Age: 24
4th
season in pro football & with Cowboys
College: Florida
Height: 5’9” Weight: 209
Prelude:
Taken by the
Cowboys in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft, Smith had an immediate impact
for the rebuilding club as he ran for 937 yards as a rookie and was selected
for the Pro Bowl as well as Offensive Rookie of the Year (AP). In ’91, he led
the league with 365 carries for 1563 yards and earned a second trip to the Pro
Bowl and in ’92 he received MVP and first-team All-NFL recognition as well as
he again topped the league with 1713 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.
1993 Season Summary
Appeared in 14
of 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 283 [6]
Most
attempts, game - 32 (for 168 yds.) at NY Giants 1/2
Yards – 1486 [1]
Most yards,
game – 237 yards (on 30 carries) at Philadelphia 10/31
Average gain
– 5.3 [1]
TDs – 9 [3,
tied with Ron Moore & Edgar Bennett]
200-yard
rushing games – 1
100-yard
rushing games – 7
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 57
Most
receptions, game – 10 (for 61 yds.) at NY Giants 1/2
Yards – 414
Most yards,
game - 102 (on 4 catches) vs. Phoenix 11/14
Average gain
– 7.3
TDs – 1
100-yard
receiving games – 1
Scoring
TDs – 10 [6,
tied with Calvin Williams & Edgar Bennett]
Points – 60
Postseason: 3 G
Rushing
attempts – 66
Most rushing
attempts, game - 30 vs. Buffalo, Super Bowl
Rushing yards
– 280
Most rushing
yards, game - 132 vs. Buffalo, Super Bowl
Average gain
rushing – 4.2
Rushing TDs –
3
100-yard
rushing games - 1
Pass
receptions – 13
Most pass
receptions, game – 7 vs. San Francisco, NFC Championship
Pass
receiving yards - 138
Most pass
receiving yards, game - 85 vs. San Francisco, NFC Championship
Average yards
per reception – 10.6
Pass
Receiving TDs - 1
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP,
PFWA, NEA, Bert Bell Award, Sporting News
1st
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News
1st
team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl
Cowboys went 12-4
to finish first in the NFC East with the best record in the conference while
ranking second in the NFL in rushing (2161 yards) and points scored (376). Won
NFC Divisional playoff over Green Bay Packers (27-17), NFC Championship over
San Francisco 49ers (38-21), and Super Bowl over Buffalo Bills (30-13).
Aftermath:
Smith led the
NFL once more in rushing (1773 yards in 1995) in the process of gaining over a
thousand yards in 11 straight seasons. He also led the league in touchdowns
scored on three occasions, including a then-record 25 in 1995. He was a
consensus first-team All-Pro four times and was selected to eight Pro Bowls. Smith
became the NFL’s all-time leading rusher while still with Dallas before
finishing up with two seasons in Arizona. He ended up with 18,355 yards on the
ground (17,162 of them with the Cowboys) and scored a total of 175 TDs. He was
inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2010.
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or
Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or
USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football
Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press
International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league
itself).
[Updated 2/4/14]
[Updated 2/4/14]
