DALLAS NIGHTMARE WORSENS WITH LOSS.

Byline: Associated Press 

The Buffalo Bills knew they wouldn't be putting much offense together without Jim Kelly in the lineup. They figured the only way to beat the Dallas Cowboys would be to rise up defensively.

And the Bills, in a shocking upset Sunday, did exactly that.

With their starting quarterback sidelined with a hamstring injury, the Bills held Emmitt Smith to 25 yards on 15 carries and intercepted Troy Aikman three times on the way to a 10-7 stunner at Rich Stadium.

The decision dropped the defending Super Bowl-champion Cowboys to 1-3 - and they should be advised that no team in NFL history has started that poorly and gone on to win a Super Bowl.

Buffalo (3-1) limited Dallas to 192 yards and knocked Aikman out in the final minutes with a right ankle sprain that was reported to be mild.

``It was a big-time outing by our defense,'' safety Henry Jones said. ``With all the weapons Dallas has - with Emmitt and Aikman and Deion (Sanders) - we had to come up big and give our offense a chance.''

Smith had his worst game since Oct. 16, 1994, against Phoenix.

``The key to shutting down Emmitt was a sense of urgency on our defensive side,'' Bills defensive end Bruce Smith said. ``We had to set the tempo from the first possession.''

It can't get much worse for Dallas, off to its worst start since 1990 when Jimmy Johnson was coach and Dallas was rebuilding.

``It's like a bad dream,'' Smith said. ``I can't believe what is happening and the reason why it is happening. Whatever it is, we need to get it corrected quickly.''

After the game, the Cowboys sat in the locker room, stunned for a second straight week after losing to a team they feel they should have beaten. Dallas lost to Indianapolis last week after taking a 21-3 lead.

The Bills relied on their opening drive for the bulk of their scoring. Todd Collins, making just his second career start while Kelly recovers from a hamstring injury, led the Bills on a 78-yard drive that ended in Thurman Thomas' 2-yard touchdown.

``I don't think I did anything special,'' said Collins, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 88 yards and one interception. ``A lot of guys on this team had a feeling that something like this would happen. A lot of people were counting us out.''

Collins left the game late in the third quarter after spraining his right ankle while getting sacked. Buffalo went with third-stringer Alex Van Pelt the rest of the way.

Buffalo protected Collins by using an assortment of formations and running low-risk plays, giving the young quarterback time to operate the sluggish offense.

``The first drive was the key,'' Collins said. ``It gave us six points right off the bat. It really was a perfect drive. I couldn't have imagined anything else that could have started us off in the right direction.''

The defense did the rest.

Buffalo took a 10-0 lead in the third quarter after Emanuel Martin made the first of his two interceptions. He picked off Aikman's pass intended for Kelvin Martin and returned the ball 31 yards to the Dallas 9. Three plays later, Steve Christie kicked a 32-yard field goal.

Dallas didn't score until there was 5:53 left in the game. A 24-yard catch by Herschel Walker set up Smith's 2-yard TD run.

Aikman was 16 of 33 for 164 yards for the Cowboys, who were hurt by penalties and turnovers.

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Photo

Photo: Injured quarterback Troy Aikman watches in dejection  as Dallas loses 10-7 at Buffalo.

Associated Press