Dallas has played ten games this year decided by seven or fewer points. They are 5-5.
Washington has played ten teams this year decided by seven or fewer points. They are 5-5.
Joe Gibbs has coached against Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells, the three Cowboys head coaches who matter. Nothing in this series will surprise him.
Bill Parcells has coached against Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Joe Gibbs. Nothing in this series will surprise him either, though it would have been fun to see him match wits with George Allen.
This is the second matchup of the season between division rivals. Dallas has looked worse in both second features against the Eagles and the Giants.
This rivalry is bigger than the Eagles and Giants.
I've put my new bottle of vodka in the freezer. I'm practicing deep breathing. I've promised myself I will turn off this blog, make like the players and not post anything until fifteen minutes after the final gun. And that was on Tuesday.
This is a rivalry people, which means anything can happen and often does. I can think of many reasons why the records and trends and injuries mean nothing. I'll give you two:
1995 -- Dallas goes 12-4 and wins the Super Bowl. It loses to the playoff-bound 49ers, the playoff-bound Eagles and twice to the 6-10 Washington Redskins;
1989 -- my personal favorite. The 0-8 Cowboys, led by first year HC Jimmy Johnson, upset the 4-4 Redskins in RFK for their only win of the year. Joe Gibbs' guys would win their final five games to finish 10-6, but miss the playoffs by one game -- that loss to the 1-15 'Boys would have given them the tie-breaker over the Rams for the final NFC berth.
Is there anybody who honestly thinks this will be a blowout? I'd love to hear why.