It’s November 25th, 1993. Were at Texas Stadium for a Thanksgiving day showdown between the hometown Dallas Cowboys and the visiting Miami Dolphins. Dallas controls the game with a one-point lead but Miami’s lining up for a field goal in the final seconds. A booming kick could give the Dolphins a chance to gobble up a statement win against the defending Super Bowl Champions. Before we witness what comes next, there’s so much to unpack. To do that, we need to rewind
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00:00 It's November 25th, 1993.
00:03 We're at Texas Stadium for a Thanksgiving Day showdown
00:06 between the hometown Dallas Cowboys
00:08 and the visiting Miami Dolphins.
00:10 Dallas controls the game with a one point lead,
00:13 but Miami's lining up for a field goal
00:15 in the final seconds.
00:16 A booming kick to give the Dolphins a chance
00:19 to gobble up a statement win
00:21 against the defending Super Bowl champions.
00:23 Before we witness what comes next,
00:25 there is so much to unpack.
00:27 To do that, we need to rewind.
00:30 Wait a second.
00:35 I did say we're in Texas, right?
00:38 I know it's November,
00:39 but by the look of this snow covered field,
00:41 you would think we were in Buffalo.
00:44 On this particular Turkey Day,
00:46 I highly doubt either team is thankful for this weather.
00:49 Dating back to 1966,
00:52 the Cowboys have been a staple
00:53 for the league's yearly Thanksgiving showcase.
00:56 They earned their spot after TV networks recognized fans
00:59 wanted to stuff their faces
01:00 with a side of even more football.
01:03 The Lions already held down a spot since 1934,
01:06 but when the NFL came calling with a chance
01:08 for another team to play, Dallas stepped up.
01:12 Former Cowboys team president, Tex Schramm,
01:14 wanted more national attention on his squad
01:17 and volunteered just as long as Dallas
01:19 was able to host the game.
01:21 It turned out to be an immediate hit.
01:23 Other team owners peeped the advantages
01:25 that Dallas received from the yearly matchup
01:28 and wanted in on the action,
01:29 but other teams couldn't replicate
01:31 the same type of attention.
01:33 The Cowboys' favorable timetable
01:35 was something that Dolphins head coach, Don Shula,
01:37 acknowledged coming into this year's matchup.
01:41 Hell, even Dallas head coach, Jimmy Johnson,
01:43 admitted his team had a leg up.
01:46 The benefit of having an extra day's rest
01:48 in a sport that involves players
01:50 constantly ramming into each other is obvious,
01:52 but this season's matchup presented an external factor
01:55 that neither team could control.
01:58 Earlier this week, meteorologists expected
02:00 a massive cold front to come through Central Texas,
02:03 which is certainly unexpected,
02:05 seeing how this would mark the first time
02:07 it's ever snowed in Dallas during an NFL game.
02:10 The coaches seemed to view the inclement weather
02:12 from different perspectives.
02:14 Johnson, who formerly coached at the University of Miami,
02:17 thought Dallas would be better prepared
02:19 than the team coming from the Sunshine State.
02:22 Shula wouldn't use the weather
02:23 as an excuse for his Dolphins.
02:25 A bit ironic, seeing how members of his team
02:29 blamed the poor conditions
02:31 in their divisional round playoff loss a few seasons ago.
02:34 No matter what the coaches said,
02:36 it would've been impossible for either team
02:38 to be fully ready.
02:40 Nearly two hours before kickoff,
02:42 the grounds crew removed the tarps from the field,
02:45 allowing the sleep to immediately stick to the grass
02:47 at well below freezing temperature.
02:50 The vice president of Texas Stadium
02:51 said the conditions were the roughest he'd ever seen,
02:55 something that was very apparent early in the game.
02:58 After the Dolphins drove the field on their first possession,
03:01 they had an opportunity to take an early 3-0 lead
03:04 when Miami kicker Pete Stojanovic
03:06 set up for a 44-yard field goal.
03:09 As Stojanovic planted his foot for the kick,
03:11 he slipped and fell hard on his ass,
03:14 sending the ball in the line drive
03:16 directly to a Cowboys defender.
03:18 Stojanovic might've resembled a cartoon character
03:20 dramatically slipping on a banana peel,
03:23 but here he is now with a chance
03:25 to snatch a win for his team.
03:26 If he makes this kick,
03:28 Miami could walk away with a 16-14 victory.
03:32 A win is a win, but it's a low-scoring affair
03:34 not typically seen from these two powerhouse offenses.
03:38 And it ain't just the snow.
03:40 This matchup has looked completely different
03:42 from the expectations at the beginning of the season.
03:44 Before the 1993 campaign kicked off,
03:48 numerous journalists circled this matchup
03:50 as an early Super Bowl preview.
03:53 Dallas entered the year as defending champions,
03:55 returning the core of a team
03:56 that steamrolled their way to a championship.
03:59 Offensively, with Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman,
04:03 and Michael Irvin, the Cowboys had a young trio of stars
04:06 poised to dominate for years to come.
04:09 On defense, Dallas fielded a stingy unit
04:12 that forced nine turnovers in the most recent Super Bowl.
04:15 Certainly an overpowering bunch,
04:18 but the Dolphins were just as strong in their own respect.
04:21 Miami hasn't won a Super Bowl since the '73 season,
04:24 but behind star QB Dan Marino,
04:26 they've been knocking on the door for the past decade.
04:29 It's just that everything around Marino
04:31 has been kinda meh.
04:34 On defense, Miami repeatedly trotted out
04:37 below-average units, leaving Marino to outgun opponents,
04:40 which wasn't a recipe for playoff success.
04:44 Fortunately for Miami fans, in the past few years,
04:47 the franchise finally invested
04:49 in putting together a solid defense,
04:51 and wouldn't you know it, during the '92 season,
04:54 they made their first conference championship in seven years.
04:57 The promise of two potent teams got journalists hyped,
05:01 but what was supposed to be a showdown
05:03 highlighting the game's top talent
05:05 turned out to be something else.
05:08 In week six, Dan Marino suffered a severe Achilles injury,
05:12 shutting him down for the rest of the year.
05:14 Then after Marino's backup Scott Mitchell went down,
05:17 the fans turned to the NFL's oldest player, Steve DeBerg,
05:21 who they signed a few weeks prior.
05:23 The 39-year-old quarterback
05:24 had considered calling it quits this season,
05:27 but with a fresh start in Miami,
05:29 he won his first game for a team
05:30 that had a real shot at winning a chip.
05:33 It's not an ideal situation to be in,
05:35 but at that point in the season,
05:37 Miami appeared to be in a better position than Dallas.
05:41 Leading up to Thanksgiving,
05:42 there was a chance that the Cowboys would be without
05:45 both Aikman and Smith.
05:47 Unlike Miami, Dallas couldn't reach the same achievements
05:50 with their backup QB, Bernie Kozar.
05:53 What looked to be a duel
05:54 between the NFL's elite quarterbacks
05:55 just a couple months ago
05:57 quickly appeared to be a prime time
05:59 DeBerg versus Kozar mid-off.
06:02 Fortunately for the Cowboys,
06:03 their star signal caller got cleared for action.
06:06 Aikman knew he couldn't come in and play
06:08 to his usual standard,
06:09 but was prepared to go out and compete,
06:11 especially in the potential absence
06:13 of his running mate in the backfield.
06:15 More than Aikman, the Cowboys' offense runs through Smith.
06:20 Emmitt missed the first two games of the season
06:22 following a bitter contract dispute with owner Jerry Jones.
06:26 Without him in the backfield,
06:27 the Cowboys' offense looked lifeless
06:29 as they took Ls in both matchups.
06:32 When he returned in week three,
06:34 Dallas ran off seven straight wins handedly.
06:37 That's just easy math.
06:39 In today's game,
06:40 Smith ultimately got the nod to play,
06:43 but didn't look anything like his usual self.
06:45 Cowboys rookie fullback Lincoln Coleman
06:49 finishing with more rushing yards on fewer attempts
06:51 says it all.
06:53 With a limited Smith, Aikman had to be the leader,
06:55 but he didn't look 100% either.
06:58 His usual connection with Michael Irvin was nonexistent,
07:01 as Miami's defense did an excellent job
07:03 taking away deeper outs.
07:05 Unexpectedly, the mighty Cowboys' offense
07:08 had to lean on rookie return specialist Kevin Williams.
07:12 In the second quarter,
07:13 Williams hauled in the four-yard touchdown
07:15 after nearly busting his ass running the route,
07:19 then later housed a 64-yard punt return,
07:22 weaving through sliding Miami defenders
07:24 to give Dallas a 14-7 lead heading into halftime.
07:29 However, after the break, it was all Miami.
07:33 On their opening possession of the half,
07:35 DeBerg engineered a 55-yard drive
07:38 that ended in a field goal.
07:40 In the fourth, fullback Keith Byers,
07:42 who scored Miami's touchdown in the first quarter,
07:44 came up huge again.
07:46 On second and long, Byers caught a short pass
07:49 and took an upfield for 27 yards into Dallas territory
07:53 as he powered through a leg tackle
07:54 and weaved through defenders.
07:56 That long game eventually set Miami up
07:58 to drill another manageable field goal
08:00 and cut the Cowboys' lead to one.
08:02 More impressively than their offense finding a spark,
08:06 Miami played suffocating defense in the second half,
08:09 keeping Dallas off the board.
08:11 Although, toward the end of the game,
08:14 the Dolphins nearly shot themselves in the foot.
08:17 Following another strong stop,
08:18 Miami got the ball back at their own eight-yard line
08:21 with a little over four minutes to play.
08:24 Down one, a field goal would have given the Dolphins a lead,
08:27 but rookie running back Terry Kirby got drilled
08:30 and coughed up the ball
08:31 where Dallas recovered it in Miami's territory.
08:35 A short 32-yard field goal could have extended
08:37 the Cowboys' lead to four,
08:38 forcing Miami into needing a touchdown to win the game.
08:42 Except, after clearing the snow
08:44 and giving him a nice spot to strike the ball,
08:46 Dallas kicker Eddie Murray shank the field goal wide right.
08:50 Miami took over deep in their own territory
08:52 with a touch over two minutes remaining in one timeout.
08:56 And old man DeBerg went to work.
09:00 He diced up the Dallas defense,
09:02 completing over 70% of his passes,
09:05 including a pivotal third down conversion
09:07 to none other than Keith Byers,
09:09 where he scooted past Dallas defenders to get out of bounds
09:12 and put Miami in field goal range.
09:14 After falling on his behind in the first attempt,
09:17 Sojanovic was spotted on the sideline
09:19 changing cleats for better traction,
09:21 and since the switch, he's been money.
09:24 In his first four seasons with the Dolphins,
09:26 Sojanovic has proven to be clutch,
09:28 knocking in multiple late game kicks,
09:31 including an overtime game winner last season
09:33 against the New England Patriots in frigid temperatures.
09:36 Crucial moments in trash weather are nothing new to him.
09:40 Which brings us here.
09:42 After making a fool of himself earlier,
09:44 Sojanovic has a chance to be a hero.
09:47 Dallas desperately needs him to miss this kick
09:49 or somehow come up with a turnover.
09:52 If there's anyone on this Cowboys defense
09:54 that has a chance of jumping up and blocking this kick,
09:57 it's this guy right here, Leon Lett.
10:00 With all eyes on this game during the holidays,
10:03 Lett is searching for his own heroic moment.
10:05 The Cowboys drafted defensive tackle Leon Lett
10:09 in the seventh round back in 1991.
10:12 While he missed the first half of his rookie year,
10:15 in his second season, Lett blossomed into a force
10:17 on the Cowboys front, finishing the '92 season
10:20 atop several defensive categories.
10:23 He especially had a knack for deflecting passes at the line.
10:27 In the postseason that year,
10:29 Lett also had a huge impact forcing several turnovers
10:32 throughout the Cowboys championship run.
10:35 However, while Lett shined within Dallas circles,
10:38 nationally, he was more known for a specific blunder.
10:42 During the Cowboys Super Bowl rout over the Bills,
10:45 Lett recovered a fourth quarter fumble
10:47 and during the return, famously celebrated too soon,
10:51 getting stripped before reaching the goal line.
10:54 Luckily, Dallas had essentially sealed up the win
10:56 and after the game, Lett could try to laugh it off,
10:59 but the slip up kinda defined him.
11:02 This season, Lett looked to improve on his breakout year,
11:05 but fractured his right ankle in the third game
11:07 that kept him out for five weeks.
11:09 When he returned in week 11,
11:11 Lett got right back to showing his star power
11:13 with his known ability to swat passes.
11:16 He's been quieted in this matchup against the Dolphins,
11:19 but there's no greater moment than right now
11:21 to redeem himself nationally by jumping up
11:24 and getting one of his large paws on the ball
11:27 to seal the win for his team.
11:29 This matchup looks far different
11:31 from the star-studded Super Bowl preview
11:32 that journalists expected at the top of the season,
11:35 but as it comes down to the final seconds
11:37 on the snow-covered field,
11:38 this Thanksgiving battle surely has the potential
11:41 to be one of the league's
11:42 most unforgettable holiday matchups.
11:45 If Miami walks away with a road win
11:47 against the defending champions,
11:49 it'll instill even more confidence in the team,
11:52 proving the sky's the limit
11:53 without their leader behind center.
11:56 For Dallas, if they get a stop,
11:57 it'll be an ugly victory,
11:59 but one that proves they're still
12:01 in the upper echelon of the league.
12:03 It all comes down to this kick.
12:06 Welcome to a moment in history.
12:08 - [Announcer] Doug Peterson to hold.
12:13 Blocked!
12:14 The Cowboys will win!
12:19 Wait a minute, wait a minute!
12:23 - Yo, what?
12:25 Let's get that TV turned back on.
12:28 Leon, Leon, buddy.
12:33 You simply can't do that in such a crucial moment.
12:36 If the Cowboys' defense had walked off the field
12:39 and let the ball stop rolling,
12:41 the block kick would've been ruled dead
12:43 and Dallas would've escaped with a win.
12:45 But as soon as Letts slid in and touched it,
12:48 the ball became live
12:49 and the fans recovered it on the one-yard line.
12:52 So welcome to a much, much simpler moment in history.
12:58 (crowd cheering)
13:00 - The Dolphins pull it out!
13:07 16-14, game over.
13:11 Game over.
13:13 (TV clicks off)
13:16 (logo chiming)