Flashback: Spurrier, Schottenheimer Fail to Deliver

By Jason Feller
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, September 15, 2005 6:57 PM

The Redskins have lost nine consecutive games in Dallas. (That's a span of 3,579 days during which the Redskins have had five head coaches, seven starting quarterbacks -- just in Dallas -- and two owners.) Leading up to Monday night's game in Dallas, washingtonpost.com will look back on those agonizing defeats, two games a day.

Nov. 28, 2002: Another Thanksgiving Loss in Dallas

Steve Spurrier promised a game ball to owner Daniel Snyder the first time he beat the Cowboys, but was unable to deliver in his initial attempt.

In what was quickly turning out to be a disappointing first season for Spurrier, the Redskins held a 20-10 lead behind Danny Wuerffel in the second half before collapsing.

Reserve running back Kenny Watson let a pass slip out of his hands into the mits of Cowboys safety Roy Williams, who returned the ball five yards for the momentum-changing touchdown that trimmed Washington's lead to 20-17.

From that point on familiar Redskins killer Emmitt Smith took over, grinding out much of his 144 yards rushing on the day. As a team the Cowboys rushed for an astounding 211 yards.

The winning touchdown for the Cowboys came when Chad Hutchinson connected for a 41-yard fourth-quarter score to Joey Galloway, who beat reserve safety Andre Lott.

The Redskins' only win over the Cowboys this decade would come in the final game of that season, when they beat a listless Dallas team in a meaningless affair, 20-14.

October 14, 2001: Redskins Lose Battle of Winless Teams

The Marty Schottenheimer era in Washington started about as badly as anyone could have imagined with the Redskins losing its first four games by the combined score of 135-25.

In week 5 the Redskins faced a Cowboys team that was also 0-4 in one of the worst Monday Night Football games ever.

Each squad lived up to a well-earned reputation as arguably the league's most incredibly deplorable team, playing an ugly, mistake-filled game.

The first half produced just one Cowboy field goal and was so forgettable that Post columnist Michael Wilbon wrote, "By halftime, it was clear we weren't going to be entertained at Texas Stadium, merely held hostage by two sorry, no-account teams that should have been playing on Friday afternoon, not Monday night."

The score remained 3-0 into the fourth quarter until Dallas coach Dave Campo made the inexplicable decision to send rookie kicker Tim Seder out to attempt a 52-yard field goal. Seder missed badly and the Redskins took over at their own 42.

For the first time in the game, the Redskins offense started to move the ball and Tony Banks's 31-yard touchdown pass to Michael Westbrook gave the Redskins a 7-3 lead.

After a Cowboys field goal made the game 7-6, the Redskins began marching down the field behind Stephen Davis, expecting to kill the clock and salt the game away. Then, as it had throughout their losing streak, disaster struck. Davis coughed up the ball and unheralded Cowboys quarterback Anthony Wright and the Cowboys marched down the field before Seder nailed the game-winning field goal as time expired.

The final score of this dreadful game has a familiar ring to it in 2005: 9-7.

Dec. 10, 2000: $100 Million Team's Biggest Failure

The season started with enormous expectations. Owner Daniel M. Snyder had assembled a star-studded cast with a payroll of more than $100 million. Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Mark Carrier and Jeff George were just some of the big-name players brought in to get the Redskins over the hump and back into the Super Bowl.

Things looked promising enough after the Redskins won five games in a row and sat at 6-2 at midseason. Then, everything came crashing down. The Redskins lost four of their next five games, and Snyder fired coach Norv Turner with three games remaining and the team, then 7-6, nominally still in the playoff chase.

Passing game coordinator Terry Robiskie was named Turner's interim replacement and took the team to Dallas needing a win to keep playoff hopes alive. Instead, the Redskins came out incredibly flat and were pounded, 32-13.

The game is most remembered as being Troy Aikman's last. Rookie linebacker LaVar Arrington laid a vicious first-quarter hit on the quarterback, handing Aikman his 11th concussion and sending him to the TV booth.

Other notable moments from an otherwise forgettable drubbing were that of the Cowboys dragging former teammate Deion Sanders across the field on a punt return and Emmitt Smith dashing for 150 yards.

Oct. 24, 1999: Redskins Unable to Back Up Trash Talk

The 1999 season was a successful one for the Redskins.

Their only postseason appearance since Joe Gibbs's first retirement came during this 10-6 season, and they came within a botched snap against the Buccaneers from making the NFC Championship game.

Despite all of that, they still could not find a way to solve the fading Cowboys.

The Redskins lost their season opener to the Cowboys at home, squandering a 35-14 fourth-quarter lead and eventually losing in overtime. The Redskins never had a chance in Week 6 at Dallas, despite a week's work of trash-talking by some of the Redskins, and suffered an embarrassing 38-30 loss that ended a four-game winning streak.

Wide receiver Albert Connell, whose short NFL career would end up with him allegedly stealing from a teammates' locker while with the Saints, claimed Deion Sanders would be unable to cover him and then was held to two receptions by Sanders.

Troy Aikman scored once on the ground and threw two touchdown passes in the rout, which also featured a 70-yard punt return from Sanders in the fourth quarter. It was his last game as a Cowboy; he would join the Redskins in the offseason.

Nov. 16, 1997: Cowboys Rally Past Redskins, 17-14

In what would become a common occurrence during the losing streak, the Redskins held a seemingly secure lead late in the fourth quarter only to see the Cowboys snatch victory from the hands of defeat.

Down 14-6 with less than six minutes remaining, Dallas took over at its own 3-yard-line against what had been a stifling Redskins defense.

But that's when Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin started to click. The two combined for 64 yards on the drive, including a six-yard touchdown pass. Aikman then completed a pass to Emmitt Smith for the two-point conversion that tied the game.

What followed was symbolic of the Norv Turner era in Washington. The Redskins got the ball with under two minutes left and the game tied at 14. Turner, thinking he could catch the Cowboys off guard, had quarterback Gus Frerotte call three consecutive running plays, including a draw to Brian Mitchell on third and seven.

Matt Turk shanked the ensuing punt and the Cowboys got the ball back in Washington territory with 82 seconds to go.

The Cowboys inevitably won with a 28-yard field goal by Richie Cunningham, 17-14.

The following week, Frerotte would infamously knock himself out by head-butting the wall at FedEx Field celebrating Washington's only touchdown in a 7-7 tie with the Giants, and the Redskins would end up one game out of the playoffs at 8-7-1.

Dec. 27, 1998: Cowboys Rout Redskins

Facing a Cowboys squad that was guaranteed its playoff spot and played only backups in the second half, the Redskins still managed to find a way to lose badly, 23-7.

The '98 season started with the Redskins losing their first seven games and it ended with the team losing double digit games for the third time in Norv Turner's five years as coach.

After taking a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter the Redskins quickly reverted to their early season form and gave up 17 unanswered points in the second quarter.

In just one half, Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman threw for 184 yards and Emmitt Smith feasted with 67 yards on only 10 carries.

The loss would turn out to be Trent Green's final start in a Redskins uniform as he would move on to the Rams as a free agent.

The game also marked the final contest under the stewardship of John Kent Cooke. The offseason would produce a bizarre saga in which prospective owner Howard Milstein would see his bid rejected by the NFL. Milstein's minority partner, Daniel M. Snyder, would come up with a record $800 million to buy the team.

The ownership uncertainty contributed to Green's decision to leave for St. Louis and also helped Norv Turner retain his job despite his fifth five consecutive non-playoff season.

The 1998 season would also mark the beginning of the end for the glory days in Dallas, as the Cowboys would lose to the Cardinals at home the following week in the first round of the playoffs and go on to several nondescript seasons, except when they played the Redskins.

Dec. 3, 1995: Shuler Leads Redskins to Big Upset Win

Ironically, the last quarterback to beat the Cowboys in Dallas was one of the few who Redskins fans have booed more than current starter Mark Brunell.

In what would become the highlight of his short career, Heath Shuler led Washington to a surprising 24-17 upset of the Cowboys, who went on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX.

The win gave D.C. fans something to smile about during an otherwise forgettable 6-10 season, the second year of the Norv Turner era in Washington.

The Redskins were helped by a knee sprain that slowed Emmitt Smith, and ex-Cowboy safety James Washington led an inspired defense against his former team.

The Redskins swept the Cowboys in 1995, handing Dallas two of its four losses. It is the only time the Redskins have swept the Cowboys in the past 15 years.

Nov. 28, 1996: Losing Skid Begins

After starting 7-1, the Redskins began to fall apart and their 21- 10 loss against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day dropped them to 8-5.

Old nemesis Emmitt Smith ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Despite holding Troy Aikman to just 63 yards passing and Michael Irvin to only one catch for five yards, the Redskins just couldn't figure out how to stop Smith or put together anything offensively. Washington's offense was hindered when second-year wideout Michael Westbrook left the game early with an injury.

One of the key moments of this game came when quarterback Gus Frerotte fumbled a snap, allowing the Cowboys to work with a short field and score a touchdown.

After this loss to the Cowboys, the Redskins would lose two more consecutive games and end the season at 9-7, falling just short of the playoffs despite their torrid start.