Thursday, September 10, 1998

DALLAS (1-0) AT DENVER (1-0) 4 p.m., FOX

OPENING LINE - Broncos by 7.

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Cowboys 1-0; Broncos 0-1.

SERIES RECORD - Cowboys lead 4-2.

LAST TIME MET - Cowboys beat Broncos 31-21 on Sept. 10, 1995 at Dallas.

LAST WEEK - Cowboys beat Cardinals 38-10. Broncos beat Patriots 27-21.

LAST WEEK'S STARS - Cowboys QB Troy Aikman was 22-for-32 for 256 yards and 2 TDs. Broncos QB John Elway was 22-for-34 for 257 yards and 1 TD.

COWBOYS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 2T), PASS (No. 11), OVERALL (No. 3)

Aikman, who never had more than 1 rushing TD in season, ran for 2 TDs. He also had 23-yard run, longest since rookie year, and finished with 40 yards on 5 carries. RB Emmitt Smith had 124 yards on 29 rushes. WR Michael Irvin had 9 catches for 119 yards. WR Ernie Mills had 4 receptions for 78 yards, including TD.

BRONCOS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 14), PASS (No. 13), OVERALL (No. 9T)

RB Terrell Davis had 75 yards on 22 carries and ran for 9- and 1-yard TDs. WR Ed McCaffrey had 7 catches for 97 yards, including 44-yarder on opening drive. WR Rod Smith had 6 catches for 57 yards. TE Shannon Sharpe had 5 receptions, including TD.

COWBOYS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 2), PASS (No. 6), OVERALL (No. 2)

CB Kenny Wheaton returned fumble 15 yards for TD. DE Kavika Pittman and DL Hurvin McCormack each had 1 sack. LB Randall Godfrey had 8 tackles. CB Kevin Smith had 6 tackles. Limited Arizona to 45 yards rushing and 205 total yards.

BRONCOS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 12), PASS (No. 21T), OVERALL (No. 21T)

LB Bill Romanowski had 8 tackles, 5 solo, and 2 sacks. DT Maa Tanuvasa had 1 sack. DT Trevor Pryce blocked Patriots' Adam Vinatieri's 37-yard FG attempt. S Eric Brown had 6 tackles, 3 solo, and became second rookie DB to start opener for defending Super Bowl champs; Darrell Green started for 1983 Washington Redskins.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Cowboys P Toby Gowin had 4 punts for NFC-leading 49.5 avg. Broncos K Jason Elam was 3-for-3 on FG attempts, including 53-yarder. KR Darrien Gordon returned 3 punts for 53 yards.

KEY MATCHUP - RB Smith vs. RB Davis.

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Game features last two RBs to win MVP in Super Bowl in Smith and Davis. ... Cowboys snapped 10-game losing streak, including 5 exhibition games. ... Dallas coach Chan Gailey joined Barry Switzer as only Dallas coaches to win in debut. ... Cowboys sold out Texas Stadium for 64th straight game, 130th overall. ... Smith passed O.J. Simpson for 10th place on career list with 11,356 yards. ... Broncos have franchise-record regular-season home winning streak of 17. ... Sharpe became fourth TE in NFL history to have 6,000 yards receiving. Others are Kellen Winslow, Ozzie Newsome and Jackie Smith. ... Davis moved into third on Denver's career rushing list behind Floyd Little and Sammy Winder. ... Broncos have won 21 straight when leading after third quarter. ... Broncos have won 7 of last 9 vs. NFC. ... Elway has 168 TDs at Mile High Stadium, NFL record for a stadium. ... Sharpe has 19 catches for 353 yards in last 3 games vs. NFC.