When Washington ran right over Dallas on the Redskins’ first offensive possession for a score, I did not believe in the Cowboys.
When the Dallas offense blew two drives in Washington territory with interceptions (one was Tony Romo’s fault, the other wasn’t), I did not believe in the Cowboys.
When the kickoff team gave up a 58-yard return after Dallas scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7, I did not believe in the Cowboys.
When Washington took a 10-7 lead at the half thanks to that kickoff return, I did not believe in the Cowboys.
When Dallas couldn’t take advantage of a Terence Newman interception in the third quarter . . . when the Cowboys couldn’t take advantage of a missed field goal by Shaun Suisham in the third quarter . . . when Dallas faced a third-and-7 from the Washington 33 with 11:29 remaining in the game . . . I did not believe in the Cowboys.
But on that third-and-7 play, Romo flipped the ball to Miles Austin, who rolled ahead to pick up the first down.
One play later, Romo threw to rookie Martellus Bennett, who made the type of catch we’d like to see on NFL Films years later. Bennett outjumped two Redskin defenders to haul in a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Suddenly, it was 14-10. Washington drove the ball to the Dallas 37 and had a chance to pick up a first down. A Redskin rookie, Devin Thomas– perhaps someone Dallas should have picked instead of Bennett, we might have thought– dropped a Jason Campbell pass. This set up a 4th-and-4, which meant we had to worry about Santana Moss and Chris Cooley, along with plenty of other weapons.
Moss went in motion. Newman stuck with Moss like glue. Campbell stepped up into the pocket and then tried to get he ball out to Moss. Newman was right there to break up the play.
Then Marion Barber and the offensive line took over. Barber ran right and left. He ran six straight times, until Dallas faced its own 3rd down play– 3rd and 8 from the Washington 36 with 2:49 left. Romo found Barber over the middle, and Barber did the rest by picking up the first down.
Barber ran the ball four more times, including a sweep to the right on a 4th-and-2 play with 1:08 left.
I’ve obviously been watching too many 1960s and 1970s era highlights, but I believed in the Cowboys during that final drive. The offensive line wasn’t great all night, but it was on the final drive. Barber and Romo weren’t great all day, but they made the plays they had to make when it counted. Terrell Owens wasn’t great, but he made a play that set up a big touchdown at the end of the first half.
Bradie James was around the ball all night, finishing with eight tackles and two assists. Newman never let Moss become a factor. Jay Ratliff picked up two sacks and was a force on the line. Keith Davis made some big hits from the strong safety position.
Know what? This isn’t a 9-7 bunch of losers after all. This team can do something with this season.
