THE Dallas Cowboys finally looked like Super Bowl champions in Miami on Sunday, earning a much needed 29-10 victory over Jimmy Johnson's Dolphins.
It was the first match up between the defending Super Bowl champions and Johnson, the coach who led them to two of their three National Football League titles in the 1990s.
Troy Aikman threw for 363 yards and three second half touchdowns and Dallas bottled up Miami's offence after halftime for the Cowboys to win their fourth straight.
But the hype focused on the reunion between Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Their public falling out ended with Johnson's departure from the team he helped make into a powerhouse.
Johnson's replacement in Dallas, Barry Switzer, said the result showed the Cowboys were still a force, despite their mediocre start to the season.
Miami's star quarterback Dan Marino played for the first time since breaking his ankle on September 23rd. He completed 12 of 27 passes for 173 yards with one interception and one touchdown.
The victory kept the Cowboys in touch with National Conference East leaders Washington, who won their seventh straight, and second placed Philadelphia, who stayed one game behind the Redskins with a 20-9 victory over Carolina.
At 7-1, the Redskins are off to their best start since they opened with 11 wins in 1991 en route to the Super Bowl title.
Terry Allen rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns to lead Washington to a 31-16 victory over Indianapolis. It was the second straight three touchdown game for Allen, who leads the NFL with 13 touchdowns.
Green Bay, who beat Indianapolis last week, followed up with a 8-25 victory over Buffalo to join the Bills and the Colts in a three way tie for the AFC East lead.
Green Bay cemented their lead in the NFC Central with a 13-7 victory over division stragglers Tampa Bay, but the Packers lost receiver Antonio Freeman to a broken left arm. The Packers had already lost receiver Robert Brooks for the season with torn ligaments.
The San Francisco 49ers saw quarterback Steve Young suffer a concussion on their first possession. With backup Elvis Grbac unavailable with a shoulder injury, that left number three quarterback Jeff Brohm, who hit rookie Terrell Owens with a 20 yard touchdown pass with four and a half minutes left for the win.
Pittsburgh moved ahead of Houston at the top of the AFC Central with a 20-17 victory over Atlanta, who remained as the only winless team in the league when the New York Jets beat Arizona 31-21.
