On September 26, 2011, the Washington Redskins traveled to Arlington, Texas to play the Dallas Cowboys for Monday Night Football. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Redskins, who fell to the Cowboys 18-16, but the Redskins showed that they are not the terrible team that many media outlets suggested prior to the start of the season. The Redskins were able to run the football somewhat successfully against a talented Cowboy defensive front with newly-acquired running backs Tim Hightower and Roy Helu. The Redskins also played a high quality red zone defense that demonstrated the ability to stop a premier offense when needed. They were able to stop Dallas from scoring any touchdowns and limited them to six field goals. The Washington defense was able to cause a lot of confusion at the line, causing the Dallas center, Phil Costa, to snap the ball 4 times before Tony Romo was ready to receive the ball. Fortunately for Dallas, they were able to recover each of these fumbles and prevented the Washington defense from capitalizing on their mistakes. It was also great to see LaRon Landry playing safety for the Redskins. It was his first game back from injury, and he immediately made his presence known to Dallas wide receiver Laurent Robinson. In the second quarter, Landry unleashed a vicious hit on the receiver on third down to force a punt from the Cowboys.
Even though the Washington Redskins played well enough to win at times, they make a few crucial mental mistakes that prevented them from coming away from Dallas with a win. It was made very clear in the media that Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo, was playing injured in this game. While playing the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, Romo sustained a fractured rib and punctured a lung as well. It should have been the goal of the Washington Redskins defense to blitz as often as possible in an effort to punish Romo before he could throw the ball down the field. Instead, the Redskins did not blitz very often, and were unable to get significant pressure on Romo with their defensive linemen. Given time in the pocket, Romo is as effective as any elite quarterback in the league to make completions down the field. Even playing without Pro Bowl receiver Miles Austin, Romo was able to pick apart the Redskins secondary, especially on a 3-and-21 play late in the fourth quarter. This completion allowed the Cowboys to get into Washington territory one more time and kick the game winning field goal. While Rex Grossman was far from horrible this game, he did have an ugly interception in the first half that led to a Dallas field goal, and he should have been able to score more than one touchdown against a banged up Cowboys secondary. Still, Grossman showed that he could lead his team under pressure, and he has the confident of his coach, Mike Shanahan. Next week, this leadership will be on display against a weak St. Louis Rams team who has yet to win a game. With a win, the Redskins will be able to show that they are a force to be reckoned with in the NFC East.
