Cowboys knock off Skins to stay alive

Romos return helps lift Dallas over Washington

The Cowboys entered Sunday’s game against the Redskins needing a win to stay alive in the playoff chase and got it. In yet another hard hitting NFC East match up, the Cowboys found a way to overcome their divisional foe and pulled out a victory in the nation’s capital. The win moved Dallas from last to second place, and although their chances of capturing the division title are a long shot, they have placed themselves right back in the hunt for a playoff spot.

This game was a war in the trenches from start to finish, a smash-mouth, grind-it-out battle that’s typical of the NFC East. The Redskins were trying to maintain their hold on sole possession of second place, and on their first drive of the game they took the lead. Clinton Portis, injured knee and all, was instrumental on the drive, rushing for 29 yards on five carries. His running helped set Washington up at the Dallas two yard line where Jason Campbell finished things off with a touchdown pass to Mike Sellers. On the ensuing possession Dallas moved the ball fairly deep into the Redskins territory. Tony Romo, who finally returned from his broken pinky injury, had his moments during the game but looked rusty. With the ball at the Washington 27 the rust showed up as Romo’s pass was intercepted.

From that point on the game was mostly a defensive struggle, both teams delivering bone-crunching hits and shutting each others offenses down. Two possessions after his first interception Romo threw another, again deep inside Washington territory. The teams vied for field position and for most of the first half the punters were the stars of the game. But with just under five minutes to go before half time the Cowboys finally got it together, driving the ball from their own 20 yard line to the Redskins two. Romo was five for five passing along the way, albeit mostly short passes. Marion Barber took care of the rest with a two yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7-7. The Redskins responded with a field goal just prior to the half to go back up 10-7.

Both teams’ defenses continued to slug it out in the second half with a slight edge going to Dallas. Terence Newman, who was playing in his first game in over a month, came up with a huge turnover on the Redskins first possession, intercepting Jason Campbell at the Dallas 35 yard line. Still the Cowboys could not get their offense in gear. It was a combination of a tough Redskins defense and an unsteady Tony Romo. But the Cowboys found a way to score early in the fourth quarter, using a heavy dose of Marion Barber and just enough Romo. Barber rushed for 27 yards on the drive, helping to set the Cowboys up at the Redskins 25 yards line where Romo delivered a touchdown pass, his first of his return, to Martellus Bennet. Dallas took its first lead of the game at 14-10.

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The Redskins would only get one more shot after that, their drive dying at the Dallas 37 on a fourth and four that couldn’t be converted by Campbell. Nearly seven minutes remained, a substantial amount of time, but the Redskins couldn’t stop the Cowboys offense, which chewed up the clock and put the game away.

Altogether Tony Romo had a decent day for his first game back. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 198 yards. He did throw two picks, which was a problem even before his injury, but when it mattered most he came through with a touchdown pass that proved to be the game clincher. Romo helped get his team back in the race and with a record of 6-4 they now have a chance to be playing in January. The Cowboys will be home for the next two games against the 49ers and Seahawks and will have a good chance to really start to build their comeback. The schedule will get tougher after that with games against the Steelers, Giants, Ravens, and Eagles, but the Cowboys have something they would not have had if they lost to the Redskins, a chance.

By Steven Mondelli
ProFootball-fans.com Dallas Cowboys Correspondent