The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys have been playing one another at least twice per season every year since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger with the exception of the strike-shortened 1982 season.
By 1995, both teams had taken several turns at the top of the league. The Cowboys had been the top power in the NFC during the 1970s and fell into disarray the next decade as teams such as the Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins took turns going to the Super Bowl.
The 1990s saw Dallas rise back to prominence behind owner Jerry Jones and head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Swtizer. In 1995, however, the Cowboys were beginning to come back to the pack a bit.
In Week 16, the Cowboys (10-4) played host to the fading Giants (5-9) at Texas Stadium. Dallas was in a dogfight with the Philadelphia Eagles for the division lead and needed to knock off the Giants, who they had embarrassed on Monday Night Football, 35-0, earlier in the season.
During that Week 1 game, the Cowboys showed the Giants up in front of 77,454 — the largest crowd ever at Giants Stadium. The crowd was gathered not only for the rivalry but to pay tribute to former quarterback Phil Simms, who was having his No. 11 retired by the Giants at halftime.
To add insult to injury, Jones was cheering along the sidelines accompanied by Nike founder Phil Knight and tennis superstar Monica Seles, which the Giants and their fans found disrespectful and bush league.
This time around, things would not be so easy. Giants head coach Dan Reeves had his team ready. Big Blue led the game most of the first half and then into the fourth quarter when Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith scored from five yards out to make the score 18-17 in favor of Dallas.
Kicker Brad Daluiso put the Giants back in front, 20-18, with a 27-yard field goal but New York could not hold on. Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol then booted a 35-yarder with no time left on the clock to nip the Giants, 21-20, and keep the Cowboys’ divisional title hopes alive. Boniol had five field goals on the day.
“It’s tough to play as hard as you can and still lose it,” Reeves said. “We took it to them, but we missed key plays.”
That’s typical of the Reeves era here in New York. Good, but not quite good enough.
The game was memorable for other reasons, however. Running back Rodney Hampton, who will be enshrined in the Giants Ring on Honor during this week’s game, rushed for 187 yards on the afternoon. That set a franchise record against Dallas that stands to this day.
