Aikman Points the Way

IRVING, Texas —  The Dallas Cowboys delivered a crushing blow to the New York Giants in the NFC East on a day that Tony Dorsett’s team rushing record fell and Troy Aikman somehow completed passes with an injured finger.

Emmitt Smith became Dallas’ career leading rusher with 163 yards and Aikman shook off a painful finger injury to make two critical completions as the Cowboys pulled ahead of the defending division champion Giants by three games with a hard-earned 16-6 victory.

The Cowboys (6-3) swept the Giants (3-6) in a season series for the first time since 1995 and are 5-0 in division games.

Aikman hurt the index finger on his passing hand when it hit a Giant helmet in the second quarter. X-rays showed no break in the finger, although it was sprained and cut.

“I was struggling with it,” said Aikman, who missed the last two minutes of the first half. “I couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. And then I couldn’t get enough pressure on the ball. I was very frustrated. I thought it was broken, and the helmet took off a big chunk of skin.”

Aikman’s two-yard touchdown pass to Eric Bjornson with 8:44 left gave the Cowboys some breathing room. Ernie Mills’ acrobatic catch for a 27-yard gain put Dallas in position for the touchdown, and Aikman also completed a 21-yard pass to Billy Davis on the 84-yard drive.

Aikman completed 16 of 23 passes for 161 yards.

Smith broke Hall of Famer Dorsett’s team rushing record of 12,036 yards on a 32-yard run in the first half. He has 12,105 yards, making him the eighth NFL player to run for more than 12,000.

The Giants’ Gary Brown ran for 119 yards in 15 carries.