The Dallas Cowboys promised great things at the start of the season when they crushed the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that result turned out to be a false dawn. In losing to the mediocre Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the Cowboys are out of the playoffs, absent for the first time since 1990. The Steelers, in stark contrast, keep winning in spectacular fashion, led by their brilliant playmaker, Kordell Stewart at quarterback.
The Cowboys' big names are still there - Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders - but there is no supporting cast. Dallas spent a lot of money to keep their stars, but lost many less well-known yet valuable players because it refused to shell out money for them.
Dallas got to a 3-1 start, but the lack of depth then took its toll as America's Team lost eight of its next 11 games. The Cowboys had trouble scoring whenever they reached the "red zone," their opponents 20.
Smith has still enjoyed a 1,000 yard season, but Irvin no longer terrorises defences the way he used to, without Jay Novacek, who retired as tight end after last season. Dallas's 31-24 loss to the Bengals, also out of playoff contention, was a mirror of their season - a fast start followed by a loss of momentum.
The Cowboys grabbed a 10-0 lead in the first quarter as their star players weaved some of the old magic. Smith rushed for 56 yards on nine carries, Irvin caught six passes for 69 yards and Aikman completed eight of 13 passes.
But Boomer Esiason, enjoying a second lease of life with his old team, led the Bengals back. A 48yard touchdown pass to Darnay Scott put the Bengals ahead 17-10 at the half.
They pulled ahead further after Corey Dillon powered in for a 14 yard touchdown and after Esiason threw his second touchdown pass, a 34-yarder to David Dunn. Aikman narrowed the gap by throwing a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, but an interception and an errant desperation pass as time ran out put paid to the Cowboys.
"This game was like our season," said Bill Bates the Dallas safety. "We fought our tails off, made too many mistakes and came up short."
The Cowboys will finish with a losing record for the first time since 1990 and the absent-minded Barry Switzer, who forgot to leave his guns at home when boarding a plane, will almost certainly lose his coaching job.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 31-0 to the improving New York Jets but still made the playoffs as a wild card after the Green Bay Packers, peaking at the right time, beat the Carolina Panthers 31-10.
The Jets have made Bill Pacells, their new coach look like a genius. He has turned a 1-15 team into a playoff contender in the space of a year, in one of the most astonishing transformations in NFL history. The Jets offence is adequate, but the team has managed to win thanks to defence and special teams as was the case on Sunday. Otis Smith returned interceptions 45 and 51 yards for touchdowns in the Jets rout of the Bucs.
The Jets can make the playoffs if they beat the Detroit Lions in the last game of the season. The Lions, helped by another superlative performance from Barry Sanders, their running back, edged out the Vikings 14-13. Sanders is just 131 yards shy of a 2,000 yard season.
The teams in the playoffs so far are the Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos from the American Conference. In the National Conference, the New York Giants, the Packers, the Bucs and the San Francisco 49ers are in.
RESULTS: Atlanta 20, Philadelphia 17; Baltimore 21, Tennessee 19; Jacksonville 20, Buffalo 14; Cincinnati 31, Dallas 24; Indianapolis 41, Miami 0; Detroit 14 Minnesota 13, New York Jets 31 Tampa Bay 0, Green Bay 31 Carolina 10, New Orleans 27 Arizona 10, Seattle 22 Oakland 21, Kansas City 29 San Diego 7.
