1991 Dallas Cowboys season This year would mark the Cowboys ' return to the playoffs after a number of seasons , including a 1 – 15 campaign just two years prior . This also marked Norv Turner ' s first year as offensive coordinator under head coach Jimmy Johnson . The young offensive nucleus of Troy Aikman , Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith continued to develop , as did the offensive line , while the defense also improved . Though the Cowboys would lose in the playoffs to the Detroit Lions in the divisional round , the season was considered a resounding success , and a glimpse of things to come . Notable additions to the team this year include defensive tackle Russell Maryland , wide receiver Alvin Harper , offensive tackle Erik Williams and linebacker Dixon Edwards . The season began with a strong victory over Cleveland and a close Monday night loss to Washington . However , in game 3 , the Cowboys were defeated at home by Philadelphia , 24 – 0 . The Eagles sacked Troy Aikman 11 times and served notice that the Cowboys were still behind the " contenders " in the NFC East . A narrow victory the next week over Arizona did little to change that contention . However , in Week 5 , the Cowboys upset the defending Super Bowl champion Giants ( snapping a 6 game losing streak to the Giants ) . The momentum from the Giants win carried the Cowboys to 3 wins in the next 4 games ( the only loss being a turnover plagued loss at Detroit ) to move to 6 – 3 . However , the Cowboys lost to the Oilers in overtime ( The Cowboys were driving close to field goal range in the overtime period when Emmitt Smith committed a rare fumble ) . The next week , they lost at the Giants in a game Jimmy Johnson said was " officiated as poorly " as any he had ever coached in . At 6 – 5 , the playoff chances seemed in serious jeopardy , especially with their upcoming opponent being a road game against the undefeated ( and eventual super bowl champion ) Washington Redskins . However , Jimmy Johnson presented a gambling game plan for the Redskins game ( including a first - half onsides kick , several decisions to " go for it " on 4th down at unusual times , and opting to throw for the end zone on the final play of the first half even though the team was within field goal range at the Redskins 34 . Alvin Harper made the catch for a TD ) . The gambling game plan worked and the Cowboys completed a titanic 24 – 21 upset of the Redskins . Troy Aikman was injured in the Redskins game and was replaced early in the 2nd half by Steve Beuerlein ( who had been signed late in the pre - season so as to avoid the problems at backup QB that plagued the Cowboys late in the 1990 season ) . Aikman ' s injury was serious enough for him to miss the rest of the Regular Season . After the Washington win , Beuerlein led the Cowboys to 4 straight victories to end the season . The 11 – 5 record was good enough to earn a wildcard playoff berth . In most of the games , the Beuerlein - led offense was limited in passing yardage but the passing offense avoided serious mistakes and was helped by strong defensive performances and by Emmitt Smith , who finished the season with his first NFL rushing title . The biggest win of the Cowboys late - season streak was a 25 – 13 win road win over the Philadelphia Eagles . It snapped a 7 game losing streak to the Eagles in " non - replacement games and avenged the 24 – 0 loss back in week 3 . In fairness , the Eagles were down to their third quarterback for this game ( starter Randall Cunningham was lost for the season in week 1 and Jim McMahon , who had led the Eagles to their earlier win over Dallas , was also injured , leaving the reins to Jeff Kemp ) . The special teams coached by Joe Avezzano were a strength of the Cowboys : Amid making the playoffs for the first time since 1985 , there was controversy at the quarterback position . Troy Aikman was considered healthy enough to return for the playoffs . However , Beuerlein hadn ' t lost as a starter and there was an argument for " riding the hot hand " . The " hot hand " argument won and Jimmy Johnson made the decision to play Beuerlein in the wildcard playoff game against the Chicago Bears and the Cowboys won a hard fought 17 – 13 decision at Soldier Field . It was the team ' s first playoff win since 1982 and first road playoff win since 1980 . After the Chicago win , some thought the Cowboys were Super Bowl contenders ( since they had beaten the NFC favorite Redskins at RFK Stadium during the regular season , there was a belief they could do it again if they met the Redskins in the NFC Championship ) . However , the Cowboys would first have to beat Detroit at the Silverdome , where the Lions had not lost in 1991 . Heading into the Detroit game , the QB controversy continued as the Cowboys prepared for their divisional playoff game . Pressure was mounting to return Aikman to the lineup but Beuerlein was announced as the starter . Beuerlein started but Aikman would replace Beuerlein late in the first half with the Cowboys trailing 17 – 6 . The other main issue in the Detroit game was stopping the Lions ' running back Barry Sanders , one of the great players in the NFL . When the game began , the Cowboys defense did an excellent job stopping Sanders , holding him to one of his lowest outputs of the season . However , the Cowboys were torched by unheralded Lions quarterback Erik Kramer through the air and gave up 38 points . The final score was Detroit 38 Dallas 6 .