Championships: Back to back Super Bowl titles following the 1992 and ’93 seasons and after a one-year hiatus, Dallas won their record-tying fifth overall Super Bowl – and third in the ‘90s – following the 1995 season. It was a long way back from the bottom of the league, where America’s Team resided following a 1-15 season in 1989.

Star: The Cowboys’ offense featured a Holy Trinity – quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and wide receiver Michael Irvin. The success of one depended on the other two, but we’ll go with Smith, whose relentless running opened up the passing game and kept the Cowboys’ defense off the field. It doesn’t hurt our choice any that Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, does it? But it all started for him in the early ‘90s, as Smith led the league in rushing in 1991 (1,563 yards), 1992 (1,713 yards plus 18 rushing touchdowns) and 1993 (1,486 yards). He was named league MVP in ’93.

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Supporting cast: Aikman had a big arm and a big heart, taking so many hits in the pocket he had to retire early from multiple concussions. He threw remarkably few interceptions (only six for the entire ’93 season) and was MVP of the 1993 Super Bowl. Irvin was a spectacular receiver, a threat both deep and underneath with an unstoppable combination of size, speed and strength. Erik Williams and Nate Newton provided brawny, tough bookends at offensive tackle and Larry Allen was an elite guard. TE Jay Novacek was yet another weapon. The defense featured such stalwarts as LB Ken Norton, DE Charles Haley and DBs, Brock Marion, Darren Woodson and Larry Brown, the latter voted MVP of the 1996 Super Bowl for his two timely interceptions.

Coach: Jimmy Johnson, college buddy of bombastic owner Jerry Jones, was there for the 1-15 debacle in ’89 and for the championship seasons of 1992 and ’93. Controversial former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer, after several years away from the sport, won a Super Bowl in his second season in Dallas.

Peak of power: The Cowboys were on top of the pro football world with their third Super Bowl triumph in four years following the 1995 season. The transition from Jimmy Johnson to Barry Switzer went smoothly and the Aikman-Smith-Irvin triumvirate was too much to handle. The Cowboys also featured a quick, opportunistic defense in those days.

How it ended: The decline was gradual, even after the Super Bowls stopped. The Cowboys went 10-6 in 1996, won their playoff opener but then were stunned by the upstart Carolina Panthers in the second round. The run defense let them down big time in 1997 (6-10) but they rebounded to win the NFC East in 1998 and didn’t fall off the football map completely until 2000.

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