Cowboys and Redskins at Dallas - A Look Back
by DavidH22 on Nov 21, 2009 3:32 PM CST
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PrintThis is of course the first time that the Washington Redskins will visit the new Cowboys Stadium. There were some great match-ups between these two rivals at Texas Stadium, especially in the last 30 years – or as long as I’ve been watching the Cowboys. Now is as good a time as any to take a look back. Here’s my Top Ten Cowboys-Redskins in Texas Stadium Games in the Last 30 Years.
10) Tied - 2000-2002: 32-13 (Dallas), 9-7 (Dallas), 27-20 (Dallas)
In these leans years (three straight 5-11 seasons), you could still count on the Cowboys to crush the Redskins. In these three games the Cowboys were quarterbacked by Troy Aikman (in his last game ever), Anthony Wright and Chad Hutchinson, and the offense passed for just 122 yards per game. But the running game more than picked up the slack, rushing for an astounding 664 yards combined, with Emmitt Smith running for 401 of those yards. Of course, it helped that the Redskins were fielding quarterbacks such as Jeff George, Tony Banks and Danny Wuerffel. Yikes!
9) 2004: 13-10 (Dallas)
In a down year for Bill Parcells’ Cowboys, this game was special if only for the reason that it took a 39-yard bomb to rookie Patrick Crayton with about 30 seconds remaining. Plus, it meant that the Cowboys swept Joe Gibbs’s team his comeback year.
8) 1993: 38-3 (Dallas)
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. In the first game of the regular season, the defending champion, Emmitt-less Cowboys stumbled against the Redskins and new head coach Richie Pettibon at RFK, losing handily 35-16. Fourteen games later, the Cowboys were rolling toward their second straight NFL Championship and the Redskins were falling apart like a cheap Coney Island t-shirt. Dallas won 38-3, which is the biggest point spread in the history of the rivalry.
7) 2007: 28-23 (Dallas)
It took four Tony Romo touchdown passes to Terrell Owens, a late-game, red-zone interception by Terrence Newman, some clutch 3rd down stops that forced Joe Gibbs to settle for field goals, and a controversial overturned interception to help Dallas eke out a five-point win at Texas Stadium. Redskins QB Jason Campbell threw for 348 yards and 2 TDs.
6) 1996: 21-10 (Dallas)
It was a season where the offense struggled all year long, and the Cowboys were just coming off a 20-6 loss to the lowly Giants where Emmitt rushed for a measly 20 yards and was replaced in the 4th quarter by Sherman Williams. Thanksgiving Day found 7-5 Dallas going up against the 8-4 Redskins. Emmitt took over, rushing for 155 yards and 3 TDs, while the defense stifled Norv Turner’s offense. The Cowboys used that game as a launching pad to win three in a row and their 5th straight NFC East title, while the Redskins crashed-and-burned to 9-7 and out of the playoffs. Interesting note: Aikman had a horrible day passing (19-9-61-0-1) but the team still pulled it out. Guess his “leadership” really won the day.
5) 1992: 23-10 (Dallas)
Opening day of the 1992 season showed that the Cowboys were ready for the prime time stage. Aikman threw a touchdown, Emmitt ran for 140 yards, the defense held the 1991 Super Bowl champs to 260 total yards, and the special teams blocked a punt for a safety and had a punt return TD. What a way to start a Super Bowl winning season.
4) 1997: 17-14 (Dallas)
This was one of the few last-second comebacks led by Aikman, the last hurrah of the Switzer era, and the last Cowboys win of the 1997 season. The game-tying drive included a critical 4th down pass to Irvin, and the two-point conversion to Emmitt could be the only crucial two-pointer in Cowboy history.
3) 1985:44-14 (Dallas)
Joe Theismann famously celebrated his birthday on this opening game Monday Night Football matchup by throwing 5 interceptions. Danny White threw a long bomb to Mike Renfro right before halftime, and the Cowboys were off to winning the last NFC East title of the Tom Landry era. The desert of the late 80s was waiting.
2) 1990: 27-17 (Dallas)
We knew the young Cowboys had something special going when they beat the Redskins on this Thanksgiving day. Aikman, Irvin and Emmitt the rookie all played crucial roles in helping the team come back from a 17-10 second half deficit. The game was over when Emmitt shook off Darrell Green for the clinching 48-yard TD run.
1) 1979: 35-34 (Dallas)
Do I even need to describe this game?
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Good list but to us older fans the 1974 Thanksgiving game is
easily a top 5 and my number 1. I was 8 years old in the 3rd grade and though I had played Peewee football 2 years in Carrollton that was the game that cemented my love for football.
KICK ASS every day!!!
That was when the rivalry was full throttle. Washington was going to wrap up the division with a win
They had said before the game hey were going to knock Staubach out of the game and then they did. We were flat before that and gettin beat 14-3. Staubach goes down and here comes a rookie from no where. They start acting like the game is won and we come back and score with a 50 yard bomb to Pearson with 30 seconds left. Sweeeeet!!!!
KICK ASS every day!!!
It was an Opening Day game...I think, in '99.
In OT, Aikman hit the Rocket for the 76-yard game winner. What a great game that was to kick off the Dan Snyder era. You couldn’t expect anything more on Opening Day.
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
Yes that was a great game
But the topic is greatest games in Dallas, not at Washington.
Just for misery sake, my top five LOSSES at Dallas include:
5) 1995: 24-17
4) 1987: 13-7
3) 2005: 14-13
2) 1984: 30-28
1) 1983: 31-10
Oh, sorry I missed that.
That 2005 one still hurts. Last year’s 26-24 did as well. Boy, I hope they corral that Moss.
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
by Aaron Novinger on Nov 21, 2009 5:14 PM CST up reply actions
Past 30 years
sorry I am not as old as you cowpokes…
1979 was definitely the best Cowboys-Skins game ever
And my personal favorite football game of all time
we were down by 13 with just minutes left
and Roger the Dodger worked his magic like never before, it was a thing of beauty. You got to watch it, words don’t do it justice.
In Romo we Trust
I remember it well because on that day, Dallas, Philly and the Skins were all tied for the division lead...
I remember Chicago blowing out another team and that made the game more meaningful because of a points scored tiebreaker. It was all Washington out of the gate. Dallas got shut out in the first quarter because they kept fumbling the frickin’ football!. In fact, it was 17-0 before Staubach drove Dallas down the field for a Ron Springs TD.
I remember Dallas getting the ball back and driving the ball downfield but getting called for holding put them out near the 30. What happened next gave me total confidence that Dallas would somehow win this game. It was third and forever and the Dodger bought an extra second or two and hit Preston Pearson (no one was more clutch than him in those days) for a touchdown. We were down 17-14 but I new we’d win.
We scored early…I dont remember if we had the ball first or forced a punt…but we put another solid drive together. So it was 21-17 Dallas when the 4th quarter started. Washington started rolling again. I remember it was third and inches for Washington deep in Dallas territory and (this was the key play in the game IMO) Theisman faked a sneak, pulled up and threw to a wide open receiver. Only one problem: he missed him. The Skins kicked a FG.
21-20 when Staubach threw a PIC to Mark Murphy ( he was always a nemesis) and Riggins scored on a short run not much later. 27-21 Skins after Dallas punted and that’s when Riggins broke one of the longest runs of his career. I remember Cliff Harris trying to tackle him and just getting thrown off of him like Riggins was waving off an insect.
34-21 Skins and Dallas punted again because of another holding penalty. I remember the O-line just being putrid that day but Roger never giving up (note to Romo). The Skins had the ball with like 6 minutes left and then Harmon fumbled and Manster recovered. That was the second key play. Roger got them down field and threw a TD to Ron Springs with like 2:30 left. This is when the third key play happened. With the Skins at third and 2, needing a first down to ice the game, Larry Cole, my uncle’s favorite player…mostly because they were friends… came out of nowhere to blast Riggins for a loss. The crowd went berzerk and you just knew magic was about to happen.
The Redskins punted. The 4th key play was typical Roger. He actually had to crouch and duck underneath a Skins lineman running free who would have sacked ANY other QB in the league at that time (except for Tarkenton) and hit Pearson just outside the 20. A few plays later, with 42 seconds left and Dallas at the 8 yard line, Staubach took the snap, took one step back with his right leg and threw the most perfect fade in NFL history to Tony Hill.
Now what most people don’t know or remember about this game (much like Danny White’s forgotten heroics after Dwight Clark’s catch) is that Theismann threw a completion to the Cowboys 42 but the Skins couldn’t get the officials to register their time out call and the game ended. It would have been a ridiculously long FG, but Mark Mosely was a good kicker and I am glad I didn’t have to see him try it.
I saw it in 1979 and have probably seen it a dozen times since. This was truly one of the greatest games in NFL history, not just Redskins-Cowboys history.
"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
that was a good read
as a fan who was born 8 years later, its fun to read stuff like that.
I like Tony but. . .
. . .he often gives up with his face, posture, everything. Hard to say that quantitatively it has cost them games, but I’ll bet it has. He’s supposed to be the field general. I think you’d rarely, if ever, see truly great QBs doing that. It seems to be improving a bit this year, so maybe it’s just part of his maturation process. We’ll see.
gives up with his face?? Are you serious??
you have to be kidding, right?? If not, then just the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever read, and thats saying something.
In Romo we Trust
That Larry Cole drop. . .
. . of Riggins was amazing.
Was #7 Campbell's best game as a pro?
"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
yes but
our coaches ( wade) deserve some credit for playing a prevent freakin defense the whole fourth.
How many yards did he have in the 4th?
"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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