bubba9497
September-20th-2005, 12:27 AM
Washington 14, Dallas 13
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20050919006&prov=ap
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- As much as the Washington Redskins would've settled for any kind of victory over the Dallas Cowboys, this one was especially sweet.
Mark Brunell hit Santana Moss in stride for touchdown passes of 39 and 70 yards in the final 3:46, then the defense made it stand up, giving Washington a 14-13 victory over its top rival Monday night. The Redskins won for only the second time in their last 16 games against the longtime NFC East rival Cowboys and for the first time at Texas Stadium since 1995.
The comeback was stunning because Washington hadn't crossed the Dallas 27-yard line until Moss' first TD, which also was the first of the season for the Redskins (2-0). The second one put the Cowboys (1-1) behind for the first time and silenced a crowd of 65,207, their largest since 1995.
The lure was partly Washington, but mostly a halftime ceremony featuring the induction of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin into the team's Ring of Honor. They were enjoying a great performance from Dallas' new-look defense and seemed only mildly irritated by coach Bill Parcells' conservative game plan.
It didn't seem to be a big deal when Jose Cortez's second field goal put Dallas up 13-0 with 5:58 left.
Then the Redskins -- on an 0-25 skid when trailing after three quarters -- changed everything.
The touchdowns by Moss came 1:11 apart, so the Cowboys still had time to regain the lead. They seemed to be in pretty good shape, too, when rookie Tyson Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff to the 48.
A 6-yard run by Julius Jones followed, then came two incompletions. Going for it on fourth down, Drew Bledsoe hit Terry Glenn with a short pass across the middle, but he couldn't get the yards needed for a first down. After the stop, defensive lineman Joe Salave'a threw open his arms, leaned back and jiggled with delight, while cornerback Walt Harris bounced up and down as if on a pogo stick.
The Cowboys had one last drive, starting on their 21 with 36 seconds left. They got to their 41, then went to a desperate measure on their last play -- Bledsoe hitting Jones and him lateraling it to Glenn. He was tackled at the Washington 43, then rose to his knees and threw the ball up in disgust while the Redskins began celebrating perhaps the most satisfying victory in Joe Gibbs' second tenure in D.C.
It's the first time Parcells has lost a game with his team leading by 13 or more points in the fourth quarter, a streak of 77 games.
Brunell was 20-of-34 for 291 yards with an interception, but the most important thing was how he remained cool despite everything going wrong for 3 1/2 quarters. His first breakthrough was a 20-yard completion to James Thrash on fourth-and-2 midway through the first TD drive. The confidence helped because that TD came on a fourth-and-15.
Moss, acquired in an offseason deal for Laveranues Coles to be the Redskins' deep threat, caught five passes for 159 yards. Clinton Portis ran 17 times for 52 yards.
Bledsoe was efficient, at best, for the whole game, but was never asked to do much more than feed Jones (22 rushes, 81 yards) and throw little dink passes. He was 21-of-36 for 261 yards and remained interception-free in his second go-round with Parcells.
He's being asked to manage games, not win them, which means few deep balls. His first came on the opening drive of the second half, when he used a flea-flicker to open up a 70-yard pass to Glenn for their first TD connection since they were teammates in New England. It was Dallas' longest play since October 2002, pre-Parcells.
Bledsoe and Glenn hooked up on a 43-yarder to set up Cortez's kick that made it 13-0.
Cortez, who made field goals of 41 and 33 yards, missed a 41-yarder on the opening series. The Cowboys also squandered a chance to try a field goal after getting a turnover in Washington territory in the closing seconds of the second quarter.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20050919006&prov=ap
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- As much as the Washington Redskins would've settled for any kind of victory over the Dallas Cowboys, this one was especially sweet.
Mark Brunell hit Santana Moss in stride for touchdown passes of 39 and 70 yards in the final 3:46, then the defense made it stand up, giving Washington a 14-13 victory over its top rival Monday night. The Redskins won for only the second time in their last 16 games against the longtime NFC East rival Cowboys and for the first time at Texas Stadium since 1995.
The comeback was stunning because Washington hadn't crossed the Dallas 27-yard line until Moss' first TD, which also was the first of the season for the Redskins (2-0). The second one put the Cowboys (1-1) behind for the first time and silenced a crowd of 65,207, their largest since 1995.
The lure was partly Washington, but mostly a halftime ceremony featuring the induction of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin into the team's Ring of Honor. They were enjoying a great performance from Dallas' new-look defense and seemed only mildly irritated by coach Bill Parcells' conservative game plan.
It didn't seem to be a big deal when Jose Cortez's second field goal put Dallas up 13-0 with 5:58 left.
Then the Redskins -- on an 0-25 skid when trailing after three quarters -- changed everything.
The touchdowns by Moss came 1:11 apart, so the Cowboys still had time to regain the lead. They seemed to be in pretty good shape, too, when rookie Tyson Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff to the 48.
A 6-yard run by Julius Jones followed, then came two incompletions. Going for it on fourth down, Drew Bledsoe hit Terry Glenn with a short pass across the middle, but he couldn't get the yards needed for a first down. After the stop, defensive lineman Joe Salave'a threw open his arms, leaned back and jiggled with delight, while cornerback Walt Harris bounced up and down as if on a pogo stick.
The Cowboys had one last drive, starting on their 21 with 36 seconds left. They got to their 41, then went to a desperate measure on their last play -- Bledsoe hitting Jones and him lateraling it to Glenn. He was tackled at the Washington 43, then rose to his knees and threw the ball up in disgust while the Redskins began celebrating perhaps the most satisfying victory in Joe Gibbs' second tenure in D.C.
It's the first time Parcells has lost a game with his team leading by 13 or more points in the fourth quarter, a streak of 77 games.
Brunell was 20-of-34 for 291 yards with an interception, but the most important thing was how he remained cool despite everything going wrong for 3 1/2 quarters. His first breakthrough was a 20-yard completion to James Thrash on fourth-and-2 midway through the first TD drive. The confidence helped because that TD came on a fourth-and-15.
Moss, acquired in an offseason deal for Laveranues Coles to be the Redskins' deep threat, caught five passes for 159 yards. Clinton Portis ran 17 times for 52 yards.
Bledsoe was efficient, at best, for the whole game, but was never asked to do much more than feed Jones (22 rushes, 81 yards) and throw little dink passes. He was 21-of-36 for 261 yards and remained interception-free in his second go-round with Parcells.
He's being asked to manage games, not win them, which means few deep balls. His first came on the opening drive of the second half, when he used a flea-flicker to open up a 70-yard pass to Glenn for their first TD connection since they were teammates in New England. It was Dallas' longest play since October 2002, pre-Parcells.
Bledsoe and Glenn hooked up on a 43-yarder to set up Cortez's kick that made it 13-0.
Cortez, who made field goals of 41 and 33 yards, missed a 41-yarder on the opening series. The Cowboys also squandered a chance to try a field goal after getting a turnover in Washington territory in the closing seconds of the second quarter.