The Dallas Cowboys now share the best record in the NFL. Whether they still have the NFL's best running back remains to be seen.

After beating the Kansas City Chiefs 24-12 in a Thanksgiving Day showdown, the Cowboys now might face a more demanding test - the possibility of playing without Emmitt Smith, who was wheeled off the field with a knee injury late in the third quarter.He is to have an MRI exam today, and the entire Cowboys' organization is not about to rest easy until the preliminary diagnosis of a sprain is confirmed. Anything worse could doom a shot at another Super Bowl.

"I just pray to the good Lord my man is OK," said running backs coach Joe Brodsky.

Dallas ended Kansas City's seven-game winning streak and a chance to clinch a playoff berth with the big win, but Smith's injury made for one gloomy locker room.

"Emmitt thinks the knee is going to be OK," said Dallas coach Barry Switzer.

Dallas also lost center Ray Donaldson, who will undergo surgery today for a broken ankle.

"Losing Ray and Emmitt are big losses," said Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman.

Dallas improved to 10-2 while the Chiefs, off to their best start, dropped to 10-2 in a clash of the teams with the best NFL records.

When Smith missed the first two games of the 1993 season in a contract dispute with owner Jerry Jones, the Cowboys lost both games. Jones settled with Smith and the Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl.

Smith, the NFL's leading runner, has had nine 100-yard rushing games this year. Bothered by hamstring injuries last year, he had been injury free this season.

But with 1:24 left in the third quarter, Smith went down without being tackled while trying to make a cutback on the artificial turf.

"Emmitt has made that cut 1,000 times," said offensive tackle Nate Newton. "This time the knee didn't hold up. It just shakes you."

Smith was walking in the locker room after the game. Trainer Kevin O'Neill called that a "positive sign. Still, we don't know exactly what is wrong until we have an MRI on Friday. We're calling it a sprain until we find out something different."

Smith rushed for 56 yards and scored a touchdown on a 15-yard run before he was injured. Aikman threw two touchdown passes of 33 yards each to tight end Jay Novacek and Michael Irvin.

"We've done a good job of bouncing back from our loss to San Francisco and we feel great about our position but we have a big concern about Emmitt," Aikman said. "We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

"I've had a sprained knee and I know it was hard to come back, and I can imagine how hard it is for a running back. (Substitute back) Sherman Williams is a good player, but we're a much better team with Emmitt in there. We'll just have to fight through it."

Kansas City's only touchdown came on a 45-yard pass from Steve Bono to Lake Dawson.

"This was a tough loss because we didn't show our true selves," said Bono. "But there's no question that Dallas is the best team. And they've been able to maintain that level for several years now."

Smith's touchdown run was his 21st of the year, just three behind John Riggins' NFL season record.

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Irvin caught 11 passes for 121 yards, and Aikman hit 21 of 29 passes for 192 yards.

"Nobody does it better than Aikman and Irvin," said Kansas City coach Marty Schottenheimer. "You can talk about Rice and Young but when it comes down to timing, nobody does it better than those two.

"Dallas was clearly the better team. We couldn't stop their offense. When Aikman gets his rhythm going he's hard to disrupt. Dallas is a great team. "

The lucky thing for the Cowboys is that they have 10 days to get ready for their next opponent, the Washington Redskins, whom the play Dec. 3 at Texas Stadium. The Redskins beat Dallas 27-23 on Oct. 1.

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