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| Lions running back Barry Sanders would outgain his rival Emmitt Smith in their memorable 1994 duel on Monday Night Football. |
While fans who witnessed the two Hall-of-Fame running backs debate this topic to this very day, the two engaged in a memorable duel on Monday Night Football in week 3 of the 1994 NFL season.
The Lions entered the game with a 1-1 record, but hoping to make a deep run in the playoffs after winning the NFC Central Division two out of the previous three years under head coach Wayne Fontes.
During that time, the Lions had been on a quarterback carousel as three different quarterbacks; Erik Kramer, Rodney Peete, and Andre Ware had all started games for Detroit over the past two seasons, while Kramer and Peete split the time as the team's starting quarterback during the 1991 season.
The Lions thought they had found their franchise quarterback in the offseason as they had signed Scott Mitchell, who had filled as the Miami Dolphins quarterback when Dan Marino went down to an torn Achilles tendon in 1993, in hopes of giving the Detroit offense a strong passing game to go along with Sanders, who rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of his first five seasons.
While the Lions were hoping they were Super Bowl contenders, the Cowboys were Super Bowl contenders as they were the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, thanks in large part to Smith, who had been the league's leading rusher the previous three seasons.
But 1994 brought in change for Dallas as well as head coach Jimmy Johnson resigned and was replaced by former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer.
With the famed "Triplets" of Smith at running back, quarterback Troy Aikman, and wide receiver Michael Irvin, the Cowboys got off to a 2-0 start as they prepared for their Monday Night showdown win the Lions.
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| Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman(8) would complete 26 of 39 passes for 220 yards and throw a touchdown pass. |
The Cowboys got the ball to start the game and were able to drive 80 yards in 13 plays, culminating with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Aikman to Alvin Harper to give Dallas a 7-0 lead almost six minutes into the game.
The Lions would respond with a trick play on the ensuing kickoff as Derrick Moore running for 11 yards, then handed the ball off to Johnnie Morton on a reverse.
Morton would pick up 26 more yards to allow for the Lions offense to start their first drive of the game at their 41-yard-line.
From there, Sanders would run for 24 yards on four carries and Mitchell would hit two key passes, one to Brett Perriman for 11 yards and another for 14 yards to Herman Moore, all leading to a 32-yard field goal by Jason Hanson to cut the Cowboys' lead to 7-3 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.
The score was still 7-3 midway through the second quarter when the Lions pinned down in front of their end zone with the ball at the six-yard-line.
The drive started with a five-yard run by Sanders, which was followed by a six-yard pass from Mitchell to Perriman to give the Lions a 1st down at their 17-yard-line.
That is when Sanders busted for his longest run of the game, a 28-yard run to put Detroit at their 45-yard-line.
Four plays later, Sanders would get the ball again, running for nine yards and picking up a 1st down at the Cowboys' 28-yard-line.
Then after a three-yard run by Derrick Moore, Mitchell fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Perriman to end the 10-play, 94-yard drive and give the Lions their first lead of the game, 10-7 with just 1:55 left before halftime.
Dallas drove from its 11-yard-line to their 40-yard-line as time expired in the first half with the Cowboys trailing 10-7.
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| Brett Perriman celebrates after his 25-yard touchdown catch gave the Lions a 10-7 lead. |
The second half got off to an ominous start for the Cowboys as kicker Chris Boniol kicked the opening kickoff, giving the Lions the ball at their 40-yard-line for their first drive of the second half.
While the Dallas defense held the Lions to a three-and-out, Detroit punter Greg Montgomery was able to pin the Cowboys back as his punt landed at the Dallas two-yard-line.
The Cowboys would go three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Lions, who took over at the Cowboys' 43-yard-line.
But after two runs by Sanders picked up seven yards and an incomplete pass, the Lions were faced with a 4th & 3 at the Cowboys' 36-yard-line.
Fontes decided not to call on Hanson to attempt a 53-yard field goal and go for the 1st down instead.
The gamble paid off as Mitchell hit Herman Moore for 25 yards to give the Lions a 1st & 10 at the Cowboys 11-yard-line.
Two plays later, Mitchell would connect with Herman again, this time for a nine-yard touchdown to increase the Lions' lead to 17-7 with 9:44 left in the third quarter.
Up this point not only was his team winning the game, but Sanders was winning his personal duel with Smith as the Lions running back had run for 107 yards on 17 carries while Smith had only run for 45 on nine carries.
That would change on the Cowboys' next possession which started at their 40-yard-line following a 32-yard kickoff return by Clayton Holmes.
Smith would carry the ball on the next two plays picking up nine yards before stopped for no gain on 3rd & 1, presumably leading to another Cowboys punt.
But Switzer decided to gamble and go for the 1st down to which he was rewarded as Smith picked up 11 yards to give the Cowboys a 1st down at the Lions' 40-yard-line.
Six plays later, the Cowboys were faced with another 4th & 1, this time at the Detroit 13-yard-line when Switzer decided to go for the 1st down instead of kicking a field goal.
Again, the gamble paid off as Smith picked up five yards to set up 1st & goal at the eight yard line, which was followed by a seven-yard pass from Aikman to Scott Galbrath, putting the Cowboys on the doorstep of a touchdown.
But Smith failed to get into the end zone on back-to-back runs, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Boniol which cut the Detroit lead to 17-10 with just 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
In all, Smith ran for 32 yards on 10 carries on the drive to bring his rushing total to 77 yards on 19 carries.
Sanders would respond on the Lions' ensuing possession as he ran for 24 yards on his first three carries to put Detroit at the Cowboys' 45-yard-line until Sanders lost four yards, killing the drive and forcing another coffin-corner punt, as Montgomery pinned the Cowboys at their two-yard-line.
The Cowboys went to the passing game on this drive as Aikman hit three passes for 41 yards to help set up a 1st & 10 at the Dallas' 49-yard-line until the Cowboys turned the ball over when fullback Daryl "Moose" Johnston fumbled the football at the end of a four-yard reception, which was recovered by Lions defensive end Kelvin Pritchett, giving Detroit the ball exactly at midfield.
Sanders would carry the ball three times for 16 yards to set up a 51-yard field goal attempt by Hanson, which was no good, giving the Cowboys the ball at their 42-yard-line midway through the fourth quarter.
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| In addition to his 143 rushing yards on 29 carries, Smith would also catch seven passes for 49 yards. |
The Cowboys drove to the Lions' 36-yard-line when on 3rd & 1, Smith busted for his longest run of the game, a 32-yarder to put Dallas at the four-yard-line.
Following a false start and a three-yard pass to tight end Jay Novacek, Smith got the ball again, this time running it in for the six-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17 with just over four minutes left in regulation.
With the ball at their 22-yard-line, the Lions began their next drive by giving it to Sanders, who picked up 14 yards on the first play of the drive.
Two plays later on 3rde & 6, Mitchell hit Aubrey Matthews for 11 yards to give Detroit a 1st down at the Cowboys' 49-yard-line.
A nine-yard run by Sanders and a quarterback sneak by Mitchell for two yards gave the Lions another 1st down at the Dallas' 38-yard-line when Sanders was dropped for a two-yard loss and Mitchell fired an incomplete pass to Moore.
With time almost up, Fontes called on Hanson to attempt a potential game-winning 57-yard field goal.
But Hanson's kick was blocked by Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett(yes, that Leon Lett) and the game went into overtime with the two teams deadlocked at 17.
The Lions won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive as they took over at their 32-yard-line.
It seemed like Detroit was going to drive for the game-winning score as Sanders ran for 21 yards on the first two plays of the drive, which was followed by a 17-yard pass from Mitchell to Herman Moore to put Detroit in field goal range at the Cowboys' 33-yard-line.
After the Lions lost a yard on the subsequent three plays, Hanson came on to attempt another field goal of 50 yards plus, this time from 51 yards out.
But just like his kick at the end of regulation, Hanson's kick was blocked by Lett, keeping the game tied and giving the Cowboys the ball at their 42-yard-line.
It seemed the Cowboys were driving for the winning score as they had a 1st & 10 at the Lions' 35-yard-line when Dallas offensive lineman Derek Kennard caught a deflected pass, only to fumble the ball, which Lions linebacker Pat Swilling recovered and returned it to the Lions' 45-yard-line.
However, the Lions could not move the ball after the turnover and punted it back to the Cowboys, who took over at their 16-yard-line with a few minutes left in the overtime period.
Aikman would start the drive with a seven-yard pass to Smith which was followed by an eight-yard run by Smith and then a 20-yard pass to Irvin to put the Cowboys in Lions territory at their 49-yard-line.
But on the play following a two-yard loss by Smith, Aikman was sacked by linebacker Broderick Thomas, causing a fumble that was recovered by Thomas at the Cowboys' 43-yard-line.
On the very next play, Mitchelll completed a 17-yard pass to Perriman and after three more plays picked up zero more yards, Hanson come on to try another game-winning field goal attempt, this time from 44 yards out.
This time, Hanson's kick would sail through the uprights to give the Lions a 20-17 overtime win.
As far as the two running backs were concerned, Smith finished with 143 yards on 29 carries while Sanders would finish with 194 yards on 40 carries.
And when it came to the NFL rushing title that year, Sanders would break Smith's streak of consecutive rushing titles as Sanders finished with 1,883 yards while Smith finished with 1, 484.
Sanders seemed poised to pass Walter Payton as the NFL's all-time leading rusher, but shockingly retired just before the 1999 season just 1, 257 yards from breaking the record.
Three years later, Smith would break the record and finish his career with 18,355 yards as he still remains the NFL's all-time leading rusher while Sanders is 3rd with 15,269.
Both of course were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility(Sanders in 2004, Smith in 2010) but the debate on who is the better running back rages to this day.
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