NFC Championship, 1993: Dallas 38 San Francisco 21

Game information
Before the game, Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson famously guaranteed that his team would win, and his team did not disappoint. The Cowboys jumped to a 28–7 halftime lead, racking up 273 yards and 19 first downs, and scoring four touchdowns in their first five possessions. San Francisco finished the half with just 110 total yards and six first downs.

Dallas took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays to score on running back Emmitt Smith's 5-yard touchdown. Five seconds into the second quarter, the 49ers finished a 9-play, 80-yard drive and tied the game on quarterback Steve Young's 7-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tom Rathman. But then the Cowboys scored three unanswered touchdowns to go up 28–7 before halftime. First they drove 80 yards in 11 plays to score on a 4-yard run by fullback Daryl Johnston. Then Thomas Everett intercepted the ball from Young and returned it 14 yards to the 49ers 24, setting up Smith's 11-yard touchdown reception from Troy Aikman. Five minutes later, Aikman finished a 72-yard drive with a 19-yard score to tight end Jay Novacek.

On Dallas' first series of the third quarter, Aikman suffered a game-ending concussion, knocking him so senseless that when a team doctor asked him where the Super Bowl was going to be played, he answered "Henryetta", Aikman's hometown in Oklahoma. Then with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, San Francisco running back Ricky Watters ran for a 4-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28–14. However, 30-year-old Dallas backup quarterback Bernie Kosar responded by leading the Cowboys 82 yards to a momentum-shattering touchdown, including a critical 12-yard completion to Michael Irvin on third and 9 from the Dallas 19. On the last play, he connected with wide receiver Alvin Harper for a 42-yard touchdown. Cowboys kicker Eddie Murray later added a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory.

Mostly due to Johnson's famous guarantee, ESPN named the game one of the 10 most memorable in the history of Texas Stadium in 2008. "I don't think anybody in a million years thought it would be this type of game", said 49ers coach George Seifert. "I expected us to be more stout. In the early stages of the game, Dallas was extremely explosive and pretty much had their way with us."

Sadly, this would be CBS's final NFL telecast (due to their losing the NFC package to Fox in December 1993) before resuming coverage in 1998. CBS used a goodbye montage featuring the instrumental background "After the Sunrise" composed by Yanni.

Dallas had 377 yards of offense without any turnovers. Aikman completed 14 of 18 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while Kosar completed five of nine passes for 83 yards and a score. Smith was the Cowboys leading rusher and receiver with 88 rushing yards and seven receptions for 85 yards. Young threw for 287 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, while also rushing for 38 yards and a score. Watters, who rushed for over 100 yards and scored five touchdowns in the divisional round, had just 12 carries for 37 yards. This was the first NFC Championship Game featuring a rematch between both teams from the previous year since the 1971 season. Incidentally, that game also involved Cowboys defeating the 49ers for the second year in a row.

Aikman later said he had no memory of playing in this game. According to his agent, Leigh Steinberg, who spoke to Aikman at the hospital after the game, Aikman had to ask him where he was, why he was at the hospital, who he had been playing against, and if his team had won. Despite this, Aikman still returned to lead the Cowboys to victory in the Super Bowl just one week later.

This was the sixth postseason meeting between the 49ers and Cowboys. Dallas won four of the previous five meetings.

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