Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 2, 1995 TAG: 9510020066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
The Washington Redskins, losers in the closing seconds two weeks in a row, had to be wondering if another victory was going to slip through their grasp.
``We've let a couple of games get away from us,'' said coach Norv Turner. ``Some people might think we almost let this game get away from us today, but we think we can play with anybody.''
If the Redskins can play with the Cowboys, they certainly can. Dallas came into RFK as one of three unbeaten teams in the NFL and left with a 27-23 setback in a game that revived memories of some classic Redskins-Cowboys battles.
``This [Dallas] is one of the great organizations in the National Football League and this is one of the great rivalries,'' Turner said. ``Despite what may have happened over the past few [years], it's still a great rivalry.''
After falling behind 27-10 midway through the third quarter, the Cowboys rallied behind quarterback Wade Wilson, summoned from the bench after Aikman was injured in the first quarter.
Wilson had completed seven passes in a row and was 15-of-16 in the second half as the Cowboys broke their huddle on third-and-goal from the Redskins' 5-yard line with a little more than 41/2 minutes remaining.
Wilson was on target with his look-in to Kevin Williams at the goal line, but Redskins cornerback Darrell Green was able to bat down the ball and force Dallas to settle for a field goal that made it 27-23.
``We've been there before and lost,'' said Washington linebacker Ken Harvey, who had a team-high 10 tackles, shared a sack and forced a fumble. ``We looked at each other and said we weren't going to let it happen today.''
Some of the credit for that belonged to the offense, which picked up two late first downs and forced Dallas to use its final two timeouts before letting the Cowboys have the ball again at their 29-yard line with 45 seconds left.
``I told Norv Turner and I'm telling you, we wouldn't have beaten them if Troy Aikman had played,'' said Dallas coach Barry Switzer. ``We never played consistently the whole game. It wasn't our day.''
Aikman, an All-Pro selection for the past four seasons, was tossing a short pass to Daryl Johnston on the Cowboys' first possession when his right leg shot forward as if he were in a chorus line.
``I backed away from center, took my five-step drop and it felt as if I had been kicked in the back of the leg,'' Aikman said. ``I don't think it had anything to do with the turf. It was just a freak-type thing.''
Aikman returned from an examination in street clothes and was pronounced finished for the afternoon by the end of the first quarter. He is expected to be sidelined for two or three weeks with a pulled calf muscle.
It was just the latest in a series of injuries Aikman has suffered against Washington. He suffered a sprained left knee against the Redskins last year and a sprained right knee at RFK in 1991.
Wilson had attempted only one pass in the Cowboys' first five games, but has started a total of 70 games in his 15-year NFL career, one reason Dallas made such a push in the spring to sign him as a free agent.
``I wasn't unsure going in,'' said Wilson, who played in four games last year for New Orleans, ``but it's been since training camp that I ran our offense. It's part of being a backup. You don't want anything to happen to Troy, but you have to be ready.''
Wilson's numbers were superior to those of second-year Washington quarterback Gus Frerotte, but Frerotte tossed a pair of touchdown passes, the second of which helped Washington take a 20-10 lead with 17 seconds left in the half.
Terry Allen made the play, breaking an attempted tackle by Dallas linebacker Dixon Edwards at the 5-yard line, then extending the ball over the goal line with his hands as he was falling out of bounds.
It was one of many contributions by Allen, a free agent in his first year with Washington who carried 30 times for 121 yards against a Dallas defense that had ranked fourth in the NFL against the run.
``I think the running game was the key to the whole thing,'' Frerotte said. ``It means a great deal [to win], but I feel I didn't play as well as I can. If I had played a little better, maybe it wouldn't have been as close.''
Darren Woodson's interception and 37-yard return put the Cowboys ahead 10-3 in the first quarter, and Frerotte either missed or didn't see several other open receivers, although he also had some exceptional throws.
Frerotte also threw an interception in the end zone with two seconds remaining Sept.24 in a 14-6 loss to Tampa Bay. It was one of three consecutive losses for the 'Skins, who were beaten by Denver on the final play of the game.
``We were devastated last week; that's a long trip back from Tampa Bay,'' Turner said. ``We've got a lot of people doing things together for the first time, and sometimes it clicks and sometimes it doesn't.
``The point I keep making is: I can see guys everywhere on this field getting better. I don't think we look like a team that's lost one straight game or two straight games or three games in the last three.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB