It has become apparent that the rivalry that once was in not the same as before. The media seems to try to harp on the past and relive the great battles that have occurred but it just doesn't feel the same as it used to. Part of the problem seems to be that they have owned us in the recent years and that the games are usually lopsided in their favor. Until the Redskins can beat the Cowboys several times in a row and establish a type of domination over them, nobody will ever look at this rivalry as they did in the past.
Many boast about the Cowboys as the best team in the NFL and the Redskins are never mentioned if not for ridicule or for being mediocre. This is the legacy of the Redskins over the past 15 years and will stay that way until they make the league take notice. The past few years have highlighted this sentiment, every time the Redskins are in a nationally-televised game they seem to play their worst games (see Giants this year, stinker!). If you look at the point spread alone (11 points!) you can tell that nobody seems to feel that the Redskins have the slightest chance of winning this game. This week seems to be, in my opinion, the most important game of the year for this team, not because they need to win or else the season is over, but because it will send a statement of who this team is and what they are made of. If they go out and put up a great showing and are edged out by the Cowboys at home, everyone will feel some sense of accomplishment, not me. I am fully aware that the Cowboys are a very good team and that they should beat the Redskins most of the time but this is the chance where the Redskins can send a statement to the rest of the league that they are a good team as well and will not fear anyone. Maybe it's wishful thinking or maybe it's what we have been waiting for ever since the last time that this team was talked about around the league.
The NFC East is by far the best division in football and as such, should provide the best games every week. In a division as tight as this one, the Redskins need to get a few wins that they did not expect if they want to make the playoffs, this week is their best chance. If they can go down to Dallas and beat the snot out of the Cowboys, they will have shown that they are for real and more importantly, take the last game they will ever play in that cesspool of a stadium, what's better than that?
I hope that the fact that Dallas is an 11-point favorite really makes the players on this team angry and focused enough to play the way they have in stretches and transfer that to the whole course of the game, if they do that, watch out because they could actually be good enough to compete in this tough division. Who knows, maybe they come out and lay the stinker that they have traditionally done over the past few years or maybe this coach and his team feel as if they are full of momentum and can harness that into a win and more importantly, respect!
No matter what happens on Sunday we will find the light at the end of the tunnel and nothing will change the fact that DALLAS SUCKS!
Keywords: Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins
