Friday, October 2, 1998

DALLAS (2-2) AT WASHINGTON (0-4) noon CST, FOX

OPENING LINE - Cowboys by 2-1/2.

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Cowboys 2-2; Redskins 0-4.

SERIES RECORD - Cowboys lead 41-31-2.

LAST TIME MET - Cowboys beat Redskins 17-14 at Dallas.

LAST WEEK - Cowboys lost to Raiders 13-12. Redskins lost to Broncos 38-16.

LAST WEEK'S STARS - Cowboys CB-PR Deion Sanders had 5 tackles and 4 punt returns for 91 yards. Redskins RB Terry Allen had 86 yards and 1 TD on 16 carries.

COWBOYS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 11), PASS (No. 12), OVERALL (No. 9)

QB Jason Garrett, in for injured Troy Aikman, was 18-for-33 for 222 yards and lost for first time in 4 career starts. RB Emmitt Smith had 59 yards and 1 TD on 21 carries. WR Michael Irvin had 6 catches for 89 yards and became 10th player in NFL history with 11,000 yards receiving (11,036). Irvin is second in NFC in receptions (26) and yards receiving (356). WR Billy Davis had 4 catches for 87 yards. RB Chris Warren had 1 carry for 4 yards and 2 catches in Dallas debut, delayed 3 games by groin injury.

REDSKINS OFFENSE - RUSH (No. 17), PASS (No. 4), OVERALL (No. 4)

WR Michael Westbrook had 3 catches for 104 yards, including 75-yard TD. Westbrook has 3 straight games with 100-plus yards receiving and leads NFL with 418 yards receiving. Allen, fourth in NFC with 339 yards rushing, had team-leading 6 catches for 26 yards. QB Trent Green was 19-for-31 for 252 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. TE Stephen Alexander had 3 catches for 52 yards.

COWBOYS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 13), PASS (No. 18), OVERALL (No. 13)

LB Randall Godfrey had 8 tackles, 7 solo. S Darren Woodson and LB Fred Strickland had 7 tackles. Woodson also forced fumble. LB Dexter Coakley had 6 tackles. DE Kavika Pittman had 1 sack and 1 pass defensed. DE Greg Ellis had first career sack.

REDSKINS DEFENSE - RUSH (No. 29), PASS (No. 14), OVERALL (No. 23)

LB Marvcus Patton had 15 tackles, 14 solo. DE Kenard Lang had 4 tackles and 1 pass defensed. Have allowed 160 yards rushing per game. S Lemont Evans, LB Derek Smith, DT Dana Stubblefield and LB Ken Harvey each had 4 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Cowboys K Richie Cunningham is third in NFC with 30 points. Redskins P Matt Turk has NFL-leading 43.3 net average.

KEY MATCHUPS - Gs Nate Newton and Everett McIver vs. DTs Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson; CBs Sanders and Kevin Smith vs. WR Westbrook; CBs Darrell Green and Cris Dishman vs. Irvin.

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Four of last 6 games between teams decided by 7 points or less. ... Cowboys have best October record over past 5 seasons (16-4). ... Cowboys' 33 first downs rushing lead NFC, including Smith's league-leading 23. ... Irvin has 11 TDs receiving vs. Redskins, most against any team. ... Irvin needs 8 catches to pass Gary Clark (699) and become 10th player with 700 receptions. ... Redskins off to worst start in 17 years, when they started 0-5. ... Redskins have minus-11 turnover differential. ... Redskins fell to 0-7 vs. AFC West teams under coach Norv Turner. ... Redskins have won last 3 vs. Cowboys at home. ... Redskins have been outscored 41-9 in third quarter. ... Redskins' 55 first downs passing are second in NFL. ... CB Darrell Green has 5 career INTs vs. Cowboys.