NFL PLAYOFFS / XXVIII Looks Just Like XXVII : Cowboys Make Coach as Good as His Word : NFC: Johnson had predicted a decisive victory over the 49ers, and Dallas gets it, 38-21, despite the loss of Aikman.

Jimmy Johnson’s brassy promise of a Cowboy victory in the NFC championship game rang true Sunday, and now how about the Buffalo Bills, the AFC’s papier-mache representative the past three years in the Super Bowl?

“I’m going to be very quiet this week,” Johnson said moments after running from the field, a fist waving in the air, his screams of joy fighting to top those of 64,902 fans in Texas Stadium.

The Cowboys had defeated the 49ers, 38-21, much as Johnson had said they would, and now Johnson has the opportunity to become the first NFC coach in NFL history to guide a team to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.

“When Coach Johnson predicted that we were going to win this game, it showed the team something,” Cowboy cornerback Larry Brown said. “You get a lot of coaches who are scared to say that, which shows they don’t truly believe they can win the game.”

The pumped-up Cowboys scuffled with the 49ers during pregame warm-ups, stormed to a 28-7 halftime lead and then overcame the loss of quarterback Troy Aikman, who suffered a concussion and was sent to Baylor Medical Center for overnight observation. Aikman is scheduled to have an MRI today and is expected to be ready to play in the Super Bowl.

The Dallas quarterback who was 14 of 18 for 177 yards and two touchdown passes, took a knee to the head with more than 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

“He couldn’t remember some of the plays and he was dazed,” Johnson said. “We didn’t want to take any risks, but I thought he would clear his head and return a few minutes later.”

Aikman, however, complained of dizziness and left the field for the locker room. With four minutes remaining in the game, he was sent to the hospital.

After Aikman left the game, the 49ers attempted a rally. Ricky Watters, who gained 37 yards in 12 carries, ran four yards for a touchdown and the 49ers trailed by 28-14 with 5:47 left in the third quarter. “That was our window of opportunity,” 49er Coach George Seifert said. “I honestly felt we were going to get back into this thing.”

The Cowboys turned to Bernie Kosar in relief of Aikman, and the 49ers went to their all-out blitz. On third and nine from the Cowboys’ 19-yard line, Kosar beat a heavy rush and completed a 12-yard pass to Michael Irvin for a first down.

“That was as big a play as there was in this game,” Johnson said. “We were a little bit unraveled at the time, what with Troy being hurt, and that was just a great throw by Bernie.”

Kosar, who had defeated the 49ers, 23-13, before being released by the Browns earlier this season, had signed a $1-million guaranteed contract to finish the season with the Cowboys.

“An investment that obviously paid off,” Cowboy owner Jerry Jones said.

On third and three at the 49er 42, the 49ers blitzed and cornerback Eric Davis made an ill-advised attempt to intercept Kosar’s pass for wide receiver Alvin Harper.

“The way the game was going, we needed to make a play,” Davis said. “We had to take some chances. I got a good read on the route and just went for it, but the ball floated on me.”

Davis cut in front of Harper at the 49er 33, but the ball went over his head and into Harper’s hands. Harper went untouched for a touchdown.

“It wasn’t the touchdown pass to Harper,” Seifert said. “It was the play prior to that: the third-down pass to Irvin. Had we made that play, I suspect it may have been a different ballgame. But I wouldn’t predict the outcome.”

Davis’ miscalculation was not unlike the one made by teammate Don Griffin in last year’s NFC championship game in San Francisco after the 49ers had rallied to trail the Cowboys, 24-20, in the fourth quarter. Griffin went for the ball, missed and Harper caught it and ran 70 yards to set up a touchdown for the Cowboys on their way to a 30-20 victory.

“I just thank God for this opportunity,” said Kosar, the loser three times with Cleveland in AFC championship games. “I’m not accustomed to being a backup, but to play a role in a game that gets us to the Super Bowl is just a great feeling.”

The Cowboys, who will be making their seventh trip to the Super Bowl--the most by any NFL franchise--took control of the game almost before it began. After 49er wide receiver Jerry Rice exchanged unpleasantries with Cowboy cornerback Kevin Smith during pregame warm-ups, players from both teams began shoving each other.

“Jerry Rice came over and started popping off,” Cowboy defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat said. “That’s the worst thing he could have done. I guess he doesn’t realize he’s in Cowboys country. Don’t ever come in here and challenge us like that, or we’ll destroy you.”

The Cowboys, who appeared much stronger than the 49ers along the offensive line, on special teams and overall on defense, appeared intent on punishing the 49ers once the game began. And as running back Emmitt Smith said later, “It was easier than we expected.”

Smith, who shunned a pain shot for his injured shoulder before the game, carried seven times on the Cowboys’ opening drive, which covered 75 yards in 11 plays.

Smith ran five yards for a touchdown to give Dallas a 7-0 lead, and from the outset, the 49er defense appeared overmatched.

The Cowboys had an opportunity for a 14-0 lead on their second possession, but after beating Davis in the end zone, Harper dropped what would have been a 39-yard touchdown pass from Aikman.

After 49er quarterback Steve Young threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to fullback Tom Rathman on the opening play of the second quarter, the rest of the half belonged to the Cowboy offense.

The Cowboys took possession three times and three times they scored.

“That’s the kind of game you live for,” said Norv Turner, the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator who is expected to become Washington’s head coach after the Super Bowl. “What a great first half of football.”

Fullback Daryl Johnston capped an 80-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run to give Dallas a 14-7 lead, and then safety Thomas Everett put the Cowboys in scoring position again after intercepting a deflected Young pass at the 49er 38 and returning it to the 24.

Four plays later, the 49er defense failed to cover Smith, and Aikman found him for an 11-yard score over the middle.

The Cowboys completed the first-half scoring after tight end Jay Novacek put a move on linebacker Bill Romanowski and broke free to catch a 19-yard touchdown pass from Aikman.

“It was shock to look at the scoreboard and see that it was 21-7 and then 28-7,” 49er tackle Steve Wallace said. “We never had a chance to get into our game plan, and the crowd continued to stay in the game.”

After Harper’s touchdown, the Cowboys added a 50-yard Eddie Murray field goal in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 38-14 before Young finished the scoring with a one-yard plunge with 4:06 left.

“When we came out on the field, we felt right away we were the better team,” Cowboy guard Nate Newton said. “I mean, Jimmy done guaranteed it.”