Cardiac Cowboys pull victory from Jaws of defeat vs. Redskins in 4th quarter

This game was almost as ugly as these Redskins fans!

            The Dallas Cowboy and Washington Redskins used to be one of the most scintillating and best sports rivalries in the nation. After watching today’s game a lot of the passion was missing. The Redskins were able to stop the Cowboys’ explosive offense. The Redskins came into Cowboys Stadium as the #1 overall passing defense allowing only 162 yards passing per game. They also have the 5^th overall best defense. The Cowboys entered the game with the NFL’s 4^th best overall offense averaging 390 yards a game. Their passing game ranks 6^th in the league with 258 yards overall. Something had to give. For most of the game both defenses dominated, with the Redskins scoring the only points in the first half, which was a field goal.

 

             The bright spots for the Cowboys were 2^nd year tight end Martellus Bennett who had 3 big catches for 43 yards. All catches were for 1^st downs and Marion Barber ran for 100 yards on 20 carries. Barber did fumble the ball at Washington’s 16-yard line ending a promising drive in the 1^st quarter. Redskin’s kicker and former Dallas Cowboy, Shaun Shuisham, missed 2 big field goals. The first miss happened with seconds remaining in the 1^st half. It was a big momentum killer as the Redskins only had a 3 point lead. Shuisham also missed a 50-yard field goal in the 4^th quarter. If Shuisham made the field goal it would have given the Redskins a 9-0 lead. Rejuvenated by the missed field goal, Tony Romo completed 6 of 7 passes including the game winner- a scrambling Romo bought time and hit Crayton in the endzone for a 10 yard touchdown.

             The Redskins’ secondary played most of the game in a “Tampa -2” style coverage defense keeping their safeties deep so not to allow the big play. The Cowboys lead the league of plays 20 yards or longer.  Washington’s game plan frustrated the Cowboys offense and held them from scoring until late in the fourth quarter.  The Redskins had over 2 minutes left to mount a comeback, but Cowboys’ defensive end Stephen Bowen tipped Jason Campbell’s pass that Anthony Spencer intercepted and sealed the win for the Cowboys. The Oakland Raiders come into Dallas for Thanksgiving this week. Let’s hope the Raiders get the stuffing knocked out of them!