by David Elfin

Filed under: Cowboys, Dolphins, AFC East, NFC East

Dallas and Miami meet tonight for the fifth time in preseason, but the first time since 1992, well before any of the current Cowboys or Dolphins were even in the NFL (Dallas backup quarterback Jon Kitna was the only one who was even in college yet).

But it’s not as if the Cowboys and Dolphins haven’t had memorable matchups. Their first came in Super Bowl VI as the defending NFC champion Cowboys crushed the upstart Dolphins 24-3 behind Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach to give Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry his first title. In truth, however, the game was a snoozer unless you were a Cowboys fan.

That can’t be said of the most remembered of the teams’ 11 regular season games. It came on Thanksgiving 1993 when the 8-2 Dolphins, quarterbacked by Hall of Famer Dan Marino visited the 7-3 Cowboys, quarterbacked by Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. The Dolphins were still coached by Hall of Famer Don Shula, the loser of Super Bowl VI. The defending champion Cowboys were coached by Jimmy Johnson, who would succeed Shula in Miami three years later.