One Cowboy Not Riding Into Sunset

Another season has ended for Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith.

A productive season that included 1,397 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. A frustrating season that included a broken right hand, a nagging groin injury and a first-round exit in the playoffs after a disappointing 8-8 regular season.

But Smith, who has gained 13,963 yards in 10 seasons to trail only Walter Payton and Barry Sanders on the all-time career list, isn’t about to let the disappointments or the bumps and bruises slow him down.

“I love the game,” said Smith, who will turn 31 before the start of next season. “The fire is still burning in me. That is why I play like I do. That is why I prepare like I do. I’ve still got a lot in me.”

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Here’s how Smith assessed the last Cowboy team of the 1990s:

“Mediocre,” he said. “Nothing consistent. Consistently bad at times.”

Cowboy defensive back Deion Sanders wasn’t any more forgiving.

“We underachieved,” he said. “You look around at the guys in our locker room and it’s unbelievable that we can’t go further than the first round.”

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As he has all season, Minnesota quarterback Jeff George refused to talk after Sunday’s game about the controversy that has swirled around him in his previous nine seasons in the league with three other teams.

“I don’t care about the past,” he said. “I don’t talk about the past. I don’t think about the past. I only care where this team is going.”

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Is the future of Dallas Coach Chan Gailey secure?

Cowboy owner Jerry Jones said he was reserving comment, but added: “He [Gailey] only can do with what I gave him. He can only be what I say. You know who I am and that is where the responsibility lies.”

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When Sunday’s game began, the Buffalo Bills’ Thurman Thomas was the NFL career leader in postseason points with 126, followed by Smith (120) and Minnesota kicker Gary Anderson (119).

At game’s end, Anderson was atop the list with 128 points and Smith had tied Thomas.

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Add Smith: By running for 99 yards Sunday, he surpassed Franco Harris as the NFL playoff career rushing leader with 1,586 yards.