I think it was rather fitting that the Cowboys scored what would have been the game-tying touchdown tonight, only to have the play negated by a holding penalty.
There are some people that believe the Cowboys could be the first team that plays in their host city for the Super Bowl. So naturally, they come out in Week 1 and throw up a dud performance against a team that won only four games last year.
Everyone has seen the Cowboys play uninspired football before, but their 13-7 loss Sunday night to the Redskins was extra special. Every time they did something positive, they negated it by doing something stupid. They committed 12 penalties for 91 yards tonight and most of them came after they had either picked up a first down or converted a big play opportunity. Of course, the biggest blow came when Alex Barron was flagged for holding (his 17th penalty on the night) on the final play of the game, which nixed what could have been a game-winning touchdown.
And what was that at the end of the half? Tony Romo either has to chuck that down field or run forward three yards and fall down. OR Tashard Choice either has to run out of bounds or run forward three yards and fall down. What did Choice expect to happen on that play? All the Redskin defenders to trip over themselves and he was going to have a clear, 69-yard path to the end zone? That play was a massive punch to the gut right before halftime.
I know the ‘Boys made it interesting in the end, but if it weren’t for the Redskins being so inept offensively, this would have been a blowout. Its understandable to look a little stagnant because of injuries, but it’s inexcusable to only score 7 points when you rack up over 350 yards of total offense.
On a more positive note, what a great win by Mike Shanahan to start his tenure in Washington. Obviously this wasn’t a sharp performance by his offense, but Jim Haslett’s defense played its ass off.
