The Dallas Cowboys shrugged off their usual off-the-field travails to hammer the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first game of the American football season.
Barry Switzer, the Cowboys coach, did little to shed his reputation for doziness by turning up at Dallas airport last month packing a gun in his carry-on bag. For that fit of absentmindedness, the NFL fined Switzer £75,000, a record for a coach.
Troy Aikman at quarterback enjoyed his most dazzling game since the 1993 Super Bowl win and hooked up with Michael Irvin twice in the course of a 37-7 victory that mocked the pre-season talk of a Steelers' return to the Super Bowl, two years after losing to the Cowboys.
Dallas may have found themselves another potent offensive weapon in Anthony Miller, a receiver, picked up as a free agent. He made his mark late in the second quarter with a 31yard reception over the middle, then caught a 12-yard touchdown moments later to begin the rout.
Not to be outdone, Irvin caught two magnificent TD passes. The first followed a 42-yard rainbow pass into the right corner, the second was a perfect 15-yard pass that looped over a defender and into the hands of a leaping Irvin in the left corner of the end zone.
While the Cowboys romped past the Steelers, the San Francisco 49ers had a rocky start, losing 13-6 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Worse, Steve Young, the 49ers quarterback, had to leave the field with mild concussion and Jerry Rice picked up a serious knee injury.
Guardian Service
National Football League: Minnesota 34 Buffalo 13, Cincinnati 24 Arizona 21, Detroit 28 Atlanta 17, Miami 16 Indianapolis 10, New England 41 San Diego 7, NY Giants 31 Philadelphia 17, Dallas 37 Pittsburgh 7, St Louis 38 New Orleans 24, Tennessee 24 Oakland 21 (OT), Jacksonville 28 Baltimore 27, Denver 19 Kansas City 3, NY Jets 41 Seattle 3, Tampa Bay 13 San Francisco 6, Washington 24 Carolina 10.
