Jan. 17, 1993
NFC Championship
at Candlestick Park |
"How about them Cowboys?" Jimmy Johnson yelled in an uproarious locker room. Everyone from Dallas had good reason to strut a little.
This game validated the return of a storied franchise from the depths of the NFL. The Cowboys, with Troy Aikman at the controls, just took off and left a fine opponent in the muck of a torn-up field.
Aikman and Alvin Harper hooked up on two long passes in the second half that left the 49ers reeling. In the third quarter the Cowboys broke a 10-10 halftime tie when former high jump champion Harper reached over the top of cornerback Eric Davis for a 38-yard catch to the 49ers' 7-yard line. After the 49ers closed to 24-20 with just over four minutes left, Aikman and Harper combined on a 70-yard play to the 6, setting up the final touchdown. There was no looking back, as the Buffalo Bills would learn in the upcoming Super Bowl. The Cowboys were good enough now to run over people and just keep going.
