5 best quarterbacks in Dallas Cowboys history

1989 was a season full of change for the Cowboys. First, they had a new owner as Jerry Jones bought the franchise from H.R. “Bum” Bright for $140 million. He also fired two of the leaders of the team, getting rid of Tom Landry in favor of Jimmy Johnson and taking the general manager job for himself after firing Tex Schramm.

Jones did well as a GM, simply because Johnson was helping him along the way. Jones will refute this, but the decline after Johnson left says it all. Together, their first draft pick was none other than Troy Aikman, who quickly became the starter under center.

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That season, Aikman tasted nothing but defeat as Dallas was 0-11 with him starting. But things quickly turned around and by 1992, they were the hottest team in the NFL. Aikman and the Cowboys were 13-3 that year and won their first of two consecutive Super Bowls against the Buffalo Bills.

They had a season off from the title game but then took out the Steelers following the 1995 season for Aikman’s third Super Bowl win.

The only thing keeping him from being the No. 1 quarterback in team history is the fact that he never had to be truly unleashed. Aikman was arguably one of the most accurate passers during his time but he also never threw for more than 3,445 yards in a season and topped 20 touchdowns only once.

With Emmitt Smith, the league’s all-time rushing leader, eating up chunks of yardage and clock, Aikman never put up gaudy numbers. Of course, he would surely take that any day since it led to multiple Lombardi Trophies.