Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys : Pro football: Dallas gets help from nine Buffalo turnovers and deals the Bills third Super Bowl loss in a row, 52-17.

The Dallas Cowboys, taking full advantage of the Buffalo Bills’ inexplicable penchant for championship failures, won Super Bowl XXVII, 52-17, Sunday in front of a Rose Bowl audience of 98,374.

It was the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl appearance and victory since the 1978 season, but by all indications it won’t be their last. Dallas thoroughly dominated a Bills team generally regarded as the best assembled by the franchise in a game that set a Super Bowl record for points by both teams, 69.

Once again, Buffalo was undone by a record nine turnovers, key injuries, fate and, in this case, a Cowboy team unimpressed with the Bills’ three consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

It is easy to see why. Three times the Bills have advanced to the title game, and three times they have left with devastating losses. Buffalo isn’t picky. It has lost twice by blowouts and once by a single point.

This time the Bills didn’t have a chance. Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman was named the game’s most valuable player after completing 22 of 30 passes for 274 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Cowboy halfback Emmitt Smith rushed 22 times for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Buffalo took a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes to play in the first quarter, thanks mostly to two crucial Dallas errors.

Mistake No. 1 came when the Cowboys were unable Buffalo’s special teams star Steve Tasker from doing what he does best: block punts. Tasker slipped through the middle of the line and blocked Mike Saxon’s first punt of the afternoon. The ball was recovered by Buffalo at the Cowboy 16-yard line.

The Bills scored four plays later, but only because of another Dallas error. Faced with a third and three at the Cowboy nine-yard line, quarterback Jim Kelly dropped back to pass and was hit by defensive end Charles Haley. The ball bounced free, but it didn’t matter. A holding penalty against Cowboy defensive back Larry Brown nullified Haley’s play and gave the Bills first and goal at the five. Halfback Thurman Thomas scored shortly thereafter on a two-yard run.

That was about it for first-half Buffalo highlights. From that point, the Cowboys began asserting themselves in ways the Bills never thought possible.

The onslaught began with Kelly’s first interception, which came with 4:48 to play in the first quarter. Kelly’s pass was intended for tight end Pete Metzelaars, but that was before Metzelaars slipped on the Rose Bowl turf, allowing safety James Washington to make the easy interception.

That done, Dallas quickly drove for a touchdown. A 23-yard pass from quarterback Troy Aikman to tight end Jay Novacek with 1:36 to play in the quarter ended the six-play march down the field.

Even briefer was the next Buffalo possession, which lasted all but one play: time enough for Dallas’ Haley to hit Kelly as he dropped back to pass. The ball was plucked out of the air by defensive lineman Jimmie Jones, who rumbled about 10 yards for an unlikely fumble recovery and touchdown.

Lin Elliott’s extra point gave the Cowboys a 14-7 lead with 1:21 to play in the quarter. For Super Bowl historians, the 21-point first quarter was the most recorded in the championship game.

The Bills had a chance to tie the score early in the second quarter, when they drove from Dallas’ 44-yard line to the one. But on third and goal from the Cowboy one, Kenneth Davis was stopped cold by linebacker Ken Norton Jr. Rather than kick the field goal, Buffalo Coach Marv Levy tried for a touchdown.

Like almost everything else the Bills tried Sunday, the plan backfired. Kelly’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety Thomas Everett. End of scoring threat.

Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Levy settled for a 21-yard Steve Christie field goal with 3:24 to play in the first half. It was a costly three points, though, because Kelly injured his right knee on the drive and was lost for the game. Norton was responsible for the clean hit and the subsequent injury, which was later diagnosed as a sprained knee.

Despite the mistakes and loss of Kelly, Buffalo trailed by only four points. But not for long.

The Cowboys took the next kickoff and traveled 72 yards in only five plays for a touchdown. As usual, Aikman looked for wide receiver Michael Irvin. As usual, Irvin delivered--this time with a 19-yard touchdown reception with 1:54 to play before halftime.

Buffalo got the ball back, but promptly fumbled it when Thomas was hit at the Bills’ 18-yard line. Again, Jimmie Jones ended up with the turnover.

It only took the Cowboys one play and an extra point to extend their lead to 28-14. Aikman found Irvin open at the Bills three-yard line and the Cowboy receiver did the rest, diving into the end zone with 1:36 to play in the second period.

Eighteen seconds. Two Dallas touchdowns.

In all, Buffalo committed five first-half turnovers, four of which Dallas turned into touchdowns.

Dallas added another three points to its lead on the first possession of the second half. But this time the Cowboys took their time, using the first 6:39 of the third quarter on the 12-play drive that ended with a 20-yard field goal by Lin Elliott. Irvin accounted for 37 receiving yards on the drive, and Smith added 28 rushing yards.

The Bills did what they could to get back into the game. Reserve quarterback Frank Reich, who led Buffalo back from a 32-point deficit against the Houston Oilers in the AFC wild card game, threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Don Beebe on the last play of the third quarter. The score, which cut the Cowboy lead to 31-17, came when Reich scrambled long enough to find Beebe completely unattended in the end zone.

But the Cowboys would have nothing to do with a Buffalo comeback. Dallas wide receiver Alvin Harper scored on a long pass. Then, after another Buffalo interception, Smith scored. And then--as if the rout wasn’t complete--Norton picked up a Buffalo fumble and returned it for a touchdown and a 35-point lead.