The Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys have been playing
each other twice a season since the early 1960’s and both have been among the
NFL’s better teams since 1971. Given those facts, it is strange that there have
been very few meaningful games played between the two teams in Washington in
December.
Part of that odd fact is due to the scheduling. No
conspiracy theories are being advanced here about the league showing favoritism
towards “America’s Team”, but since 1970 the NFL scheduling folks have had the
Redskins playing in Dallas in December 13 times while the Cowboys have traveled
to DC during the 12th month just eight times. That’s just a
coincidence, no doubt.
And it’s safe to say that none of those games has held as
much meaning for both teams as the one coming up this Sunday will. Here’s a
quick look at those eight previous regular season December Dallas at Washington
games in the past 35 years:
- Cowboys
24, Redskins 10 12/5/82—The Redskins suffer their only loss of the
season, falling to Dallas 24-10. Despite the loss, Washington still
finished with a better record and seeding in the postseason tournament and
had the right to host the Cowboys in the NFC title game.
- Redskins
24, Cowboys 20 12/13/87—Washington was rolling to the division title
and Dallas dropped to 5-8 following the Redskins’ 24-20 win.
- Cowboys
24, Redskins 17 12/11/88—The Redskins had a chance to sent this one
into overtime, but a Doug Williams pass intended for Don Warren was batted
away at the last second and the Cowboys held on for the win. There were no
playoff implications as the Redskins were 7-8 after the game and Dallas
was 3-12 in Tom Landry’s last season.
- Redskins
20, Cowboys 17 12/13/92—This one did have some meaning for both teams,
for the Redskins more than Dallas. The Cowboys came in with just two
losses and they were looking to clinch the NFC East title. Washington was
8-5 and a win would go a long way towards snagging a Wild Card playoff
spot. The Redskins trailed most of the game but got the game-winning
points when Jason Buck knocked the ball out of Troy Aikman’s hands in the
Dallas end zone and safety Danny Copeland picked it up for a touchdown.
Washington would lose its last two games but would get the help it needed
to claim the last Wild Card spot.
- Redskins
37, Cowboys 10 12/22/96—The game itself was nothing more than an
exhibition as Washington had been eliminated from the playoffs the
previous week and Dallas was locked in to its postseason seed. The
attraction was venerable RFK Stadium as this was the Redskins’ last game
here.
- Cowboys
20, Redskins 14 12/2/01—Marty Schottenheimer’s team had just won five
in a row to rebound from an 0-5 start, but they couldn’t beat rookie
quarterback Quincy Carter to keep the momentum going.
- Redskins
20, Cowboys 14 12/29/02—Again, the game was a mere backdrop, a contest
between two teams going nowhere but home. It did serve as an excuse for a
party to celebrate the career of Darrell Green, who played his last game
and did a nice victory lap afterwards.
- Cowboys
27, Redskins 0, 12/14/03—Dallas did need this game to keep pace in the
NFC Wild Card race while the Redskins, as the score indicated, were going
nowhere. This is the game in which Tim Hasselbeck posted a 0.0 quarterback
rating.
On Sunday, neither team can clinch a playoff spot. All that
is at stake is a chance to keep fighting for one. Although the loser is not
eliminated, but the number of scenarios that will let that team keep playing
after January 1 shrinks dramatically.
