Today in sports history (1994), the Dallas Cowboys mounted a big second-half comeback to beat the Buffalo Bills, 30-13, in Super Bowl XXVIII. The victory gave the Cowboys their fourth Super Bowl victory while it marked the fourth straight year the Bills fell short in the Super Bowl.
Path to Super Bowl XXVIII
The Dallas Cowboys came into the 1993 NFL season as reigning Super Bowl champs but didn’t get off to the greatest start. Running back Emmitt Smith held out for the first two games of the season due to a contract dispute with the team. The Cowboys would lose both games. Jerry Jones would quickly give him his contract after Week 2 and that was all Dallas needed. Dallas would finish atop the NFC with a 12-4 record. The Cowboys would easily dispatch of the Green Bay Packers 27-17 and the San Francisco 49ers 38-21 to reach the big game.
The Buffalo Bills also finished atop the AFC with a 12-4 record as well. Buffalo’s no-huddle offense posed major problems for opposing defenses with Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas wreaking havoc on a weekly basis. Unlike the past few seasons though, the Bills’ defense was suddenly a problem. Their defense ranked 27th in yards given up. The Bills fought to a tough win over the Los Angeles Raiders 29-23 in the first round before stomping the Kansas City Chiefs 30-13 in the AFC Championship game. The Bills defense stifled Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana while Bills running back Thurman Thomas ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Cowboys Defend Title, Bills Lose Fourth Straight Super Bowl
The Bills were by no means dominant early in the game, but they did take a 13-6 lead into halftime. Just 30 minutes away from that elusive Super Bowl victory, the Bills completely fell apart. Leon Lett forced a Thurman Thomas fumble that was returned 46 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Bills quarterback Jim Kelly threw an interception to open the fourth quarter as well, and Dallas capitalized. With 2:50 left in the game, the Cowboys nailed a 20-yard field goal to put Dallas up 30-13 and send the Bills to their fourth straight Super Bowl defeat.
With the victory, the Cowboys won their fourth Super Bowl, tying them for the most by any team in the NFL at the time. Since that victory, the Cowboys won one more championship in Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dallas currently sits with five Super Bowl titles. For Buffalo, their downfall will forever live in infamy. Buffalo is the only team to ever make it to four straight Super Bowls but will take little consolation as they lost all four.
Since then, Buffalo is just 4-8 in the postseason and has yet to make it back to the big game. The pain of four straight losses is still felt in Buffalo, New York to this day.
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