Smith and his Cowboys rush back into contention

American football

As Emmitt Smith lay motionless on Soldier Field last week, his side already well beaten, all the pre-season questions about the Dallas Cowboys appeared to be being answered in the negative. Six days later, it seems that reports of their demise have been slightly exaggerated.

The Boys were well beaten by the Chicago Bears, but responded with a thrashing of their own on Sunday, hammering the New York Giants, 27-0. "We executed a lot better than last week," Troy Aikman, the Cowboys quarterback, said. Smith, who looked to have sustained a serious injury against the Bears, once again confounded medical science by taking his place in the starting line-up, and promptly rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown.

The San Francisco 49ers also achieved that relative NFL rarity, a shut- out, as they dispatched the St Louis Rams, 34-0. The defensive tackle Bryant Young claimed three of his team's seven sacks. For the second week running the 49ers had three rushing touchdowns, but have yet to record one through the air.

The NFC West, over which the 49ers exercise traditional dominance, has already been labelled the NFC Worst by the Bay Area papers, a monicker that seems deserved given the starts made by Atlanta, New Orleans and the Rams (one win between them). The exception could be Carolina Panthers. New to the league a year ago, they required six weeks to record their first NFL victory. This time around success has arrived rather more quickly, with the defeat of the Saints taking their record to 2-0.

That mark is matched by the Miami Dolphins, now operating under the galvanising influence of Jimmy Johnson. They stuffed Arizona 38-10, with Karim Abdul- Jabbar, the rookie starting in the backfield, claiming a couple of TDs. It is early days, but the AFC East may prove to be the most competitive in the league, with Buffalo and Indianapolis sharing Miami's unbeaten record.

Less likely to be competing for a play-off spot are the New York Jets. The worst team of 1995, they regrouped lavishly in the close-season. Two bad defeats later it seems that nothing can stop them losing, not even divine intervention. Having been clobbered in Denver a week ago, the Jets game against Indianapolis was held up because of lightning swirling around Giants Stadium.

It was the first time a match had been so delayed, but alas for the Jets it was resumed 32 minutes later, and the visitors won 21-7.

Results, Sporting Digest, page 21