The spotlight has always been more intense at Texas Stadium, going back to the inaugural season of 1971.
"We wanted to establish something great at Texas Stadium," Cowboys Ring of Honor offensive tackle Rayfield Wright says. "It was our home. It was like someone trying to come into your house without ringing the doorbell."
Now, as the shuttering of the Irving landmark off Airport Freeway draws closer, mental images of great offensive efforts by legendary offensive players come into tighter focus.
The Cowboys have also had their share of big days on the road. Tony Dorsett's league-record 99-yard run was under the Metrodome roof in Minneapolis. Emmitt Smith's 237-yard rushing game in 1993 was at the Vet in Philadelphia, and his 168-yard effort despite a separated shoulder came on the road against the Giants in 1993.
Julius Jones' 198-yard effort in 2004 was in Seattle, and Roger Staubach's "Hail Mary" to Drew Pearson in 1974 occurred in the Minneapolis suburbs. And, of course, Dallas' five Super Bowls were all won on neutral sites.
But Texas Stadium has served as the league's grandest stage since its opening, making spectacular statistical games all the more memorable.
During the Cowboys' most successful run in the '90s, their vaunted "Triplets" led the way to three of those Super Bowls, and had their share of highlights in front of the home fans. Here's a look at some of the incredible offensive performances at Texas Stadium by Ring of Honor members Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin:
Troy Aikman
Nobody came up bigger in showcase games than Troy Aikman. His three Super Bowl performances were the stuff of legends.
Aikman turned in a peak performance on Jan. 8, 1995, his finest playoff showing at Texas Stadium, when he threw for 337 yards in a 35-9 rout of the Packers.
Aikman was 23-of-30 and passed for two touchdowns before turning over the controls to Rodney Peete for mop-up duty midway through the fourth quarter. Aikman's 94-yarder to Alvin Harper is still the longest touchdown pass in Cowboys playoff history.
"Troy answered the bell today," coach Barry Switzer said. "It's great seeing him back. It was his best game since Pittsburgh in the season opener."
With Aikman on target, the Cowboys had three 100-yard receivers: Jay Novacek (11 for 111), Michael Irvin (six for 111) and Harper (two for 108).
The victory propelled the Cowboys into the NFC title game, where they lost to the 49ers in San Francisco. That broke up Dallas' run of three Super Bowls in a four-year span.
Aikman's greatest regular-season production at Texas Stadium came in a losing effort on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, 1998, against the Minnesota Vikings when he piled up 455 yards. The trouble was, the Cowboys defense couldn't handle Vikings receiver Randy Moss as Minnesota cruised to a 46-36 shootout win.
In the playoffs, Aikman seemed to save his best for the Packers, passing for 302 yards on Jan. 16, 1994 in a 27-17 triumph.
Aikman had his Cowboys playoff record of 111 straight passes without an interception come to an end when he was picked off early in the second quarter. At the time, the Cowboys trailed 3-0, but Aikman got Dallas back on track later in the second frame with a 25-yard touchdown dart to Harper.
Dallas took the game over in the final 23 seconds before halftime on Eddie Murray's 41-yard field goal, a lost Packers fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Aikman's six-yard TD pass to Novacek five seconds before intermission.
That set up a rematch with the 49ers the following week in the NFC title game. A few days before, Jimmy Johnson pronounced, "We will win the ball game."
And the Cowboys made Johnson's prediction a reality, thrashing the 49ers, 38-21.
Dallas scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, and even though Aikman left the game in the third quarter with a concussion, the Cowboys were never pressed with backup Bernie Kosar finishing up. Aikman completed 14 of 18 throws for 177 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Aikman shook off the cobwebs in plenty of time for the Super Bowl, going 19-for-27 for 207 yards as the Cowboys trounced the Buffalo Bills 30-13.
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith was more about being steady than spectacular. His 76 100-yard games in the regular season and his 1,586 yards on the ground in the playoffs attest to his consistency. The Ring of Honor member was selected to eight Pro Bowls, won four NFL rushing titles, was MVP of the league (1993) and of Super Bowl XXVIII.
But Smith also had his share of big games at Texas Stadium, headlined by a 150-yard playoff effort against Green Bay on Jan. 14, 1996.
Smith carried 35 times and scored three touchdowns in the pulsating 38-27 victory that sent the Cowboys on their way to a third Super Bowl in four seasons.
"Green Bay definitely gave us a challenge today," Smith said.
The work of the offensive line was once again first rate.
"Our offensive line really dominated and really wore them down," coach Barry Switzer said. "The running game finally took its toll, like in a prize fight."
Smith's greatest regular-season game at Texas Stadium was on Dec. 6, 1993 against the hated Eagles when he rushed for 172 yards in a critical 23-17 victory.
Earlier in the season, Smith had 237 yards at Philadelphia, but he saved something for the home crowd as he became only the second player in NFL history to run for more than 400 yards against the same team in the same season.
Emmitt's 57-yard run in the fourth quarter set up a Daryl Johnston touchdown that gave the Cowboys some breathing room for a 23-10 lead. The Cowboys called a seldom-used weakside counter play, and it worked to perfection behind blocks from Mark Tuinei, Nate Newton and Mark Stepnoski.
"We just wanted to get something going and the play just opened up beautifully for us," Smith said.
Smith liked playing the Birds, compiling efforts of 172, 237, 114 and 163 yards in four straight games against Philadelphia.
One of his most memorable outings at Texas Stadium came in a losing effort on Oct. 27, 2002 when he broke Walter Payton's rushing record with an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter against Seattle. Smith, who still holds the league record with 18,355 rushing yards, enjoyed the cheers of the sellout crowd when the game was halted to honor him, but he didn't like the game's outcome with the Seahawks taking a 17-14 decision.
Michael Irvin
"The Playmaker" lived up to his nickname on Sept. 20, 1992 in Irving when he reeled in eight passes for 210 yards, the best day of his career, in a 31-20 win over the Phoenix Cardinals.
It was a blazing 99 degrees at kickoff on the field, but Irvin was even hotter.
On the game's second play, Irvin caught the longest pass of his career, an 87-yarder from Troy Aikman for a touchdown.
The second-and-four call from the Dallas 13 was an out route to Irvin along the left sideline. Cornerback Lorenzo Lynch tried to tackle him, but Michael was too strong and busted out of Lynch's grasp. He burst into the open field and had a convoy of blockers, including Emmitt Smith, escorting him all the way to the end zone.
Later in the first quarter, Aikman found Irvin for 41 yards and another score. By the end of the afternoon, Irvin was only 26 yards short of Bob Hayes' career record of 246 yards set in 1966.
Irvin didn't dwell long on his success, preferring to point to a meeting with the Eagles the following week.
"I guess this is my best game, because this is the important game right now," Irvin said. "I could get 100 yards the next game and that would be my best game as long as we win."
Irvin had plenty of big games, going over 100 yards a club-record 47 times over his career, 21 more than runner-up Tony Hill.
His best day in the playoffs at home came on Jan. 16, 1994, collecting 126 yards on nine receptions from Aikman in a 27-17 win over Green Bay.
On the key play, Aikman got all the time he needed to survey the field from his offensive line, and Irvin was at his best, reeling in a 19-yard touchdown.
"Aikman could have had 700 yards passing," Packers safety LeRoy Butler said. "We just can't let him kill us like that."
Having a receiver like Irvin, a quarterback like Aikman and a franchise running back like Smith created an enviable offensive balance that helped the Cowboys earn the distinction as the team of the '90s.
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