[sportscurmudgeon]

Having scored touchdowns on 3 consecutive possessions in the 2nd half to tie the score, the Redskins got the ball back from the Cowboys at their own 4 yardline with 4:46 to play. The Redskins had ALL the momentum

They also had the QB who "knew the two-minute offense" well and who had "adequate cardio-vascular conditioning". [Remember, that was why he went into the Detroit game with less than spectacular results about 6 weeks ago.] They needed to drive the field for a score to win.

Six plays later - after sacks - the Skins had to punt from their 8 yardline (net movement = 4 yards) and the Cowboys got the ball on their own 48 yardline with 3:11 to play. [Was anyone confident that the defense would keep Dallas out of field goal range at that point? I certainly was not.]

After the field goal put Dallas up by 3 points, the Redskins got the ball back at their 20 with 50 seconds to play - - but with no timeouts because those were correctly used on defense to preserve time on the clock.

The Skins needed about 50 yards to have a fair shot at a field goal to tie the game. Let's just say it didn't happen.

When the game came down to what Al McGuire always called "winning time" - - final 5 minutes and the score is tied - - the offense sputtered and the defense gave up enough yards to give up a score.

The game was close; the game was exciting to watch. But in the end, this was the same result we have seen from the Redskins for the past couple of years. Key offensive drives don't go anywhere; key defensive stops are rarely made.

The only difference between yesterday's final five minutes and the final five minutes of a close game coached by Jim Zorn last year was that Zorn had a special consultant calling the offensive plays from up in the pressbox and Mike Shanahan did not.