Dallas Cowboys fans will remember the 1999 season’s opening game against Washington. Older fans will yet recall the 1993 NFC Championship game. The common theme in both these events? Cowboys’ generational QB Troy Aikman. Yet, when NFL Throwback announced their Mount Rushmore for America’s team, Aikman was nowhere to be found! Not even the honorable mentions.

When the Jerry Jones-owned franchise listed the Top 60 greatest Cowboys players on their official website in 2020, it had Aikman as number four. The top three included the two-time Super Bowl winner and one-time Super Bowl MVP Roger Staubach as number one. In second place, the Cowboys picked the legendary Bob Lilly, an 11-time Pro Bowler. Former NFL MVP and multiple-time Super Bowl winner Emmitt Smith occupied the third spot.

While Staubach, Lilly, and Smith made it to NFL Throwback’s list, Aikman was replaced by Randy White, a strong disagreement from the NFL’s side for the Cowboy’s 2020 listicle.

Aikman, the 1989 top draft pick, had an eventful three-year journey. Going from 0-11 as a rookie to a 7-8 run in 1990 and a 7-5 run in 1991, the West Covina native managed to lead Dallas to Super Bowl glory in his 4th season. His performance in the 1993 NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers was another one of his highlights. Despite a head injury sustained during the game, Aikman completed 14 of 18 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns before being sidelined with a concussion.

‘America’s Team’ won 38-21, earned a spot at Super Bowl XXVIII, and lifted the Lombardi Trophy. Next was the game against the Redskins on September 12, 1999. Trailing 35-21 with just over 6 minutes on the clock, Aikman led his team to 2 quick touchdowns, including a game-tying pass to Michael Irvin. The Cowboys went on to win 41-35 in overtime.

By the time he was done with his career, Aikman had 32,942 passing yards and 165 TDs on his resume, with 94 regular season wins – a franchise QB record. Aikman also added a third Super Bowl ring for the Cowboys in 1995. A 6-time Pro Bowl talent and 1997 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner, his exclusion from the Dallas Cowboys’ Mount Rushmore becomes somewhat of a head-scratcher.

Meanwhile, standing at 6’4, Randy White was a beast of a defensive tackle. In 1975, he was the Cowboys’ first-round pick. During his 14-year stay at the franchise, ‘The Manster’ made the first team All-Pro seven times and registered 111 sacks. The 71-year-old played football during the 70s when the Steelers dominated the Super Bowl. Thus, two of his Super Bowl games were against Steel City, who won the Lombardy Trophy four times in the decade.

However, the Cowboys still did quite well for themselves in the regular season. The team had 20 successive seasons with a winning record from 1966 to 1975, and Randy White played a big role in that. The Pennsylvania native’s only Super Bowl ring came against the Broncos after the 1977 season. In that game, White had a match-defining impact and was awarded the co-MVP.

Though Troy Aikman had more success than Randy White, he also had superstars like Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin on his team. He was also part of an era where the Cowboys won the Super Bowl thrice. Perhaps the NFL gave White the edge based on his versatility in playing both as a defensive tackle and linebacker. Nevertheless, despite these two phenoms, other notable players also carved their names in Cowboys’ Mount Rushmore.

Remaining Cowboys Mt. Rushmore picks, feat. The record for the 99-yard run from scrimmage

How can you not pick ‘Mr. Cowboy’ Bob Lilly for Dallas’ Mount Rushmore? The first-ever player selected by the Dallas Cowboys, he was also the first player named to the team’s Ring of Honor and the first Cowboy inducted into the Hall of Fame. Making his name on the defensive line, he was part of the Cowboys team that won its first Super Bowl in 1971 against the Miami Dolphins, holding their opponents to a mere 3 points.

Under Tom Landry, Roger Staubach helped the Cowboys to 2 Super Bowl titles in his tenure from 1969-79. Staubach went 10-3 in 1971 and won the Bert Bell Award in his first year as a starter. His 22,700 passing yards rank 3rd in franchise history, while his 85 regular season wins rank 2nd. With Landry as HC and Staubach as QB, the Cowboys established themselves as a force, with the team missing the playoffs only once between 1971 and 1979.

Emmitt Smith played for ‘America’s Team’ from 1990 to 2002. Teaming up with Aikman, Smith’s run as a running back helped the Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl titles in the 90s. In his second year in the NFL, he crossed 1,500 rushing yards (1,563 yards), a feat he would achieve 3 more times during his stint. With the most rushing yards in NFL history at 18,355, Smith’s place in Cowboys’ Mount Rushmore is not in doubt.

Apart from them, the honorable mentions went to five Cowboys legends, including RB Tony Dorsett, DB Mel Renfro, Cliff Harris, LB DeMarcus Ware, and Deion Sanders. While each had their own contributions to ‘America’s Team,’ Tony Dorsett, in particular, shone brighter than anyone on January 3, 1983. It was a Monday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings, where he made the record for the longest run from scrimmage.

He took the ball 99 yards to score, and the record is set to date – over 3 decades of dominance. On the other hand, Deion Sanders was named in the Falcons’ Mount Rushmore for his valuable contributions and impeccable gameplay. His addition as an honorable mention with the Cowboys was salient as Prime Time played a crucial role in the 1995 Super Bowl victory, bringing positivity to the team.