The Rivalry Continues: Redskins Vs Cowboys 2017 NFL Week 8
By:Darrell Owens
The Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys may be the greatest rivalry in all of sports! There is Duke/UNC, Yankees/Red Sox, Lakers/Celtics, Ohio State/Michigan just to name a few of the great rivalries, but what makes this rivalry so great is the distain that the fans have for one another. Growing up here in Virginia, that’s all you would hear about, the dislike that fans would have for each other. You would hear these wonderful terms of endearment…Deadskins, Cowgirls and some names that I can’t say in this article. Despite all of the crazy name-calling, this rivalry is known for its intensity and here in Week 8 of 2017 NFL Season, that didn’t change. Even though, the Cowboys lead the overall series 68 wins, 44 losses and 2 ties (Two Of the Cowboys losses came in the NFC Championship in 1972 & 1982) it doesn’t change the importance of this rivalry in the world of sports.
This extremely rainy Week 8 match up started off with a bang! In the first possession of the game, Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott would fumble at the Dallas 29-yard line, and the returning Josh Norman would recover the football for the Skins, setting the Redskins up for a 38-yard Field Goal by newly required place kicker Nick Rose, giving the Redskins the early 3-0 lead. Washington wouldn’t have the lead for long, as Dallas went on a Quick 5 Play, 75 yard drive finished off by a Zeke Elliott 13-yard touchdown run to giving Dallas there first lead of the game 7-3 early in the first quarter. Redskins would end the 1st Quarter with a 10-7 lead after the returning Rob Kelley scores on a one-yard touchdown.
After a empty cowboys possession, the Redskins would tack on another field goal early in the second quarter giving the Redskins and 13-7 lead. The next drive would lead to a Cowboys punt, and the Redskins would get down the field and set Washington up for a 36-yard field goal and then momentum of this game would change dramatically, after the Cowboys would block the field-goal and Orlando Scandrick would return the block field-goal 86 yards before he was tackled at the Redskins 4-yard line. This is what Dallas QB Dak Prescott had to say after the game about this play…
“Yeah, that block was huge. It might have been the turning point and the key play in the whole game. It came from the defense and they played great all night long. It was tough conditions for them as well. I mean, it was a great job from them for giving us a chance when we were down and hiccupping on ourselves and getting penalties on offense. For them to make a stop, that point swing was huge.”
This play lead to the Cowboys taking the lead for good, Zeke Elliott would punch in another touchdown giving Dallas, the 14-13 lead going in to Halftime.
The second half was the “Mike Nugent Show” as he would give the Cowboys a 26-13 lead after connecting on four field goals. Now Washington wasn’t done yet Kirk Cousins would go on to hit Josh Doctson late in the 4th Quarter with 1-yard touchdown pass closing the gap bring the score 26-19. After Dallas would kill some clock and punt the ball, the Redskins had one more shot with :54 seconds left but Kirk Cousins pass would be intercepted and return for a touchdown by second year Safety Byron Jones putting the stamp on the Cowboys victory 33-19.
Both teams need this win. Dallas moves to 4-3 and are two games behind the NFL leading Philadelphia Eagles in division with two meetings with the Eagles still to come before the season is over. Washington falls to 3-4 and virtually four games behind the Eagles, since the Eagles swept the season series, but there is still hope the season is only halfway through and the Redskins still have a chance to fight for the division and possibly a wild-card spot. Both teams take on very tough opponents next week. Dallas takes on the Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) and the Redskins head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks (5-2). Can’t wait to see what Week 9 has in store for us thanks for reading!
