Redskins Fail to Bask in Cowboys Glory

A few separate pundits and broadcasters mentioned the theory the league's three best teams play in the NFC East. The Washington Redskins weren't a part of that. But the Cowboys, a team some have crowned as the odds-on favorite to win the title, would probably include Washington in that category after watching Jason Campbell, Santana Moss and friends waltz into Big D and come away with a shocking 26-24 victory.

Campbell went over 200 yards through the air (with 2 TDs and still no INTs on the season), and Clinton Portis was a workhorse with 121 yards by foot, averaging almost six per carry. Tony Romo's line looks good in the end, but the Dallas offense was uneven throughout, with the ground game providing little and the aerial assault coming more in short spurts than long strikes.

The clinching play may have been a bonehead Dallas penalty late in the fourth. Washington, up six, drove into Cowboy territory, near the 40. Facing a third down and coming out of a timeout, some Cowboy who wasn't supposed to be on the field earned a "12 men on the field" penalty for Dallas which turned fourth down in no man's land into a Washington first down. The Skins were able to burn some clock and get into position for a Shaun Suisham field goal -- a 9-point lead with three minutes left.

Romo took his fellows down the field for a fairly quick score, and Dallas were an onside recovery away from a potential win. Cowboy Sam Hurd watched the bounce slip through his fingers out-of-bounds. Game over.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.