George Wallace, wtop.com
It is now Friday of “Dallas Week,” two days before the 104th meeting between these two storied franchises.
Remember when those two words meant something? The work week had a different feel to it. The school week had a different feel to it. Fans were on edge and the trash talking was at a high level amongst Redskins and Cowboys fans.
The anticipation was also high because a majority of the time both teams were in the upper half of the NFC East and every snap had playoff implications.
Those days are gone.
This week, it’s just another game on the schedule. Only one player talked about the rivalry during the week
“It’s a big rivalry game and we’re going to be prepared for it,” Brian Orakpo said.
The team probably hasn’t said much because there isn’t much to be said. In the midst of a five game losing streak and a 3-6 record, there is no room for trash talk.
Let’s be honest, it’s been quite some time since this rivalry was at full force. It became re-energized when Joe Gibbs came back and Bill Parcells was coaching the Cowboys. We saw Santana Moss and Mark Brunell hook up twice in the final three minutes in Texas Stadium on a Monday night in September 2005.
We once saw Troy Vincent block a field goal that was picked up by Sean Taylor and returned to the Cowboys 44 yard line with no time on the clock. Thanks to a face mask penalty during the return, the Redskins had one untimed down, and Nick Novak lined up and kicked a 47-yard field goal to give the Redskins the win with no time on the clock.
Jim Zorn was able to get the last win for the Redskins in Dallas, in 2008.
Dallas has won five of the last six games and is favored by 7.5 points on Sunday.
That’s right, the Cowboys are favored by more than a touchdown in Washington.
What would George Allen, Riggo, Dexter, Darryl Grant, the Hogs and the Posse have to say about that?
It’s going to be a long time until this great rivalry reminds us of years past.