3. 1992 postseason: Emmitt’s trifecta of consistency
It is perhaps cheating to lump three games into one entry on this Top Ten list. But the stellar boxscores from Smith’s performances in the Cowboys’ three postseason games following the 1992 season are most striking for their collective- and almost eerie- similarity.
In the divisional round, second-seeded Dallas executed a suffocating gameplan against Philadelphia, beating the Eagles by a 34-10 count. After amassing 1,713 rushing yards and a 4.6 yards-per-carry average during the regular season, Smith kept up that steamrolling pace right into the playoffs. He finished this game with 25 carries, 114 yards, one touchdown, and a 4.6-yard average.
Fast forward one week. The Cowboys visited the West Coast to take on the 49ers to decide the NFC Championship and earn a trip to the Super Bowl. On a field so soaked and flooded with monsoon-caliber rain that there was talk of moving the contest to Palo Alto, the Cowboys prevailed, 30-20. Smith ended up with 24 carries, 114 yards, one touchdown, and a 4.8 average.
Super Bowl XXVII found the team back in California, taking on the Buffalo Bills in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl. It was a rout from the very beginning and one of the most glorious moments ever for Cowboys fans. For Smith, though, it was just another superb day at the office. As the confetti flew and the Lombardi Trophy was hoisted following the 52-17 blowout, Smith had recorded 22 carries, 108 yards, a touchdown, and a 4.9 average.
Three postseason games, with the spotlight at its brightest, the stakes at their highest, and the competition at its fiercest, Emmitt Smith was the model of consistency with nearly identical stat lines when it mattered the most.
That trait would, of course, go on to be one of Smith’s strong suits throughout his career. How consistent was Emmitt? In his 15th and final NFL season, the 35-year-old Smith ended with 937 rushing yards, the precise total he had compiled as a 21-year-old rookie.