Moment 9: Separated Shoulder Can't Stop Smith
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - There was plenty on the line when the Dallas Cowboys battled the Giants in New York on the last week of the 1993 regular season. The NFC East title was at stake, as was home field advantage in the playoffs.
On top of that, Emmitt Smith was trying to win his third straight rushing title.
The Cowboys built a 13-0 lead using a game plan rested squarely on the shoulders of Emmitt Smith, and Smith was up for the task... until he separated his shoulder on a 46-yard run just before halftime. "When I hurt my shoulder, they asked if I was all right. Do you want to come out?" Smith said after the game.
Head coach Jimmy Johnson told Smith that the Cowboys would turn to backup running back Lincoln Coleman. "I said, 'Hey we are going to put Lincoln in there some for you,'" Johnson recalled. "He said, 'No, coach, let me play until I can't play.'"
Smith made it clear to his coach that he would play through the pain. "I'm not coming out for nothing," said Smith.
Watch: Smith's First Meeting With The Cowboys
Smith stayed in the game, rushed for 168 yards, and helped the Cowboys to a 16-13 overtime victory. And, in the process, the Dallas running back wrapped up his third straight NFL rushing title. The Cowboys clinched the NFC East.
"Winning this game, and winning the rushing title," Smith said after the game, "those are things I can look back and say, 'Emmitt, you did a heck of a job.'"
It's more than just a heck of a job, it's the ninth greatest moment in Cowboys history.