This just in!
The Cowboys still beat the Redskins 14-10! Never gets old does it? Join me then for an ice-cold, schadenfreude six-pack, Redskins' flavor:
"There was a silence inside FedEx Field last night. It was the kind of silence 90,830 people can make when the euphoria drains from the season and a hated rival is running off the field with arms raised, shouting into the evening chill.
The kind of silence that comes later in a locker room, not from the players' mouths but from the hollow glaze in their eyes, the slumped shoulders and the raised eyebrows that says they worry something could be amiss, that a season could be falling apart and they aren't quite sure how to get it back."
-- Another Defeat Leaves the Redskins at a Loss -- The Washington Post
Feeling exposed? Feeling like you're rooting for a team that's exposed? Where's Fred Smoot? Probably having his red cape washed after ole-ing so many tackles.
Barber touched the ball on 11 consecutive plays (10 rushes, one reception), and Romo kneeled twice to run out the clock. Barber finished with 114 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown, faring much better than he did in a 26-yard performance during Washington's 26-24 win on Sept. 28 at Dallas.
"I worked hard in the offseason and in practice, and I had the energy at the end of the game," Barber said. "When you have guys up front making holes, it can happen."
-- "They Threw the Last Punch" -- The WaPo
Tastes good, doesn't it? Have another can of Washington doubt:
It's one thing for the Washington Redskins not to register a sack, much less lay a finger on Tony Romo. Or to let their quarterback, Jason Campbell, go down 10 times in the past two home games. Zero pass rush plus lousy protection, after all, usually equals a loss.
But to give a tin-man franchise like the Dallas Cowboys its heart back, to not keep down their rivals right when they appeared ready to fold early on national television? That borders on inexcusable.
-- They Can't Finish What They Started, Mike Wise, The Washington Post
Seems the Redskins regulars are not happy about the hordes of Steelers and Cowboys fans who invaded FedEx the last two games:
"No question, fans in blue-and-white jerseys still were all over the place - tailgating, cheering, and enjoying themselves with little harassment - even on a night when Art Monk and Darrell Green received their Hall of Fame rings. They were just a little bit quieter than Steelers fans were two weeks ago.
"The more Cowboys fans here, the better," said Allan Johnson, a Corpus Christi, Texas, native and a senior at George Washington. "I just think it's important for the team to see they have support on the road."
Johnson bought his ticket on eBay for $125 - and did not inform the seller he was a Cowboys fan until after the sale. He was among a throng of Dallas fans that mingled in the parking lots before heading into the stadium."
-- Visitors Feeling at Home, The Washington Times
Excessive? No. Depraved? Don't care. Two weeks ago the gloom was all about this fan nation. I'm happy to see the dark cloud driven to the Mid-Atlantic this week.