Editing Super Bowl XXVII (section)

===Resurrection of the Dallas Cowboys===
{{main|1992 Dallas Cowboys season}}

Super Bowl XXVII saw the resurrection of the Dallas Cowboys. From [[1966 NFL season|1966]] to [[1985 NFL season|1985]], "America's Team" made the playoffs 18 out of 20 seasons under coach [[Tom Landry]], including five Super Bowl appearances and two Super Bowl wins. But in the late 1980s, the team suffered several losing seasons, including a 3–13 regular season record in [[1988 NFL season|1988]]. Then [[Jerry Jones]] bought the team on February 25, 1989, and in a controversial move, promptly fired Landry, the only coach Dallas had in 29 years as an NFL franchise. Jones replaced Landry with [[Miami Hurricanes football|University of Miami]] head coach [[Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)|Jimmy Johnson]], his former [[Arkansas Razorbacks football|University of Arkansas]] teammate.

With Johnson as head coach and Jones as his own general manager, people in the league thought they could take advantage of them. Both lacked NFL experience, and instead of hiring coaching assistants with experience in the league, they hired ones that worked with Johnson in Miami. Compounding this issue was the departure of the two men that brought previous success to Dallas: founding president [[Tex Schramm]] and famed personnel man [[Gil Brandt]].

The Cowboys' 3–13 record in 1988 did have a silver lining; it was the worst in the league and thus gave the Cowboys the first pick in the [[1989 NFL draft]]. Jones and Johnson picked [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]] quarterback [[Troy Aikman]], who would eventually go on to be selected to the [[Pro Bowl]] six times in his NFL career. Meanwhile, Jones and Johnson immediately started to shuffle the team's depth chart to find players talented enough to build a winning team. Linebacker [[Ken Norton Jr.]], one of the few holdovers from Landry's last losing seasons, would later claim that he would often go into a player huddle and meet new teammates for the first time.

Then, Jones and Johnson made a move midway through the 1989 season that shocked many in the league: they [[Herschel Walker trade|trade]]d their only Pro Bowl player, running back [[Herschel Walker]], to the [[1989 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]] for five veteran players and eight draft choices. Although the Cowboys finished the [[1989 NFL season|1989 season]] with a 1–15 record, their worst record since the team's inception, the foundations for the Cowboys' return to glory had been set. Although Dallas had the league's worst record, they traded away the first pick in the 1990 draft so they could get backup quarterback [[Steve Walsh (American football)|Steve Walsh]] in the supplemental draft. Then with the 17th pick, they drafted [[running back]] [[Emmitt Smith]], and the trifecta of Aikman, Smith, and [[wide receiver]] [[Michael Irvin]] (who was drafted by Landry in 1988) was now set. Dallas also signed veteran tight end [[Jay Novacek]] away from [[Arizona Cardinals|Phoenix]], who went on to make the Pro Bowl in five of his six years with the Cowboys.

Johnson also started to rebuild the team by drafting players who were fast, quick, and athletic. The defense was designed to become aggressive, while the offense was made to be a conservative one that did not make mistakes.  In 1990, the Cowboys finished 7–9, but Smith won the [[National Football League Rookie of the Year Award|NFL Rookie of the Year Award]] and Johnson was selected as [[National Football League Coach of the Year Award|NFL Coach of the Year]]. In [[1991 NFL season|1991]], the Cowboys finished with an 11–5 record and made the playoffs for the first time in six years.

In [[1992 NFL season|1992]], the Cowboys finished with a 13–3 regular season record, the second-best in the league and the best in team history. Although not a single one of their defensive players made the [[Pro Bowl]], Dallas was ranked as the number one defense in the league (allowing only 4,278 yards), fourth in fewest points allowed (243), and ranked as the number one defense against the run (allowing only 1,244 yards), bringing back many fans' memories of the [[Doomsday Defense]]s of old. The defensive line was anchored by [[Jim Jeffcoat]] (10.5 sacks) and [[Tony Tolbert]] (8.5 sacks), along with future [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] pass rusher [[Charles Haley]] (six sacks), who had led the NFC in sacks in 1990 and had been acquired by Dallas in a trade with [[San Francisco 49ers|San Francisco]]. While Norton and Defensive Rookie of the Year [[Robert Jones (linebacker)|Robert Jones]] anchored the linebacking corps, the team's solid secondary was led by defensive backs [[Kenneth Gant]] and [[James Washington (safety)|James Washington]], who both recorded 3 interceptions each, and rookie cornerback [[Kevin Smith (cornerback)|Kevin Smith]]. The last member of the secondary was defensive back [[Issiac Holt]] who had been acquired as part of the trade with the Vikings for Walker.

Dallas' offense finished second in the league in scoring with 409 points.  Aikman had the best season of his career, completing 302 out of 473 passes (ranking second and fourth in the league) for 3,445 yards (fourth in the league) and 23 touchdowns (third in the league) while throwing only 14 interceptions, producing a quarterback rating of 89.6 (third best in the league).  Smith led the NFL in rushing for the second year in a row with 1,713 yards and scoring 18 rushing touchdowns, while also catching 59 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown.  Fullback [[Daryl Johnston]] was also an asset in the backfield, providing Smith with effective blocking and hauling in 32 receptions. Irvin, the team's emotional lightning rod, caught 78 passes for 1,396 yards and 7 touchdowns. Other contributors on the offense included wide receiver [[Alvin Harper]] (35 receptions for 562 yards and 4 touchdowns) and Novacek (68 receptions for 630 yards and 6 touchdowns). Dallas' dominant offensive line, later dubbed "The Great Wall of Dallas", was led by Pro Bowlers [[Nate Newton]] and [[Mark Stepnoski]], along with 10-year veteran [[Mark Tuinei]], free agent acquisition [[John Gesek]] and the youngster [[Erik Williams]].

With all this talent, the Cowboys would be considered by many to be one of the deepest and most talented teams to take to the gridiron.