SB 27: Cowboys back on top, rout Bills 52-17

Super Bowl 27

Jan. 31, 1993

At Pasadena, California-98,374

?Buffalo ?.7..3..7..0-17

?Dallas ?14.14..3.21-52

Troy Aikman threw four touchdown passes, Emmitt Smith rushed for 108 yards, and the Cowboys converted nine turnovers into 35 points.

Dallas won its third Super Bowl in a record six appearances and Buffalo lost its third straight, also a record.

Buffalo scored first on a 2-yard run by Thurman Thomas. Dallas came back when James Washington intercepted Jim Kelly's pass and returned it to the Bills 47. Aikman hit Jay Novacek with a 23-yard touchdown pass. On the next play from scrimmage, Kelly was sacked by Charles Haley and fumbled at the 2. Jimmie Jones recovered the fumble and scored.

Dallas put the game out of reach by scoring three times in a 2:33 span of the fourth quarter. The Cowboys recovered five fumbles and had four interceptions.

But Dallas didn't score on one of the most infamous plays in Super Bowl history. Defensive tackle Leon Lett picked up a fumble at the Dallas 35 and sprinted toward the end zone. Lett slowed a bit to prematurely celebrate his TD, but a streaking Bills receiver Don Beebe caught up and swatted the ball through the end zone for a touchback.

Aikman, who completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards, was the Most Valuable Player.

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Online:

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL