American Football: Cowboys face test after being shot down by Sanders

Barry Sanders, the Detroit Lions running back, shrugs off the attentions of Kenneth Gant of the Dallas Cowboys (No 29) as the Lions inflict a surprising 20-17 home defeat on the Cowboys. The defeat ended the Cowboys' 10-game winning streak, a run which included victory in this year's Super Bowl, writes Matt Tench. Sanders rushed for 194 yards a superhuman effort that eclipsed the 143 gained by Dallas's Emmitt Smith. Even so it needed a 44-yard field goal from Jason Hanson 27 seconds from the end of over-time to win the game. The defeat will present the Cowboys with their first serious test in the post-Jimmy Johnson era. A fragile peace has broken out between the Dallas players (who were disgruntled at the departure of the club's former head coach in the spring), Jerry Jones (the owner with whom Johnson fell out) and Barry Switzer, the controversial new coach Jones brought in to replace Johnson. All sides agreed it would last so long as the Cowboys continued to win.

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