.

“The big thing that helped a lot was the mind-shift of the coaches,” Smith said. “Norv Turner and Jimmy Johnson knew we needed to get control of the football game and the best way they could do it was to actually run the ball.”

Turner is still in the NFL and was with the Carolina Panthers last season. He was a head coach for the Washington Redskins (1994-2000), Oakland Raiders (2004-05) and San Diego Chargers (2007-12).

Davis would also go on to become a head coach in the NFL at the Cleveland Browns (2001-04) and in the college ranks at Miami (1995-2000), North Carolina (2007-10) and Florida International (2017-present).

“We got their best shot in the first half, and somewhat weathered it,” Davis said in “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book” by Bob McGinn.

Aikman, also in The Ultimate Super Bowl book, said, “We played poorly in the first half, Buffalo had played exceptionally well, and I was thinking that it didn’t look good for us. But I looked over and saw their players go in and you would have thought they were the team who was behind. At that moment, I kind of thought they were a team that just felt that something bad was going to happen, that they were snake bit in Super Bowls.”

Aikman was spot on.

On the third play of the third quarter, Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett beat Bills center Kent Hull, reached out and knocked the ball off Bills running back Thurman Thomas. Free safety James Washington scooped up the fumble and weaved his way through the Bills for a 46-yard touchdown.

“The only thing that concerned me was where in the hell was (Buffalo speedy receiver Don) Beebe,” Washington told the AJC. “Beebe, that was the dude I was looking for. Once I had him in my (sight), I wasn’t really worried about anyone else. He’s that gutsy old dude that tries to spoil it for everybody. He almost ruined Leon Lett’s career. I wasn’t going to let him ruin mine.”

Washington out-maneuvered Beebe at the 20-yard line and waltzed on in for the game-changing touchdown.

Washington had started just one game in the regular season. He was a surprise Super Bowl starter as the Cowboys played five defensive backs (nickel) against Buffalo’s vaunted three-wide receiver offense, which was revolutionary in the 1990s.

“During the week, (Johnson) came to me and said I want to let you know, we are looking at film and we think you should be starting this particular game,” Washington recalled. “How I looked at it was an opportunity. What bigger stage can you put yourself on to be showcased.

“You don’t know if you’re going to be released or traded or whatever. If you could perform in the Super Bowl where everyone is watching. Every coach is watching. Every player is watching. I looked at it as a grand opportunity.”

After Washington’s score, the Bills went three-and-out. The Cowboys decided to put the ball in Smith hands. From the Dallas’ 36-yard line, he carried the ball on seven of the next eight plays and ended the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Cowboys their first lead.

They never looked back.

Smith remembers the Cowboys leaning on him on that next drive like it was yesterday.

“That one particular drive is the one that gained control of the whole particular game,” Smith said. “That set the tone for whole second half and everything just turned in our favor from that point.”

Smith ran 30 times for 132 yards and scored two touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 16 yards and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Washington had 11 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and a pass defensed.

“For me, it brings back fond memories because I became the MVP right there in our second Super Bowl there in the ATL,” Smith said. “I’m excited to come back.”

Some contended that the unheralded Washington should have been the MVP.

“Obviously, 11 tackles, caused fumble, fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception in one game and you’re not the MVP you’ve got to question the guys who were voting,” Washington said. “Emmitt Smith, it was my fault. Unfortunately, I play on defense.”

With the Cowboys leaning on their rushing attack, Aikman completed 19 of 27 passes for 207 yards and didn’t throw a touchdown pass.

“It was a great time for us to be embarking on back-to-back world championships, of course playing Buffalo once again and we pulled it off,” Aikman said earlier this month on a conference call. “It was an exciting time. Little did I know that it would be the last game that Jimmy Johnson would serve as my head coach, but that’s another story for another time.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Johnson agreed to part ways later that year after their second consecutive Super Bowl. The Cowboys will always have fond memories of Atlanta.