|
| |
| ||
|
| ||
|
No bluff in these Cards Plummer leads Arizona to 20-7 upset win over Cowboys
Posted: Sunday January 03, 1999 01:19 AM
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Jake Plummer showed he was worth every penny of his new $29 million contract. With a pressure-proof performance that carried the Arizona Cardinals to the franchise's first postseason victory since 1947, the unfazed Plummer burned the heavily favored Cowboys with two touchdown passes in a runaway 20-7 wild-card victory. The Cardinals, playing in the NFC playoffs for the first time since 1982, will meet the NFC Central champion Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. "I got tired of hearing about the past," Plummer said. "The past is the past. You live in the future. Now, we are ready to go into the future." That future might not last much longer. Minnesota had the league's best record, 15-1, while Arizona was 9-7. Arizona had lost nine straight in Dallas and 16 of 17 overall vs. the Cowboys. "To beat the Cowboys, who have dominated us for so many years on their turf, is a tremendous accomplishment," said Arizona coach Vince Tobin. "This team did something nobody on the Cardinals had done for 50 years." In fact, owner Bill Bidwill was 16 at the time.
"I remember there was great elation, because there was only one playoff game in those days and it was for all the marbles," said a beaming Bidwell. "This game is one big step." The Cardinals last won a playoff game when they were in Chicago and beat Philadelphia 28-21 in the NFL championship game. They last made the playoffs in 1982, a strike year, and 1975 before that, both times in St. Louis. By contrast, the Cowboys have been in the playoffs 23 years and won three Super Bowls in the 1990s. The Cowboys hadn't lost at home in the playoffs since 1983, winning seven straight. Dallas, champions of the NFC East with a 10-6 record -- and no losses in the division -- beat the Cardinals twice in the regular season. But Plummer showed no playoff nerves in the third meeting. Arizona, which led 10-0 at halftime, shocked the playoff-hardened Cowboys to start the second half on a 74-yard run by Adrian Murrell, followed by a 3-yard touchdown pass by Plummer to a wide-open Larry Centers. The run was the longest against the Cowboys in their 52-game playoff history. Dallas beat Arizona 38-10 and 35-28 in the regular season. But the Cardinals made Dallas look inept for much of the day. On Arizona's second possession, Plummer hit Frank Sanders with a 59-yard pass to position the Cardinals for their first playoff touchdown in 16 years. Facing a third-and-8, Plummer caught the Cowboys in an all-out blitz and simply shoveled a short pass to Murrell, who scored from the 12. "I thought Jake got sacked," Tobin said. "I didn't even see him flip the ball. The shovel pass was huge for us to get started on top like that."
Plummer said the touchdown made the Cardinals realize it could be their day. "They had a blitz going and I knew if Adrian could get a crease he could walk in and he did," Plummer said. Arizona made it 10-0 when Chris Jacke, who won the Cards' last three games with field goals -- his last-second 52-yarder got the Cardinals into the playoffs last weekend -- made a 37-yarder with 19 seconds left in the half. Jacke also made a 46-yard field goal early in the fourth period after Aeneas Williams' second interception of Troy Aikman, who was 11-2 as a starter in playoff games. Aikman was sacked four times, twice by linebacker Jamir Miller (who had 12 tackles), and intercepted three times, twice by Aeneas Williams. "They didn't respect us and we had to make plays to turn that around. They thought we were a joke," Miller said. Aikman stormed to the sidelines after one series and shouted, "I can't find anyone open." Added Dallas wide receiver Patrick Jeffers, "We felt they knew our routes before we ran them." Dallas coach Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator for Pittsburgh last year, said Arizona deserved the win.
"Arizona made big plays and we didn't," Gailey said. "The defense hung in there, but we had too many dropped passes and penalties to hurt them on offense. "I'm sorry my first year had to end like this." Aikman completed only 22 of 49 passes for 191 yards and Smith ran for only 74 yards on 16 carries. "Everyone is disappointed," Aikman said. "It's not the outcome we were expecting. They just clamped down on us." Even having cornerback Deion Sanders in the lineup couldn't ignite the Cowboys until it was too late. Sanders, bothered by a toe injury, hadn't started a game in five weeks. On defense, he ran down Murrell from behind on the Cardinals' longest run of the year. And his biggest special teams play was a 41-yard punt return with 4:37 to go, which the Cowboys cashed into a 6-yard touchdown pass to Billy Davis with 3:33 left. "This has been a house of horrors for us," Centers said. "This is great to finally get it off our back." Extra pointsPlummer completed 19 of 36 passes for 213 yards ... Murrell had 95 yards rushing on 12 carries ... Arizona beat back two Dallas scoring attempts in the first half. Richie Cunningham missed a 36-yard field goal, then Dallas got to the Cardinals 9-yard line before Mark Maddox stopped Emmitt Smith for no gain on fourth-and-1.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
