Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys Preview

By John Onan | Monday, September 19, 2005 | ( 0 )

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One of the most heated rivalries in all the NFL continues in 2005, as two legendary coaches lead their troops into battle on Monday night in Dallas. Joe Gibbs and his Washington Redskins hook up against the Bill Parcells-led Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East match up.

Both teams come off week one wins, as the stingy Washington defense held off the Chicago Bears 9-7, and Dallas showed some spunk on offense, outlasting the San Diego Chargers 28-24 on the road. Dallas has dominated this series recently, winning 14 of the last 15.

It only took Gibbs a quarter and a half to switch quarterbacks again in 2005, as Mark Brunell takes over for the benched Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey turned the ball over twice, including a fumble on a vicious hit by Bears linebacker Lance Briggs. Brunell came on and led the Skins on three drives that resulted in John Hall field goals, but it was enough, as the defense shut down Chicago and rookie quarterback Kyle Orton.

The success of the Washington offense once again rests on the shoulders of running back Clinton Portis, who was solid in the opener. He ran for 121 yards on 21 carries, including a huge 41-yard run that led to the game-winning field goal.

The Dallas defense will be keying on containing Portis, as they did Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who they held to 72 yards rushing last week. The Cowboys front seven looked aggressive in their new 3-4 scheme.

New quarterback Drew Bledsoe shines in his Dallas debut, going 18-of-24 for 226 yards and also tossed three scoring strikes. He hooked up on two of those with wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, including the game winner with about three minutes to play. Expect workhorse running back Julius Jones to see a lot of carries again this week, as he gained 93 yards on 26 carries in the opener.

Both squads come in with momentum, as whomever comes out of this game with a victory would immediately establish themselves as top contenders to defending NFC Champion Philadelphia in the NFC East.

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