I watched this game and it was one of the most amazing performances I've ever seen. The guy has massive heart and is a class act. I would venture to say he's the reason JJ has 2 rings and Switzer has one. Now if he were coming out of UF THIS year, the pick would be a no-brainer.
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"Despite a first-degree separation of his right shoulder and a punishing New York Giants defense, Smith won his third consecutive league rushing championship and made certain the Cowboys would not finish as runners-up.
He carried on and on at Giants Stadium, his feet crossing the carpet for 168 rushing yards as the Cowboys defeated Giants, 16-13, in overtime of the most important regular-season finale ever. The football was Smith's a team-record 42 times - 32 carries, 10 receptions - and he took the handoffs and the opportunities to produce 229 of the 339 yards the Dallas offense compiled.
In addition to all of that, he provided the Cowboys with a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and himself time to recover before the team makes its first playoff appearance at Texas Stadium in two weeks. Team trainer Kevin O'Neill said there are three degrees of shoulder separations with Smith's the least serious.
"I wanted to do whatever it took to win the game," said Smith, who scored the Cowboys' only touchdown of the game. "Sometimes the linemen would ask me if I was all right. I'd tell them I was. I lied. I wanted to do what I could. I've heard about guys playing hurt. I wanted to play hurt and be effective."
Smith was hurt in the second period, when Giants safety Greg Jackson tackled him after a 46-yard sprint. He missed two snaps, played almost three more quarters. He accepted 19 more carries and another seven receptions and represented about all the success on offense the Cowboys offered.
He touched the ball nine times for 41 yards in the Cowboys' overtime possession, a 12-play series that covered 52 yards and led to Eddie Murray's game-winning field goal."
"He told us in the huddle to make sure we ran behind him so someone could pick him up," offensive lineman Nate Newton said. "Coach (Jimmy) Johnson asked him if he would be ready and there wasn't a doubt or hesitation. He said he was going. That really touched me because you could see how hurt he was. After we made our blocks, the main thing was to get to him and get him up."
The performance was a microcosm of the season for Smith, who missed the first two weeks because of a contract dispute. Still, he finished with 1,486 yards, becoming the first player to win the rushing title after missing two games and the fourth in history to win three times in succession.
O'Neill had a thigh pad taped to Smith's shoulder pad to absorb the punishment and provided the player a pill at halftime to limit his pain.
While Smith's right arm often hung limp, while his range of motion was so limited Troy Aikman had to lower his handoffs and passes, Smith refused to stand on the sidelines.
At one point, in the winning drive, Smith sprinted into the middle of the line, changed direction to his right and picked up 10 yards. Johnson immediatedly called for Lincoln Coleman, who nonetheless never played another down.
"Jimmy told me to go in," Coleman said, "but Emmitt told me to get out."
The Cowboys were able to get out of Giants Stadium with a victory because of Smith's remarkable performance, one that marked the fourth time this season he rushed for 150 or more yards against an NFC East opponent.
Smith carried 19 times for 109 yards and had six receptions for 42 more as the Cowboys took a 13-point halftime lead. He had 13 carries for 59 yards and four receptions for 19 in the third and fourth periods, his importance increasing as his team's advantage diminished.
"He's going to run the ball because that's our offense," offensive coordinator Norv Turner said. "In my time at USC with Rickey Bell and Marcus Allen and at the Rams with Eric Dickerson, I've coached some guys who are as physically talented as he is. But I've never been around someone who is as good a runner - vision, break tackles, power, moves, catch the ball like he did today. And he did it with an arm tied behind his back."
