Listing - *** NFL Game Summary - Dallas at Washington ***
(Sunday, December 30th)
Final Score: Washington 27, Dallas 6
Landover, MD - Todd Collins completed 22-of-31 passes for 244
yards and Clinton Portis scored a pair of touchdowns, propelling the
Washington Redskins into the final NFC playoff spot with a 27-6 victory over
the Dallas Cowboys at FedEx Field.
Collins, who replaced injured starter Jason Campbell under center in the
season’s 13th week, connected with Santana Moss for a second-half touchdown
pass and Portis accumulated 104 yards on the ground as Washington (9-7)
closed out the regular season with its fourth consecutive win, and will head
to Seattle next Saturday to face the NFC West-champion Seahawks in a wild card
matchup at 4:30 p.m. (et).
“I got to tell you,” said Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs. “It’s been a great
performance for four weeks (by Collins). “I don’t know what his quarterback
rating was, but he’s been phenomenal…I think it’s a great story for me
personally to watch Todd, someone who’s waited for his chance for 10 years.”
In the process, the Redskins eliminated the Minnesota Vikings, who lost at
Denver anyway, 22-19. Minnesota entered play a week ago with a full one-game
lead for the final playoff berth, but lost two straight to close out the
season as Washington came on strong.
“I said to our players, you don’t want to hope on something, you want to earn
it,” Gibbs said of the playoff scenario.
Gibbs also saw poignancy in the 21-point margin of victory, particularly as
the Redskins clinched a playoff berth on the final day of a turbulent season
that included the death of Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor, who wore number 21.
“I don’t know about you,” Gibbs said. “But when we were coming off the field
and realized we had won by 21, that was a special moment. And none of the
players thought that that was an accident.”
Moss finished the day with eight catches for 115 yards, and the Redskins
defense kept a stranglehold on the Dallas offense, limiting the Cowboys to a
franchise-record low one yard on the ground.
Tony Romo was 7-for-16 passing for 86 yards and an interception before being
lifted in the third quarter for Brad Johnson, who finished 7-for-11 for 79
yards.
Dallas (13-3) had little to play for, having already locked up the top seed in
the NFC and a first-round bye in the postseason. Still, the short-
handed Cowboys did little to generate momentum heading into the playoffs,
gaining just 147 yards of total offense and looking out of sync on both
sides of the ball en route to their second loss in the last three weeks.
The visitors were missing several players that are going to the Pro Bowl, as
Terrell Owens, Terence Newman and Andre Gurode, as well as defensive lineman
Jay Ratliff, all were held out for a variety of injury and precautionary
reasons.
Washington took a 7-0 lead on its second possession of the game. Collins hit
Chris Cooley for gains of 11 and 16 to move into Dallas territory, then dodged
a bullet when a Ken Hamlin interception was negated because of a pass
interference penalty on Alan Ball, setting the ‘Skins up with 1st-and-10 at
the Dallas 23. One play later, Portis busted off left tackle for a 23-yard
score with 6:28 remaining in the first.
Romo was intercepted by Shawn Springs on the ensuing Dallas opportunity, but
Washington squandered that chance when Portis fumbled the ball back to the
Cowboys at the Dallas 32.
Shaun Suisham capped a 13-play Redskins drive that spanned the late first and
early second quarters when he drilled a 46-yard field goal to make it a 10-0
game with 11:15 to go in the half.
Dallas wasted a four-minute march when Nick Folk shanked a 28-yard field goal
one play after Romo misfired for Jason Witten in the end zone. But Collins was
stripped by DeMarcus Ware for the second time on the ensuing Washington
series, positioning the Cowboys at the Redskins 18.
series, positioning the Cowboys at the Redskins 18.
Romo and the offense went three-and-out before Folk salvaged the scoring
chance by hitting from 37 yards to trim the lead to 10-3 with five minutes
left in the first half.
Collins engineered a 42-yard drive that began with Antwaan Randle El’s punt
return into Dallas territory and ended with Suisham’s 21-yard field goal,
making it a 13-3 game at the break.
Washington then used its first possession of the third quarter to march 63
yards in 12 plays, elapsing nearly seven minutes of clock en route to taking a
commanding 20-3 lead. Collins completed all four pass attempts on the drive
and Portis pounded it into the end zone from the one-yard line with 6:45 left
in the third.
Johnson assumed control of the Cowboys offense on the following possession but
had no better success moving the ball than Romo, going three-and-out on each
of his first two series.
Collins then provided the backbreaker when he hit Moss in-stride off a double
move down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown with just under 12
minutes remaining.
Folk hit a 30-yarder with under nine minutes to go to cap the scoring.
Game Notes
Washington head coach Joe Gibbs gained his 171st career victory, tying Paul
Brown for ninth place on the all-time NFL list…Dallas’ previous franchise-
low on the ground came in 1998 against New Orleans, when it was held to eight
yards rushing…Romo established a new franchise record for completions in a
season when he hooked up with Witten on the opening series of the third
quarter, breaking Danny White’s season-mark of 334, set in 1983…Portis’
first-quarter fumble was Washington’s first turnover in the last 11
quarters…The crowd of 90,910 was the most ever at FedEx Field.
-
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