Monday, September 14, 1998

Cowboys lose Aikman in 42-23 loss to Broncos

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DENVER - The Cowboys went into Sunday's game looking for validation that they still belonged among the league's elite.

They ended the afternoon a humbled bunch with a suspect future in the hands of its No. 2 quarterback.

A dominant performance by Terrell Davis and the Denver Broncos put the Cowboys in their 42-23 place at Mile High Stadium. But Dallas lost much more than a game. It lost quarterback Troy Aikman for four to eight weeks with a fractured left clavicle.

The enthusiasm and optimism the Cowboys generated one week earlier with a win over Arizona quickly evaporated in Denver's thin air. The offensive keys have now been handed to Jason Garrett, a quarterback who has thrown a not-so-grand total of 91 passes in the NFL.

"I know one thing," owner Jerry Jones said. "Ninety-five percent of my time around this game has been spent digging yourself out of a hole or working uphill or fighting adversity. That's football.

"I look on this as a challenge to see what we can do. As crazy as it might sound, I'm optimistic."

Given the demoralizing events that unfolded in Week Two, some would label Jones as crazy. The Cowboys matched wits and personnel with one of the better offenses in the league and were sorely lacking.

The Broncos did a masterful job of spreading the defense. Denver forced the Cowboys into a series of mismatches the most painful proved to be the linebackers trying to stay with tight end Shannon Sharpe and exploited those time and time again on their way to 515 yards in total offense. Denver averaged a staggering 9.5 yards every time it ran a play.

The first 30 minutes of Sunday's game went down as the worst defensive half in Cowboys history. Denver scored five touchdowns on its five possessions. The Broncos had 303 yards in total offense with 10:33 left in the second quarter and finished the half with 379 total yards.

"Myself and the team are very disappointed with the outcome today," Cowboys coach Chan Gailey said. "I thought we would come out and play much better. Obviously, we didn't.

"You could give a lot of excuses, but that's not what we're about. . . I was surprised they moved the ball as well as they did. Very surprised."

The Cowboys weren't fooled by last week's defensive performance against the Cardinals. The Dallas defenders talked about how this game would provide a more accurate gauge as to where they stood, particularly its run defense.

For most of the afternoon, the Cowboys defenders weren't standing. They were flailing helplessly at Davis or Sharpe or whoever was racing toward the end zone. Denver's domination was so thorough it's doubtful a healthy Leon Lett, who gamely dragged his sprained left knee around Mile High Stadium, would have made much difference.

The Cowboys were wary of Davis' ability to entice the defensive pursuit outside, only to cut back inside on his way to a big play. Those fears proved to be well-founded. Davis stunned the Dallas defense in the first quarter with touchdown runs of 63 and 59 yards. He wasn't touched either time.

Davis finished with 23 carries for 191 yards and three touchdowns in a tour de force Dallas won't soon forget.

"Wonderful," cornerback Deion Sanders said when asked to describe Davis's performance. "Just to be on the same field with him was incredible."

He had help. Quarterback John Elway dissected the Cowboys confused secondary, completing 16-of-22 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Both went to Sharpe. Ed McCaffrey had a career day with five catches for 117 yards.

"They got caught in between," Sharpe said. "They couldn't decide whether to control John Elway or whether to control Terrell Davis.

"They got caught in the middle of the stream. They let John go and they let Terrell go."

The Cowboys defensive failures were so overwhelming that it overshadowed an encouraging offensive performance. Aikman had the offense rolling before he went down and hulking defensive tackle Marvin Washington landed on his shoulder early in the second quarter. Dallas still finished with 370 yards and averaged six yards every time it touched the ball.

Those numbers, and another strong outing by the Dallas special teams, were the only positives the Cowboys could cling to this afternoon.

"This is not a setback," cornerback Kevin Smith maintained. "It's not like we lost to the Chicago Bears of last year. They are the Super Bowl champs.

"We have nothing to hang our heads about."

It remains to be seen if the Cowboys can say the same after four to eight weeks without Aikman.

"I think we've got to look at it as a challenge," Jones said.

The biggest one Dallas will face this season.

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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