The Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. Ÿ The Dallas Cowboys were playing the New York Giants Monday night. But the statement they made was to the San Francisco 49ers:
We're baaaaaaaaack. And we're better than ever.
With Emmitt Smith, going 60 yards for a touchdown on Dallas' third play from scrimmage and scoring three other times, Dallas blew away New York 35-0 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated.
The only negative for Dallas was an Achilles tendon injury to left cornerback Kevin Smith that coach Barry Switzer said was probably season-ending.
The prime-time rout allowed the nation Ÿ and the 49ers Ÿ to see a Dallas team that looked every bit as good as the one that won two Super Bowls before losing in the NFC title game to San Francisco last year.
''They looked like they were playing at a different speed,'' Giants coach Dan Reeves said.
Dallas led 21-0 at the half, then scored twice more after intermission before sending in the scrubs, winning a lot more impressively than did the 49ers, who beat New Orleans 24-22 Sunday.
''As I told Emmitt, that's the way to start '95, the first time you touch the ball,'' Dallas coach Barry Switzer said. ''That sort of set the tone for the game tonight.''
Smith, who finished with 163 yards on 21 carries, also scored three times on 1-yard runs to reach 75 touchdowns for his career, three better than Tony Dorsett's Dallas record. It's only the second time he's scored four times in a game Ÿ the other time was Dec. 16, 1990, against the Cardinals.