Redskins AT Cowboys History, Anecdotes, and Fan Memories

[kleese]

Just like with the Giants and Eagles, this week we are only talking about GAMES PLAYED IN DALLAS....

--The Redskins are 13-35-2 at all time in Dallas

--The two teams tied in the first two meetings in Dallas (first meeting in 1960)

--The Redskins were 10-26 all time at Texas Stadium

--The Redskins longest winning streak in Dallas is 3 (1987-1989)

--The Redskins longest losing streak in Dallas is 9 (1996-2004)

--The Redskins are 3-17 in Dallas over the past 20 meetings

--The last five meetings in Dallas have all been decided by 5 points or less (Cowboys won 4)

--The Redskins are 0-3 at Jerrywold and lost those games by a combined 6 points

My Memories:

It's brutal folks, just brutal what we've done in Dallas over the years. This has been made more painful for me by leaps and bounds being in Cowboy country and being frends with so many Dallas fans. The Cowboys have owned us overall for 20 years, but what they've done to us down there is just unreal.

I rememeber almost every meeting in Dallas with vivid detail, so I'll just pick out the ones that stick out the most, but really, I could write a novel about almost any of them:

1974: I wasn't alive yet, but every Skins fan knows about the Clint Longley game...Had I been alive, I'm sure I would have thrown my turkey leg through the TV.

1979: Another game I don't remember personally, but I know it's lore for fans of both teams. Division was on the line on the last day of the season.... Redskins hold a 13 point lead late....Cowboys come back and win an all-timer 35-34.

1987: My first ever Redskins game live.....and it was with replacement players. I was so young though that I didn't care...I was thrilled to be in Texas Stadium that Monday Night. Several Cowboys including Randy White and Tony Dorsett crossed the pickett line and played that evening....I happened to sit next to the Hogettes that night which just made it all the more special for me. In preame, a Redskins trainer threw me a discared mouthpiece (yuck) that I held onto for years. Our scabs beat them 13-7 in what wound up being an important game for us. This was 25 years ago and I still remember it well.

1990: Another Turkey Day letdwon...big day for Emmitt. I was really grumpy after this one and I think it bugged my Mom that I would be like that on a day of Thanksgiving

1991: Epic....my parents surprised me for my birthday...I got out of school early and we flew down to Dallas for the Monday Night game. We got to the stadium very early and sat there and basically melted....those that remember, Texas Stadium was a sweatbox...no air movement at all and it was so humid that night. Waited and waited... the game was excellent. That night is when I realized Dallas was going to be special...Emmitt was gashing us. We caught a little break when the heat got to him and he left with dehydration. We had a lead, gave it up, came back, and held on late. Chip Lohmiller was the star that night, going 4-4 on field goals, three of them from pretty long. We won 33-31....always grateful I got to see the 1991 team play live and grateful my parents would do that for me.

1992: Opening Monday Night of the year. Kelly Goodburn had a punt blocked early, and Dallas absolutely dominated us that night. Those that were there said it was the loudest the stadium had ever been...they knew their team was on the cusp and we represented their biggest roadblock. Dallas sent a message that night.

1996: Thanksgiving again...Emmitt dominated again...we looked OK early and terrible late...agaibn...ruined my turkey...again

1997: Those that follow my posts around here have heard my lament the 1997 season over and over again...my most painful and frustrating season as a fan...this game was a big reason why. We played so well that day....held them at bay early and Frerotte hit Henry Ellard with a pass to make it 14-6 in the 4th. We needed one more first down to ice it and couldn't get it...Aikman got another chance, drove them, scored a TD, converted for two.....tie game, they got the ball back again and won it with a FG.Awful.

2002: Thanksgiving again...and this one lives in my family lore. My wife was cool enough to put off Thanksgiving with her family....instead we drove from Tulsa on Thanksgiving morning straight to the stadium (about 5 hours). We got there pretty early and just killed time in our seats. Game started and things were going great...we had a 20-10 lead I felt pretty good. Then, in the end zone where we were sitting, Roy Williams intercepted Danny Wuerfell and ran it in for a five yard TD...we still led 20-17, but that play ended the game. In about thrree seconds, Dallas had the lead and. I was fuming. While the game was still competitive, I told my wife we could go...I was done and I knew we wouldn't come back to win. In the parking lot on our way to the car, I threw a bottle....then I did something that I'll never live down....I handed her the keys, asked her to drive, got in the passenger seat and didn't say one word until we got to her parents house....in Oklahoma City. I literally did not speak on word for 4 hours. By the time we got there, the Redskins had ruined my Turkey Day again, and I had ruined my wife's. She was as mad as I've ever seen here. So mad that she waited until the next morning to let me have it...and did she ever. She also told me that under no circumstances would she ever attend a game with me in Dallas again. This story gets retold every year around this time

2005: No need to go into detail here, we all know what happened. My wife was in bed, and I was just about to turn off the TV and head that way myself...had the remote in my hand prior to the 4th and 15 play......glad I waited.

2007: Went to this game by myself...drove down and met up with Blondie and others at her tailgate. She was so nice to me and gave me a great ticket at face value when she could have gotten so much more for it. The tailgate that day was so fun and lively...ES'ers everywhere, got to meet Chief Zee, Clinton Portis's Mom, and had a great time in general. Game was fantastic...we couldn't stop TO....but I thought JC was going to bring us back that day...he was great until he threw that pick to Newman that ended it. Another walk of shame out of that place for me....Texas Stadium was a hellhole, but held a great advantage for the Cowboys...that place would get defeaning....we should all thank Jerry daily for creating the neutral field they have now.

2009: Of course the one game I didn't go to in the recent past was in 2008....Horrible game, but got together with old frends prior and had a great time in the lot. Even though I'd give up on the season already, they still managed to make that one sting a little...Suisham missed a FG that would have iced it and Romo won it for the Boys. Really disgusting game and several fans gave me grief on the way out.

2011: I was there last year on Monday Night with a good friend. We had them beat. I had a birds eye view of the Dez Bryant play. My friend inadvertently screwed me over...during the kneel downs after Rex fumbled to effectively end the game, we left early so we could beat the crowds. But he had to stop at the restroom...so not only did we get caught in traffic anyway, but now as I waited for him in the concourse, I was an easy target for all of the happy Cowboy fans leaving the building. Humiliating.

It has been 21 years since I saw the Redskins win in that building...I'll be there Thursday....if ever someone was due..........

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Nothing but bad memories and suffering. 2008 and 2005 were the only bright spots.

As a kid, I legit thought there was a rule that said we were not allowed to ever beat Dallas...

[Yeen80]

One memory that sticks out was the December 1995 game when we were 18 point underdogs and managed to win in Dallas behind Heath Shuler. We actually swept Dallas that season and pretty much lost to everybody else.

I remember a weird play near the goalline where Marvcus Patton or Stanley Richard stripped Emmitt of the ball, and we hung on for the win. I was in the 10th grade, but it was one of the best weeks I had that year

[andyburd]

Don't expect anything different, sorry but would any of you bet on the Skins to win. It is what it is, a choke in Dullass

[redshirtguy#45]

1983 was great... "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" -- tom landry
1984 was as well, with the near fight at the end of the game.

1990 ... 3rd year in a row dallas wasnt good and they lost to them at least 1 time, of course the 2 other losses were at home (88, 89).

[Toe Jam]

kleese, stop going to the games. You're obviously the problem. :P

[SkinsCrushCowboys]

2005..I NEVER turn off a game early.....I did on this one. Went to bed mad, woke up and realized I missed something special. Then could not even get the full joy of rubbing it in the next day to the Dallas fans. Lesson learned...still makes me mad I tapped out early.

[hail2skins]

I think we won down there the last game of '76 to clinch a playoff spot.

And as RedShirtGuy mentioned, the '83 and '84 games were really good. "No Danny No" in '83 was followed by the Cowboys secondary attempt to break up the Fun Bunch celebration after Monk caught a long TD pass from Theismann.

2005......was in Denver on a trip and remember logging onto ES in the hotel as the game was ongoing and I think folks were about to throw in the towel on Gibbs until the magic happened.

[C.Taylor]

I'll add the '71 victory in the Cotton Bowl in the rain to the already-mentioned '74, '79 and '83 games as most memorable. To me, the highlight was Charlie Harraway's 56-yard touchdown run. The Redskins moved to 3-0, on their way to going 5-0. BIG upset.

[scruffylookin]

1979:

I don't remember this game however I was able to acquire it on video in it's entirety. Man if this happened today, I think everyone on ES would be on suicide watch. The Redskins looked great for a while, maybe class of the NFC that season. Dallas hung in there to their credit but it sure looked like a Redskin win for most of the game. The big play that is never mentioned was late in the game, the Redskins nursing a 6 point lead and they have a third and short (or was it 4th? it's been a while since watching the game) in Dallas territory. Riggins is stuffed and the Cowboys score the go ahead (and winning score) on the ensuing drive.

1980 or 81?:

I have one memory from I believe either the 80 or 81 game. It involved Joe Theismann getting hurt and then there being some sort of controversy over whether or not he was able to continue in the game or had to sit out a play. I don't remember if it was a critical point in the game and thus him sitting out being a big deal but I always remember this as being a big deal to me at the time.

1983:

No Danny No!!!! One of my most cherished games. 12-2 Redskins at 12-2 Dallas for the whole thing. NFC East and Home Field. After losing to Dallas in the opener, as great as the 83 Redskins were, they were chasing Dallas the entire season. That opening season head to head win gave Dallas the edge the whole season in the standing. So this was the showdown where the Redskins finally overtook Dallas and became the prohibitive favorite to win another Super Bowl. So much lore for this one. Some members of the Skins wearing fatigues on the plane ride down to Dallas. The aforementioned "No Danny No" from Tom Landry which was a HUGE deal back then. Dallas was always the cool and calm team and it was personified by Landry. For him to "lose it" even if for just a moment, on television was massive. Then there was the infamous breaking up of the Fun Bunch by Walls and Thurman. Great win for the Redskins. One of the biggest and greatest regular season wins in team history and certainly the biggest I've witnessed.

1984:

This game was split into two halves. The Cowboys dominated the first taking a 21-6 lead and the Redskins dominating the second to win 30-28. While I don't remember the Darrell Green pick 6 that started the comeback, I still do remember the ensuing kickoff fumble by Dallas and the Redskins scoring a few plays later to pull within 1. I was going nuts. There was tense 4th quarter where Dallas took the lead back before the Skins march to the go ahead score again. The big play being an Art Monk run on a reverse on 3rd down that got a first down. He avoided getting tackled in the backfield and turned a disaster into a huge first down deep in Dallas territory. The game ended when during the kneel down, a Cowboy speared Joe Theismann causing a bench clearing fight. The refs called the penalty on Dallas and ended the game right there before the clock hit zero.

1985:

The Theismann birthday disaster game. This was the first game I attempted to record myself, just got a VCR for the first time that summer. I remember Riggins scoring the first first Skins touchdown to cut the Dallas lead to 10-7 but after that it was all Dallas. I stopped recording and went to bed after a Dorsett touchdown in the 3rd.

1986:

Hershel Walker killed us this day. The 5-0 Skins go down to Dallas to bury the 3-2 Cowboys and instead we get killed by Walker who gained like 200 yards rushing and receiving on us. This was Mark Moseley's last game as a Skin. He missed a FG and extra point in this one. The big play here was with Dallas leading 16-6 in the 3rd I believe, Steve Pelleur (the starter at this point for Dallas) threw a fade in the endzone and it appeared Darrell Green intercepted the ball. But upon coming down to the ground in the endzone, the receiver wrestled it away from Darrell and the ref called it a TD for Dallas. The review didn't overturn it and Dallas was up 23-6 and the game was over.

1987:

The strike game. This is the game that made the Strike Skins legends. The defense dominated and kept Dallas at bay the whole game. Dallas drove late and the drive ended at the Skins 5 yard line.

1988:

Watched this one again a few weeks ago. This was Mark Rypien's first win as a starter. He was great but Kelvin Bryant was even better. Mark Rypien had a 30 yard TD run, I kid you not. Great win for the Redskins. This win coupled with the win next week against Phoenix was the only point in the season where it appeared the Skins would perhaps be able to defend their title.

1989:

This game is famous for Jerry Jones having some celebrity (was it Elizabeth Taylor?) call the coin toss at the beginning of the game. She called it and it was what she called, the Cowboys celebrated but the Redskins said, hey wait we are the visitors she called it for us. It was a small moment but just very funny. Coupled with the way he treated Landry, Jones really did make an awful first impression. The Redskins methodically won this game. They faced rookie Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh in this one. Aikman threw a pick 6 to Alvin Walton. Good solid win for the Skins after opening the season 0-2 losing two absolute heartbreakers to the Giants and Eagles at home.

1990:

I mentioned this one in another thread. Thanksgiving game that was a bit of a harbinger of things to come for Dallas as they began to look the part of a solid team again after bottoming out in 1988 and 89. The Redskins fell behind early but inched their way back into the lead in the 3rd only to have Dallas retake control led by Emmitt Smith.

1991:

Great game. Mark Rypien had some great throws in this one. A seesaw game with Dallas taking the lead early with Emmitt Smith running for big yards and then after he went out a halftime with the stomach flu, the Redskins were able to come back and retake control. Dallas scored a cosmetic score late to make the final score a bit closer than it was.

1992:

Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys announce their arrival on MNF.

1993:

I don't remember anything about this game. I know it was a 38-3 or something debacle but I have no memory of it whatsoever.

1994:

The only thing I recall about this one was that Desmond Howard had his first 100 yard game as a Redskin and Wilbon writing something to the effect that perhaps Desmond Howard has arrived. Otherwise this was another rout by Dallas. I think Norv used all three QBs in this game (Friesz, Shuler and Frerotte).

1995:

The upset part 2. Skins huge underdogs again against the eventual Super Bowl Champions and led by their defense they beat the Cowboys again. The defense did a great job in flustering Aikman and they shut down Emmitt Smith pretty well. Heath Shuler was efficient but he had a couple of great throws in this one. Terry Allen scored twice. It really was amazing just how good the Redskins looked in both games against Dallas that year and so crappy against most others.

1996:

Another Thanksgiving game I mentioned in another thread. This was supposed to be a passing the torch game. Instead we got more of the same as Emmitt scored 3 times and the Cowboys just pounded the Redskins 21-10.

1997:

I don't remember the specifics of this one other than the Redskins held an 8 point lead midway through the 4th. Dallas goes on a long drive, scores a td, gets the 2 point conversion to tie. Then shutdown the Skins on the next drive, get the ball back after a bad punt (I think) and then set up the winning FG to steal one. The story of the Norv Years for the most part. We had the look of a pretty good team but just found ways to lose.

1998:

All I remember about this one was Dallas resting a bunch of starters in this one. It was the season finale and Dallas had already sewn up the NFC East and their slot was established for the playoffs. They had nothing to play for and still beat us pretty easily which was a disappointment because the Redskins had been playing well after the 0-7 start to win 6 of 8 games.

1999:

This was the Deion game. Matt Turk KO's Deion on a punt return and gloats about it and then Deion goes on to break the game open later with a punt return for a TD.

2000:

LaVar ends Aikman's career, Jeff George dragged around the field and the Redskins show no fight for Terry Robiskie's first game as interim head coach.

2001:

This was loss 5 of the 0-5 start to Marty's tenure. This was billed as a "Toilet Bowl" game going into this Monday Night with both teams sucking. The Redskins trailed all game until a late Banks to Westbrook TD gave them a 7-6 lead. Stephen Davis fumbles as the Redskins are trying to kill clock and Dallas goes on to kick the game winner at the end of the game.

2002:

Another Thanksgiving defeat. Skins control the game midway through the 3rd quarter before Danny Wuerfel throws a pick to Roy Williams who returns it for a TD and the Cowboys go on to win 27-20. The score was close but it did not reflect just how much in control Dallas was after the Williams pick six.

2003:

Zero memory of this one. Didn't Taylor Jacobs score a TD late in this one or something? Forgettable.

2004:

This was a painful loss. I vividly remember throwing my remote after this loss. The Redskins led late and even converted a 4th down late I believe trying to kill more clock. Despite having sacked and harassed Testaverde all game, he somehow converted on 4th down and long on the final drive to extend the drive and then he found Crayton deep with seconds remaining and Dallas stole the win. Payback is coming though.

2005:

Don't need to go to much into this one. My feelings during this game was this. I was resigned to the fact we were going to lose to Dallas. Our offense looked like crap and had done nothing for two games now. I accepted the coming loss. But I kept watching. Then the Redskins scored twice to take the lead late. What I remember thinking was, "damn the Redskins. I accepted this loss, but now if we end up losing this thing 16-14 I will be crushed". It was a tense end to the game but when we won there was such euphoria and I think that is why this game is so remembered by those who stayed up to watch it. Accepting the loss, being stunned by the comeback, the tension of holding the lead and the euphoria of actually winning.

2006:

This was a Monday Night game in which the Cowboys really won easily. What I recall about this one was how the bloom came off the rose for me with Gibbs 2.0 during the postgame. I recall Gibbs praising Brunell for his garbage time throws and cosmetic score that I was just fed up with it. Fair or not, this is what I most remember from this game.

2007:

I don't recall too much about this one other than the Redskins driving deep into Dallas territory late in the game for the winning TD and JC throwing a pick to Newman.

2008:

Oh Jim Zorn looked so good for a moment in time. The Redskins hang in there for 2.5 quarters and then really take control of the game on the ground chewing up clock. They had to settle for 3 field goals to take a 9 point lead but they really were in control. Dallas does score late to make it a 2 point game (nothing is ever easy for the Skins) but they run out the clock to win. Things really did look very good for Zorn's Skins.

2009:

Another no memory game except for the end. Skins led 6-0 and the D had played great until of course Romo leads the Cowboys on the final drive, he escapes a sack from Orakpo to throw the go ahead touchdown late.

2010:

Sexy Rexy almost to the rescue. Rex's first start after McSuck was benched. Skins fall behind by 20 but then Rex catches fire and throws 4 touchdown passes and 2 2 pt conversions to tie the game late. Dallas drives to take the lead and Rex has a pick on the final drive to seal the loss.

2011:

Monday Night game where the Skins allow a 3rd and 21 conversion late and tack on a typical MeAngelo Hall 15 yard facemask penalty and the Cowboys are set up for the game winning field goal after the Redskins had the lead much of the 2nd half.

[Popeman38]

Sunday, September 28, 2008, 4:15. Last Redskins game at Texas Stadium. Flew down on Saturday morning with an old Army buddy. Went to the ES get together Saturday night. Rolled to stadium in cab at 8:00. Met up with Blondie's ES tailgate. Won a Redskins gnome in the pregame raffle. Partied with Portis' mom and Rock Cartwright's family. Went into game expecting the worst (Zorn was the coach!). Hung around the first half, and took control in the second half. Carlos Rogers shadowed TO all day, basically shutting him down. Romo turned the ball over a couple times, and Santana did what Santana does against Dallas. WE WIN IN DALLAS! Partied postgame for hours, and someone from the ES tailgate dropped us off at our hotel. Partied some more at the hotel bar watching the end SNF game (I have no idea who played that night). Flight home was at 6 Monday morning. Best. Flight. Ever. Plane left the ground, I left consciousness. Plane landed at Dulles, I gained consciousness. Wife picked me up, headed to Changs and pounded some chinese food. Was on a high all week, then we went into Philly and beat that ass too. Really thought we were starting something good.....

[Mr. Sinister]

Yeah, witrh the exception of '08 and '05, it's been nothing but one brutal loss after another. That victory in '05 felt so surreal. It was almost like we broke the laws of physics or something, like it was absolutely not supposed to happen..

[TD_washingtonredskins]

2005 is a popular one around here (for good reason) but my favorite memory in Dallas is the 1991 game. For a team that is spoken about as though they never dealt with adversity and waltzed to a Super Bowl, being down 21-10 on the road on MNF in week 2 is a pretty big deal. We battled back and actually almost won going away (we outscored Dallas 23-3 until they scored very late to make the score look more respectable). Great game.

1984 is a forgotten season since it ended very abruptly during what could have been a nice 3-year run. But, we finished 11-5 that year and swept the Cowboys (9-7) so those games were huge. The key game that season was the December game in Dallas. We both entered the game 9-5 and we found ourselves down 21-6 at halftime. We battled back to take a 23-21 lead after 3. Dallas re-took the lead in the 4th but Riggins won the game for us with a TD (30-28). That game, along with the following week's win at home against St. Louis, won us the division for the third straight year.

[Warhead36]

I remember thinking we were elite after that 08 game, that Zorn was going to take a good team Gibbs built and modernize it into a juggernaut. Didn't hurt that we beat the Eagles in Philly the next week. Oh how things spiraled downwards after that...

[kleese]

A note.... The game in 1999 Scruffy mentioned was also the game where Snyder publicly reamed Norv in the hallway after the game.