Redskins Rewind: Redskins v. Dallas

SmootSmack

Redskins vs. Cowboys

If I were to type a column about the storied Redskins vs. Cowboys rivalry from the beginning, my fingers would fall off. And we don’t want that because shoot at this rate I may have to suit up at DB on Sunday. So I’m just going to focus on the Redskins vs. Cowboys during the Gibbs 1.0 era, excluding the Monday Night games I covered the last time around.

In the late 70s, early 80s the Dallas Cowboys at the time were one of the best teams in the NFC, if not the league. In fact they were like the Eagles of today (until this year, HAHA!), always the bridesmaid never quite the bride. Meanwhile, the Redskins were never even invited to the party. Regressing under Jack Pardee, Jack Kent Cooke and Bobby Beathard made the switch to Joe Gibbs as head coach in 1981. On September 6, 1981 Joe Gibbs took the sideline for the first time ever as an NFL head coach. Fittingly, it was a home game against the Cowboys. And it was ugly; Joe Theismann killed three drives in Dallas territory with interceptions. And Gibbs, still firmly entrenched in the Air Coryell philosophy, called for nearly 50 passing plays and less than 20 running plays. It was not a pleasant welcome to Washington for Joe Gibbs as the Redskins lost 26-10. Later that season, the Redskins would travel to Dallas and fall to the Cowboys 24-10.

In 1982, the Cowboys and Redskins faced each other just once during the strike-shortened regular season. The 4-0 Redskins welcomed the Cowboys to RFK in early December. The Cowboys got on the board first when Ron “Shawn’s Daddy” Springs scored on an 8-yard reception. By the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were up 17-0 and Joey T had been sacked seven times already (all in the first half). The Hogs buckled down in the 4th quarter though, and started giving Theismann better pass protection. The Skins rallied to make it 17-10. But that’s as close as it would get as Ron Springs broke off a 50 yard run with about five minutes left in the game to seal it 24-10.

Joe Gibbs was establishing himself as one of the game’s best young head coaches, but one thing he had not been able to do yet was beat the Cowboys. Still, that did nothing to deter the 55,000 rabid fans at RFK on January 22, 1983. Cowboys vs. Redskins. Loser go home, winner go to Super Bowl XVII in Pasadena. Dallas had lost the previous two NFC Championship games and was trying to avoid a third straight loss. By halftime, it looked like the third time would not be the charm for Dallas as they trailed the Redskins 14-3. More importantly, at the end of the half Dexter Manley had knocked Cowboys QB (and Punter) Danny White out of the game with a concussion. If the Cowboys were going come back in the second half, they would have to do it with unknown backup QB Gary “Survivor” Hogeboom. Working with a short field early in the third allowed Hogeboom to hook up with Drew Pearson for a TD to pull within 14-10. The Redskins came right back, after Mike Nelms set them up with a 76-yard kickoff return that put the Skins in the Dallas red zone. Riggins capped off the drive with a TD run to give the Redskins some breathing room. But not for long, Hogeboom was unfazed as he marched the Cowboys 85 yards for another TD.

Fourth quarter, the Cowboys are trailing 24-17 and they start with the ball at their own 20. Then it happened. The play that let the world know the Redskins and their fans had arrived. Hogeboom dropped back to pass, DT Darryl Grant started his rush but then saw Tony Dorsett drift out for a screen pass so he dropped back into coverage. Meanwhile, DE Dexter Manley beat his blocker and had a clear path to Hogeboom. Hogeboom, not wanting to be another Manley victim, threw the ball away. But Manley timed his jump perfectly and tipped the ball into the hands of Darryl Grant who high-stepped into the end zone to give the Redskins a 31-17 lead. RFK was rocking-literally. You could see the stadium move under the feet of the rabid fans.

Gibbs, who by now had learned the way to win was to ride the power legs of John Riggins, had added new wrinkles to his offense for this game. Rick Walker lined up as a split end, and Don Warren was a man in motion. This spread the field and allowed Riggo to pound the ball up the middle and seal the win and a trip to Super Bowl XVII.

When the Redskins and Cowboys met on December 11, 1983 the rivalry was as strong as ever. Both teams were 12-2 going into the match up at Texas Stadium. Having won the season opener over the Redskins, a win would mean the NFC East for the Cowboys. But the Redskins were ready to battle, so much so that they arrived at Dallas wearing army fatigues. And early on, it looked like the Redskins would win this war easily. On their first two possessions, the Skins scored two touchdowns go jump out to a 14-0 lead. But Dallas wouldn’t go down quietly. The momentum shifted when Riggo was stopped on 4th and inches at midfield allowing the Cowboys to start a mini-rally and go into the locker room down just 14-10. The momentum shifted right back at the start of the second half, with Dallas facing 4th and less than a yard at midfield. Landry called for a hard count to try to draw the Redskins offsides. Instead, the TV cameras caught a shocked Landry on the sideline as White audible and handed it off to Ron Springs who was quickly stuffed. Rookie CB Darrell Green would help seal the game with an interception that set up a 43-yard TD pass from Joe Theismann to Art Monk. John Riggins put the final nail in the coffin with his second TD of the day, his 23rd of the year (tying OJ Simpson for most rushing TDs in one season…whatever happened to that Simpson guy?), to make the final score Redskins 31, Cowboys 10.

Almost exactly a year later, both teams would meet again in Texas with the division lead on the line. This time it was the Cowboys who stormed to the early lead. The Dallas passing game was making a fool out of Darrell Green and burned him for two first half touchdowns. Behind White’s three first half TDs, Dallas held a solid 21-6 lead at halftime. But, as the league was starting to learn, you keep throwing in Green’s direction and some point you’re going to get burned. At the start of the second half, DG stepped in front of a Danny White pass and ran it back for a TD. On the ensuing kickoff, Anthony Washington recovered a Dallas fumble which set up another Redskins TD. Yet another fumble later in the quarter set up a Moseley FG which gave the Redskins a 23-21 lead. Riggo closed the game with a 1-yard TD run to give the Redskins a 30-28 win and sole possession of first place in the division.

We’ll skip past 1985 because it was ugly in both games for the Redskins.

The Redskins were 5-0 when they traveled to Dallas in October of 1986. The Cowboys weren’t intimidated at all. They cruised to a 30-6 win. Notable from this game was that Mark Moseley missed an extra point and a field goal attempt (his six in the past nine games). This would end up being his last game ever as a Redskin as he was released just a few days later.

The Cowboys would get their revenge a few weeks later at RFK. It was ugly for the Cowboys from the start on this late November afternoon. Dallas fumbled the opening kickoff and Washington took advantage with a 14-yard TD run by George Rogers. Later in the quarter Jay Schroeder connected with Clint Didier for a 71-yard TD. By halftime, the Redskins held a ridiculous 34-0 lead. Meanwhile, the defense did its job recording five sacks for the game and holding Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker to less than 20 yards combined for the game. The second half was notable for the Redskins debut of Doug Williams who finished the game 0-1. The Redskins won easily 41-14.

We’ll jump now to 1989 because my fingers are getting tired and the games of 1987 and 1988 were rather uneventful. A Sunday night game in early November 1989 in front of a national television audience was quite different. The Cowboys had gone a facelift in the offseason. Gone were Tex Schramm and Tom Landry (the only head coach the franchise had ever known), replaced by Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson. Gone was Herschel Walker in exchange for several Vikings draft picks (but no boat). These Cowboys were young and bad, really bad. But on this night they came to play, and the Redskins clearly overlooked the 0-8 Cowboys and handed them their first win of the season, falling to the Cowboys 13-3. Dallas RB Paul Palmer scored the game’s only touchdown and finished the day with 110 yards on 18 carries. (Side note: Palmer went to the same high school I did, albeit many years earlier. Anyhow, he’s one of the top football players from my high school and in the lobby was a Palmer display with his picture and various awards. It really sucked having to go to school Monday morning and see his face every time I walked past the lobby that day.)

Two years later, the Redskins would welcome the Cowboys to RFK for a late November showdown. The Cowboys were a much better team they were two years ago. With players like QB Troy Aikman, RB Emitt Smith, and WR Michael Irvin Dallas was starting to develop key players at skill positions and build an identity. However, while they might have been a better team, the Redskins were the best. At 11-0, the Redskins were dominating their opponents both offensively and defensively [for perspective- 2005 Colts (at 11-0): 331 points scored, 159 allowed; 1991 Redskins (at 11-0): 361 points scored, 139 allowed]. Just like when the 5-0 Redskins faced the Cowboys in 1986, or the 0-8 Cowboys faced the Redskins in 1989, Dallas didn’t care about the Redskins’ record. Emmit Smith tied the game at 7-7 when he scored on a 3rd and 15th draw play in the second half. This threw the Redskins off, and Jimmy Johnson added to the Redskins’ confusion by calling for an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. The Cowboys closed the half with a Hail Mary touchdown to Alvin Harper for a 14-7 lead. In the second half, Charles Mann knocked Troy Aikman out of the game but backup Steve Buerlein was effective enough and the Redskins could never come back. Washington had its first loss of the season, falling to Dallas 24-21.

Joe Gibbs 1.0’s last game against Dallas came on December 14, 1992. To steal a page from Gibbs, the Redskins “played their guts out” this game. It looked like the Redskins’ valiant effort would be for naught though as Dallas held on to a 17-13 late in the 4th quarter. With Dallas at their own five, Aikman dropped back to pass but Redskins tackle Jason Buck knocked the ball out of his hand (this was in the days before the “tuck rule”), Emmitt Smith picked up the ball in the endzone and inexplicably tossed it forward. Redskins Safety Danny Copeland jumped on the football for what proved to be the game winning TD as the Redskins improved their playoff chances with a 20-17 win.

Now say it with me…WE WANT DALLAS!!!!!!

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Thanks for taking the time to write this

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--UMD Fight Song

BSB-2010