Monday, October 5, 1998

Cowboys dominate Redskins after shaky start

By Kevin Lyons

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

LANDOVER, Md. - Before team owner Jerry Jones yakked it up with Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia and NBA star Grant Hill in the winning locker room, and before Jason Garrett, Emmitt Smith and Leon Lett toyed with the winless Washington Redskins in a 31-10 rout, there were some tense moments for the Cowboys on Sunday.

The elements were right for a Redskins ambush, Cowboys safety Darren Woodson thought after a Garrett fumble led to a quick 7-0 lead for the home team. Adding to the surreal scene was the dark, damp, gray day at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium with several frenzied fans waving signs that read: "We Hate Dallas! We Hate Dallas!"

"Part of me thought here we go again, that same old RFK stuff going on. My mind flashed back to the times they've beaten us when we came here, and when the stands would shake," said Woodson, whose last victory at Washington came in 1994, when the approval ratings of the president and the home team football coach were considerably better than they are now.

"But our offense," Woodson said, "came right back to score. And then we rallied in the huddle and said we were not going to let the Redskins win this game."

Woodson's early apprehension turned quickly into Cowboys dominance.

Garrett completed an almost perfect 14 of 17 passes - including his first seven - for one touchdown and no interceptions. Smith rushed for 120 of the club's 224 yards on the ground. Lett (six solo tackles) led a defensive charge that sacked quarterback Trent Green four times and intercepted one of his passes, sending beleaguered coach Norv Turner's Redskins to an 0-5 start, their worst in 17 years.

The victory gives the Cowboys (3-2) a 3-0 record in the division. They have outscored Washington, New York, and Arizona, 100-27. With Troy Aikman possibly returning next week, Sunday's game leaves Garrett with a 2-1 record as the starter. After losses by the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Cowboys are in sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

But forget about division championships for now, Gailey said. Sunday, he said, was about a team showing character and playing with pride.

"I knew we were going to have to overcome a lot to win this football game," Gailey said. "It looked tough, but we gained something as a football team by overcoming the adversity. That's not easy."

Adversity hit on the Cowboys' ninth offensive play, when Garrett mishandled a wet ball on a snap from center Clay Shiver. Four plays later, Washington led 7-0 when Leslie Shepherd ran past cornerback Kevin Smith's zone coverage and beat safety Omar Stoutmire to Green's pass for a 40-yard touchdown.

"We were in a hostile environment, but no one had their heads down, no one panicked," linebacker Fred Strickland said. "We knew we'd make our share of plays."

The Cowboys made plenty the rest of the way, outscoring the Redskins 31-3. Wide receiver Ernie Mills twice beat struggling Redskins cornerback Cris Dishman on crucial plays. First, for a 29-yard pass that set up a field goal, and second, for a 43-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cowboys a 17-7 lead. Cornerback Deion Sanders set up Smith's three-yard touchdown run with an interception of a Green pass in Redskins territory.

And it was the Cowboys' defense and running game, not the hot-handed Garrett, which put the game out of reach.

Redskins running back Terry Allen (19 carries, 82 yards) was not much of a factor. And neither was Green (13 of 29 for 193 yards), whose favorite target, Michael Westbrook, the NFL's receptions leader, was shadowed and shut down for much of the day by Sanders.

Garrett attempted only four second-half passes as the Cowboys shut the door on the Redskins with a running game that produced two 100-yard rushers for the first time in 20 years. Despite playing much of the first half without right guard Everett McIver, who will miss the next three to five weeks with a sprained ligament in his right knee, the Cowboys ran up the middle of the defensive line, where the Redskins play two $57 million defensive tackles - Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson. In the second half, Smith had 63 of 120 yards, and Chris Warren had 102 of his 104.

Afterward in the Cowboys locker room, Jones shook hands with Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador in Washington, and with Hill, the star of the Detroit Pistons.

Then the Cowboys owner flashed a billion-dollar smile and summed up the day: "Psychologically, mentally, this gives us a good feeling as a football team."

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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