Aikman was selected as the first overall pick in the
1989 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.
[7] On February 25, 1989, new owner
Jerry Jones fired
Tom Landry and replaced him with
Jimmy Johnson. A few months later, in the NFL's supplemental draft, Johnson drafted
Steve Walsh, who played for Johnson at the
University of Miami. Aikman won the starting quarterback job, and Walsh was traded early in the 1990 season.
Aikman played his first NFL preseason game on August 26, 1989 against the
Denver Broncos.
[13] His NFL debut started with a 28–0 loss to the
New Orleans Saints. The following week, Aikman threw his first touchdown pass, a 65-yard completion to
Michael Irvin, but the
Atlanta Falcons intercepted two passes and won. In a game against the Arizona Cardinals, he threw for 379 yards to set an NFL rookie record.
[7] Aikman finished 1989 with a 0–11 record as a starter, completing 155 of 293 passes for 1,749 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.
Following Aikman's rookie season, Dallas selected Florida Gators running back
Emmitt Smith in the first round of the
1990 NFL Draft. With Smith and Irvin, Aikman led the Cowboys to a 7–7 record in the 1990 season, but was injured in the 15th game, against the
Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys would go on to lose that game and the following week against the
Atlanta Falcons with backup quarterback
Babe Laufenberg, missing the final playoff wild card spot by one game.
In 1991, Aikman led the Cowboys to a 6–4 record in the first 10 games and had the Cowboys ahead in week 12 against an undefeated
Washington Redskins when he was injured.
Steve Beuerlein replaced Aikman, and Dallas finished the season 5–0 and earned the #5 playoff seed. Beuerlein went on to lead the Cowboys to a road upset over the #4 seed
Chicago Bears in the Wild Card round. With the Cowboys trailing 17–6 at halftime the following week against the
Detroit Lions in the NFC Divisional Playoff game, Aikman was inserted to start the third quarter, but was unable to provide a spark as the Cowboys lost, 38–6.