NFC EAST RIVALRIES: REDSKINS-COWBOYS A X A IIV!,l{l-} 51 \G S !'; rP}-}rli* \'f By Michael Iichman f, lo opPonent in the modern l\lera oi the Washington I IR.ortint has sparked as much resentment among PlaYers and fans in the Nation's CaPital' Maybe it's those stars on the helmets, or that sacrosanct image of the self-dubbed "America's Team," or that mYth about the hole in the roof at Texas Stadium "so God can watch his favorite team play" - all elements that have fueled an abhorrence of the snooty CowboYs. As former Redskins guard Mark MaY eloquently Put it after a41-14 rout of Dallas in 1986: "There are three great things in life' Winning the lottery. having a baby and beating the CowboYs this badly." That Washington and Dallas Extra Etfort: seanTavlor made a great 1X""il^tTT$:LT":fr:1":1on" or,r," besr, in fact, the NFL has ever had-to from the attempt but couldn't stopTerry Glenn's somerhing to do with it, too. The .i""i;;";k; early offer has 27th - foes, btitr perennial contenders for touchdown in this year's sept' 1g70s ro rhe mid-1gg0s, when the NFC Easr anoihet. Those clashes meeting at FedExField' .".i period, collideJin one epic battle after "i,t moments, including: produced noihottug." of indelible in 1913; iine to preserve a Redskins' Monday night victory ! Kenny Houston tackling walt Garrison at the-goal IobscurerookieclintLingleythrowinga5o-liarotouchdownpasstoDrewPearsoninthelastsecondstobitethe Redskins on Thanksgiving Day in l9'74; final regular-season game in 19'79 to spoil the Redskins' I Tony Hill catching a last-minute scoring pass in the nt*"fl$X;rl intercepted pass to secure the Redskins'NFC championship Granr high-stepping into the end zone with an c"'"i$,;il|,%i"X? down fleet-rooted running back l?i,1ll;?:,,t or nowhere in a 1e83 Monday Night game to bring o t"JJ.iffi*rics the dreaded games pitting the burgundy and gold against bo are part of rhe hysteria rhat has accompanied ttHJlL;tlH, a Harl of Fame safety who played in played Dallas was unbelievable," says Houston, when we you hadn't o ..If and you weren't bleeding or could barely walk, from 1g73 to 1gg0. you came out of the game, washington year' We just loved to play F we could have played them ev:ry game during the + played. They really feft tite that. I wish games a 4 o'clock stafi' RFK' Those kinds of perfect setting: Monday Nllrtt, rnuntsgiving Day' a.l them. It was always the o still give You goose bumPs'" ST]PPLF'MENT HAIL IO THE REOSNII{S A SPEC]AL H]STORICAI- A,\ A *VllR'f'i $ I 5l* S i-' PPi AL4;1lJ'l who played during the Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach' Sameera,agrees:..ltwasuultt"'rivalry,andbothteamswerereallyintense.We respect'" didn't like itrem, they didn't like us' But there was a lot of meetings (with Dallas holds a 53-34-2edge over the Redskins in head-to-head attributable to Dallas winning u o"". ze matchup ahead) , i sizeable gap largely seven of the last eight games and 13 of the last 16' 1 t ffiwhenthestakeshaveu."nt'lgt'""'t.IlntheNFCchampionshipgameo1D'ec.3|,l972,posted a 14-7- victorv-,1^t^-., to cap a 17-0 26-3 toadvance t" s"p* B;;l vll,^where the Dolpliins !1- - rrn^ ^L^*-:^-.l^ih guo'"a^ma onnn lqnlan.22,1e83,washington )) 1QR3. WashinStOn campaign in NFLnrrJ'y. rn' the NFC champronship ":iljJrffih]|fiBlir^::::ll!|'#iliffiffi, - o.--^- D^..,1 v\/TT f^r thethc Redskins'theirRedqkins' thei rirst i,lffi;l'ih"iiiJ ;H*,,;i:i;";";;;;;.;;il the Dorphins zt-it insuper Bowr XVII ror NFL title in 40 Years. that began boiling when the cowboys were wins represent the pinnacle for washington in a rivalry Those spectacular moved to the meeting betiveen the teams 26-14 in 1960' the Cowboys just a thought. After the Redskins *on ih" first between the rivals that has existed since' over the 1961, the first season of a home"-and-home series Eastem Conference in team and the Redskins remained mired in mediocrity, neither next seven seasons, u, tt" io*roys rose to prominence and 1967 engaged in some wild battles resembling recorded a season sweep of the otirer. And between 1965 ,they offensive shootouts at the OK - . .=- Conal: 34-31 Redskins' 31-30 :s * .* ,# nff*ff 't r' I €= ".e->w k ifll?,i;iJ;fil;15''' " %::*; Redskins. In four of those five ,".$: 19. &+; "@' 3€ games, the winning Points came q; <. two minutes. '"f, in the final ;* Washington's strength was a potent aerial attack led bY quarterback SonnY Jurgensen' receivers CharleY TaYlor and Bobby Mitchell, all future Hall of Famers, and talented tight end Jeny Smith. The CowboYs, who lost in the NFL title games to Green Bay in 1966 and 1961 , featured quarterback Don Meredith and wide receiver and Olympic gold medal sPnnter Bob Hayes, along with a star- studded defense. "They had a very, very explosive passing game," Cowboys Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bob LillY saYs' "Sonny was alwaYs scarY. a very good receiver for a tight end' Hitting the Hole: Larry Brown (43) Bobby was fast. Taylor was always open. Smith was you really didn't need a running followed Len Hauss and Jerry The running game wasn't that gr;at, but with Sonny, defense, there's no telling what they would have smith.in 1g72, game. If they'd have had a coiparable done." AccordingtoJurgensen,..PlayingtheCowboyswasatremendouschallengeforus.Therivalrygrewbecausetheywere trying to get better, and any time we avery good football team. For us, we were struggling and a class organi zarion, them to score a toi of points to beat them, we couldn't stop played them, we knew *" tiO to be at our best. We had 'Hey, this is what we're going to do, see if you can beat us'"' defensively. They lined op uno said, rivalry iefore the arrival oi ro-.on" who would intensify the The cowboys did so sii straight times from 196g to 1970, many times over: George Allen. FormerlythecoachofthepowerhouseLosAngelesRams,AllenknewallabouttheCowboysfromwhentheteamsTex He detested Dallas coach Tom Landry' general manager scrimmaged during training camp in Southem california. giddy over the chance to face them again in Washington' Schramm and others in the-organization, and was SUPPLEMENT HAII. TO THE REITSKIIIS A SPECIAL HISTORlCAL 1 \ rf i) tr "We always hated the Dallas Cowboys," Jennifer Allen, George Allen's daughter, wrote in her 2000 book Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter. "And now, with the Cowboys in the Redskins'division, we hated them even more." But enmity would not suffice for defeating the Cowboys,losers in Super Bowl V the year prior. With no patience for inexperienced players, the defensive-minded Allen revamped his Redskins fff& by acquiring a stream of savvy, tough veterans known as the "Over the Hill Gang." Washington %f' proceeded to shock the Cowboys 20-16 early in the 191 1 season en route to qualifying for the @" playoffs for the first time in a quarter century. The €g eventual Super Bowl champion Cowboys won the {d; .. rematch at RFK Stadium, and the teams split in Lt*"rrr = the regular season in l9T2before playing each wx other again in the NFC championship game at RFK. By then, Allen had elevated the rivalry to an * even higher level. He whipped his players into a fury by stressing his loathing of Dallas and its pompous reputation, while the Cowboys accused ry the coach and his staff of spying on practices. There were also charges of dirty play. The end #& result was a mutual feeling of animosity. The animated Allen also motivated his troops using the austere and stone-faced Landry as the centerpiece, sometimes going to the Streak Buster:The Redskins won ru extreme. Case in point: Allen, who took karate lessons with marlial arts expert Jhoon the 2002 season finale. lt was Rhee, chopped board after board in a team meeting to show what he could do to Darrell Green's emotional farewell, Landry during a game. "That was just his way of saying to us, 'Get ready,"' former Redskins safety Brig Owens says. "If it came between the fl two of us at the 50-yard line, I'd be a little older but in better shape. He was saying it was all about preparation. If you work harder, and you're better prepared than your opponent, then you can win. He was a great motivator, one of the greatest motivators of all time." Allen also tapped one of his treasured veterans, defensive tackle Diron Talbert, to make comments to the press intended to rattle Staubach, a Naval Academy graduate with a goody-goody image. Talbert, a Texas native, obliged by saying the Cowboys' quarterback "wears skirts" or "can't read defenses," among other inflammatory remarks. "Those things kind ofworked," Staubach says. "George believed you distract the other team by saying things, and Landry wouldn't allow us to say anything." Prior to the championship game, Talbert said Lanclry should start Cowboys quarterback Craig Morton over Staubach, who had missed the 1972 season with a shoulder injury until retuming to lead a miracle comeback in the first round of the playoffs. Landry opted to start Staubach and even tossed a needling remark at Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer, saying ihe'Cowboys had the edge because the mobile Staubach was a better athlete than Kilmer, who was known for his wobbly passes. Old No.