If you love points, entertainment and suspense, the 1999 season opener was as good as it gets.
The Cowboys kicked off the season in Washington D.C. and by the start of the fourth quarter, there were plenty of verses of "Hail to the Redskins" to go around. Washington led 35-14 and looked on its way to a blowout win.
But Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin had other ideas. The Triplets went to work, with Smith cutting into the lead with a short touchdown run early in the fourth. Irvin, who had been rather quiet most of the day, got into the act with a 37-yard touchdown with 3:51 to play. And the defense finally gave the Cowboys a stop, giving the ball back to Aikman, who engineered a 90-yard drive that ended with another Irvin score – this time of 12 yards to tie the game.
The Redskins nearly won it at the end of regulation but a botched field goal snap saved the day for the Cowboys, who got the ball after another defensive stop in overtime.
From there, the new guy made his presence felt. Rocket Ismail won the game with a 76-yard touchdown from Aikman, who finished the day with 362 yards and five touchdowns.
The 21-point comeback was the largest in team history before the Cowboys matched that in 2014 in a game against the Rams.
