Discuss the coolest NFL team on the East Coast. I will be posting final scores from each of their games.

For the longest time I always thought the Skins sucked but now that they got Gibbs back as coach(tell me if I am wrong!)maybe I'll like them again.

Gibbs was the coach when Demon, Bratzilla & I were born. He's the greatest coach the Redskins EVER had.

Skins rally late from 13-0 deficit to stun 'Boys
Brunell's TD passes of 39, 70 yards to Moss in final 3:46 cap comeback
IRVING, Texas - Joe Gibbs has won three Super Bowls and two NASCAR championships. Yet of all the thrills he has experienced, he puts what happened Monday night near the top of the list.
The Washington Redskins, seemingly stuck in neutral or perhaps even reverse, got touchdown passes of 39 and 70 yards from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss in the final 3:46, then their defense made it hold up for a 14-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night.
“It was one of the greatest moments in sports for me,” Gibbs said.
The Redskins (2-0) ended a four-game losing skid to their top rival and won for just the second time in 16 meetings. This was their first win at Texas Stadium since 1995 and the first time Gibbs beat Dallas coach Bill Parcells in their last nine games.
No wonder Gibbs got the ice-water bucket treatment at the end and players were celebrating as if they'd won the state high school championship. As an added bonus, Washington is going into its bye week, so this victory will be savored even longer.
“At the end, there was some unbelievable plays,” Gibbs said. “It really took my breath away.”
Parcells', too, although for other reasons.
The Cowboys (1-1) were coming off a win at San Diego in which they scored the go-ahead points in the final minute, then made it hold up with a defensive stand at the end. Now it happened to them, although this time Dallas led for most of the game, stretching the advantage to 13-0 with 5:58 left.

“You've got to learn to close the show,” Parcells said. “We didn't do that.”
The lead seemed pretty safe considering the Redskins hadn't gotten as far as the Cowboys 28 since their opening drive and had yet to score a touchdown all season. Plus, history was on Dallas' side, too. Washington had lost 25 straight games when trailing after three quarters and Parcells' teams were 77-0 when leading by at least 13 in the fourth quarter.
“I don't know if anybody believed but us,” linebacker Marcus Washington said. “We did enough tonight. We're heroes, all of us.”
Making this victory even sweeter for the Redskins was spoiling what had been a festive night for Cowboys fans. The 65,207 fans - the team's largest crowd in 10 years - were lured out partly by Washington, but mostly to watch Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin join the team's Ring of Honor.
While fans seemed mildly irritated by Parcells' conservative game plan, and weren't too happy about an early missed field goal and a missed chance for another kick just before halftime, nobody was too concerned.
Then Brunell got going.
On fourth-and-2 from the Washington 46, Brunell hit James Thrash for 20 yards. On fourth-and-15 from the Dallas 39, he threw a spiral that Moss ran under in the end zone.
The Cowboys' next drive was ruined by a holding penalty on Flozell Adams that wiped out a first-down catch by Keyshawn Johnson. One play after a punt into the end zone, Brunell threw deep to Moss again and he again caught it in stride, never even getting touched on his way to the end zone.

“It looked like the Mark Brunell of old,” said Moss, who caught five passes for 159 yards and won the hearts of Washington fans skeptical of whether he could be the deep threat the club was looking for when they traded Laveranues Coles to get him.
Brunell was 20-of-34 for 291 yards with an interception. He picked on Dallas cornerback Aaron Glenn on both touchdowns.
Dallas still had a couple of minutes to try regaining the lead and was in good shape, too, when rookie Tyson Thompson returned the kickoff to the 48. But the Cowboys couldn't even get a first down. Terry Glenn's short catch over the middle on fourth down was stopped short.
Their final drive began at their 21 with 36 seconds left. The game ended with Glenn tackled at the Washington 43, then he rose to his knees and threw the ball up in disgust while the Redskins went wild again.
“All losses are tough,” Cowboys tackle La'Roi Glover said, “but this one is tougher.”
Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe was 21-of-36 for 261 yards and remained interception-free in his second go-round with Parcells. He used a flea flicker to hit Glenn on a 70-yard touchdown pass - Dallas' longest play since October 2002, pre-Parcells - but it was one of the few times he threw deep.
Notes: Redskins safety Pierson Prioleau pulled his right hamstring on the opening series and didn't return. ... Eight of the teams' last nine meetings have been decided by seven points or less. ... Peerless Price caught one pass for minus-1 yard in his Dallas debut. To activate him, the Cowboys went without a fullback. ... Washington is 2-0 for the second time in three years.

All I can say is screw Dallas.

I hope there aren't any Dallas fans here? * :unsure:

A couple customers were when I was at work.

They obliterated the 49ers 52-17 this past Sunday.

Redskins rout Cowboys, help playoff cause
Brunell throws 4 TD passes against mistake-prone Dallas
Evan Vucci / AP
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terrance Newman, left, and Jacques Reeves try to stop Washington's Chris Cooley on a touchdown catch in the second quarter on Sunday.
LANDOVER, Md. - A perfect day for the Washington Redskins would include a complete, start-to-finish, no-let-up humiliation of the Dallas Cowboys. Make it a game that puts the playoffs within serious reach, and you've got sheer nirvana.
From the raucous pregame chants of “We Want Dallas” to the seven sacks, four turnovers and four touchdown passes, the celebration never stopped in Sunday's 35-7 blowout, Washington's most one-sided victory in the 45-year history of the rivalry.
“We've got a lot of Dallas fans, even in D.C.,” Washington defensive end Renaldo Wynn said. “I've been here four years, and I've just been getting sick and tired of hearing about it, what they're going to do. So you don't even know how enjoyable it was for us to get this win and get a sweep. It hadn't happened since '95. It's unbelievable. It's something I'll definitely remember.”
The Cowboys' first play from scrimmage was a pass tipped by Phillip Daniels and intercepted by Cornelius Griffin. The rest of the game was more of the same. Daniels finished with four sacks and a fumble recovery, Marcus Washington had two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble, Chris Cooley caught three of Mark Brunell's four touchdown passes, and Clinton Portis ran for 112 yards.
“It was one of those nights where everything went our way,” coach Joe Gibbs said.
The score was 28-0 at halftime, with the Redskins scoring on drives of four, eight, two and two plays. They capitalized off two interceptions, a bad punt and a long pass to Santana Moss that brought back memories of his two fourth-quarter touchdown catches in the stunning 14-13 win over the Cowboys on a Monday night in Week 2.
“People kept saying it was a fluke that first game,” Daniels said. “I think we showed today it was no fluke.”

Many Redskins fans went to sleep that September night thinking their team had lost. This time, they left early knowing the Redskins had won. The 28-point margin of victory topped the 27-point victories over the Cowboys in 1986 and 1996, and the 37-10 win in 1996 came when playoff-bound Dallas rested its star players in the final game at RFK Stadium.
Washington's third straight victory left the Redskins (8-6) and Cowboys (8-6) two games behind the New York Giants in the NFC East, but the Redskins hold the tiebreaker because of their first Dallas sweep in 10 years. Washington's 8-2 conference record also puts it in position for a wild-card berth and its first postseason appearance since 1999.
The victory came with a price. Right guard Randy Thomas, the Redskins' most consistent lineman and the lead blocker on many of Portis' wide runs, is lost for the season after breaking a bone in his lower leg in the fourth quarter. Thomas was carted off the field as many of the 90,588 fans - a Redskins record at FedEx Field - chanted “Randy!”
Dallas also had its right guard, Marco Rivera, carted off in the fourth quarter with a strained neck after landing on his head during a running play. He was to be re-evaluated overnight in a local hospital.
“He has movement and feeling,” Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels said.
The Cowboys were an embarrassing shell of a Bill Parcells team. Tied for the league lead in fewest penalties, they committed nine miscues, including three false starts by three linemen on the same drive. Drew Bledsoe threw three interceptions and lost one fumble to account for all of Dallas' turnovers - even though the banged-up Redskins' defense played without injured starters LaVar Arrington and Carlos Rogers.
“They just outplayed us in every area,” Parcells said in a terse postgame briefing. “We had really no chance to win the game. ... We just lost our poise and played very, very poorly.”

Even punter Mat McBriar had a bad day with several shanked punts, one of which set up a Redskins touchdown, and kicker Billy Cundiff missed a field goal. The Cowboys, who have dropped three of four, were blown out for the first time this season - their five previous losses were by a total of 20 points.
“Nobody's more shocked than us,” receiver Patrick Crayton said. “Mistakes, penalties - everything we could do to ourselves to kill ourselves, we did it today. Right now, it's just embarrassing.”
That's music to the ears of anyone wearing burgundy and gold, even if he's a Hall of Fame coach.
“This is big-time for Coach,” tackle Chris Samuels said. “He just kept saying, 'Stay after 'em! Stay after 'em!' Even when we were doing well.”
Notes: Brunell's four touchdown passes matched his career high. ... The Redskins are 3-0 since going to all-white uniforms. ... Terry Glenn became the first Dallas player with 1,000 yards receiving since Rocket Ismail in 1999.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10523678/

Redskins, Gibbs return to postseason
Portis keys fifth straight victory, 31-20 over Eagles; Bucs next in playoffs
Clinton Portis of the Redskins runs past umpire Carl Madsen and Trent Cole of the Eagles during the first quarter Sunday. Portis ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns as the Redskins won 31-20 to land a playoff berth.
PHILADELPHIA - Going back to the basics put Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins back in the playoffs.
Clinton Portis ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Redskins to a hard-fought 31-20 victory over the woeful Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Washington (10-6) clinched the NFL's final playoff spot and its first postseason berth since 1999 with its fifth straight win. The victory also eliminated Dallas from contention.
“Looking back to 5-6, we talked at that time that if we lost another game we'd be out,” Gibbs said. “Trying to win five straight is a tough deal, but our guys seemed to understand what it would take. We went back to the basics.”
The Redskins play Tampa Bay (11-5) in an NFC wild-card game next Saturday in their first playoff game since losing 14-13 to the Buccaneers in a second-round matchup six years ago.
Just as it did against the Eagles, Washington relied heavily on its running game behind Portis and a strong defense to turn things around after losing three straight to fall to 5-6.
“The basics start with playing smart football, not turning it over and also running the football and playing solid defense,” quarterback Mark Brunell said. “That's how you win. We've been doing those things. The first part of the year we weren't.”
Mike McMahon threw two touchdown passes to Reggie Brown as Philadelphia (6-10) completed its first losing season since '99 after reaching the Super Bowl last February.
“We'll go back through and look at all of it,” coach Andy Reid said. “We've got to look at ourselves first, if we're putting guys in the right position to make plays and did they make the plays.”
McMahon, who struggled in his six starts for the injured Donovan McNabb, made a crucial mistake in the fourth quarter. His poorly thrown pass was tipped and intercepted by linebacker Lemar Marshall, putting the ball at the Eagles 22.
On the next play, Portis completely spun around to elude a tackle in the backfield, cut to the left and sprinted down the sideline into the end zone to give the Redskins a 24-20 lead.
“That play was designed to lose two yards,” Portis said. “I spun around a guy and it was clear from there.”
better.
Sean Taylor sealed the victory by returning a fumble 39 yards for a score after Phillip Daniels knocked the ball away from Detmer.

Washington had just one winning season under brash owner Dan Snyder, whose spending sprees on big names like Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith and Steve Spurrier proved futile.
But it took just two seasons for Gibbs to get the Redskins back to the winning ways they enjoyed when he was the coach in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Gibbs led the Redskins to three Super Bowl titles during his first stint in Washington from 1981-92. His first season back after a 12-year retirement was a flop, with the Redskins going 6-10 last year. However, Gibbs made the necessary adjustments after hearing critics say the game had passed by him.
“I was starting all over,” Gibbs said. “It's a tough road up here and last year, for whatever reason, I probably deserved it (the criticism).”
For the depleted Eagles, it was a fitting end to a miserable season. With McNabb and several other key starters sidelined by injuries and Terrell Owens banished from the team, Philadelphia was undermanned and overmatched.
Only 10 players who started in the Eagles' 24-21 loss to New England in the Super Bowl were on the field against the Redskins. Still, the Eagles made it difficult for Washington.
“If you give me everybody we had, everybody stays healthy, none of the stuff goes on, we're talking about a different situation right now,” safety Brian Dawkins said.
The Redskins tied it at 17 on Portis' 2-yard run on the first drive of the third quarter. A 54-yard catch by Santana Moss to the Eagles 6 set up the score.
But the Eagles answered with a 35-yard field goal by David Akers that made it 20-17. The lead held up until McMahon threw another costly pick, his eighth interception this season.
McMahon threw a 33-yard TD pass to Brown to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead in the first quarter. The two hooked up on an 8-yard scoring pass to make it 17-7 in the second quarter. An illegal motion penalty wiped out a TD catch by Brown and the Eagles faced a third-and-21 after McMahon tripped for a 10-yard loss. But a pass interference penalty on Shawn Springs gave the Eagles a first down at the Redskins 11, setting up Brown's second score.

John Hall kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 17-10 before halftime.
Washington went three-and-out on its first two possessions, but got a lucky break when Dexter Wynn fumbled a punt that was recovered by Mike Sellers at the Eagles 37.
Five plays later, Brunell tossed a 4-yard pass to Sellers, giving the Redskins a 7-3 lead.
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead when Akers' 49-yard field goal hit the crossbar and went over.
Portis broke Stephen Davis' franchise rushing record of 1,432 yards set in 2001, and Moss topped Bobby Mitchell's 42-year-old receiving mark of 1,436 yards.
Notes: Portis and Moss became the fourth pair of teammates to set franchise rushing and receiving records in the same season. ... The Redskins made the playoffs just once after Gibbs retired following the 1992 season. ... Gibbs was 5-0 this December, improving his record to 57-18 after Dec. 1. ... Philadelphia was the fifth straight team to miss the playoffs one season after losing the Super Bowl.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10675761/

Portis' mother punches out Eagles fan
'Skins RB says mom 'busted some lady in the nose' after doused with beer
Updated: 12:07 a.m. ET Jan. 3, 2006
Clinton Portis took a beating in Sunday's victory over Philadelphia. Apparently, his mother dished one out.
In the fourth quarter, Portis's mother, Rhonnel Hearn, was sitting in the end zone at Lincoln Financial Field with Portis's stepfather and some friends when an Eagles fan apparently tossed a beer on the group. Portis's mother responded by punching the woman in the face, Portis said.
The altercation explained why Hearn watched part of the game from the Redskins sideline.
"She busted some lady in the nose, but that'll just teach you about messing with her," Portis said. "I think fans take that too serious. People come to the game to have a good time, that's what you should do. If you decide your team is losing and you want to cause trouble, then you're going to get what you're looking for. And yesterday, whoever that fan was, they got what they were looking for."
Portis rushed for 112 hard yards Sunday but re-injured an already sore shoulder and left wrist after being horse-collared in the fourth quarter by linebacker Trent Cole. "It's one of those Mondays where I feel like I ain't going to make it," Portis said with a laugh.
His mother, he said, fared better. "My mom can protect herself," Portis said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10687593/

The Redskins advance by beating the Buccaneers 17-10 while the Panthers ANNIHILATED the Giants.

Stats don't tell value of Brunell to Redskins
QB wins over Gibbs, teammates with composure, leadership skills
When Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs extols the play of quarterback Mark Brunell, he finds himself in an immediate quarrel with statistics, which show that, in the second half of last weekend's playoff game against Tampa Bay, Brunell completed four passes for eight yards, none in the fourth quarter. And in the regular season finale, a game the Redskins needed to win to advance to the playoffs, Brunell completed just 9 of 25 passes against Philadelphia.
But Gibbs maintains that other aspects of Brunell's performance, such as his patience and refusal to force passes often, have offset the statistical deficiencies and are a key reason Washington won both games.
"Sometimes what a quarterback does - and it doesn't look pretty and people don't ever talk about this - is that the best plays he makes are the ones that aren't there," Gibbs said. "I think that Mark's been exceptional at that, whether it's running like he did the other night, getting out of there, making some plays. I firmly believe, from a pass-protection standpoint, that we'd be taking many more sacks and chances with someone else in there."
Still, the numbers are glaring. The past two weeks, Brunell has completed only 40 percent of his passes and has a 41.8 passer rating. His performance has dropped dramatically since taking a Christmas Eve hit from New York Giants linebacker Nick Greisen, which sprained the quarterback's knee and knocked him out of a 35-20 victory.
Suddenly, one of the NFL's great comeback stories this season seems destined for an unhappy ending. After a disastrous 2004 season, Brunell had a passer rating of 98.7 and was throwing for an average of almost 250 yards a game as the Redskins won four of their first six games. In the last three, including the victory over the Giants, his passer rating was 58.8 and he averaged less than 100 yards passing.
"He's reverting to where he was a year ago," said a personnel director of a Redskins opponent who did not want to be identified. "We played them earlier and he looked really good this year. But watching the Tampa Bay game, he looked like the length of the season and the pounding has gotten to him. He doesn't look quick and he doesn't look decisive. It's got to be the wear and tear of a long season."
Brunell's favorite target, wide receiver Santana Moss, said he doesn't think Brunell is completely healthy but thinks the veteran still gives the Redskins the best chance to win.
"He looks funny to me," Moss said. "He's out there playing and that's all we care about. There're a lot of guys playing with a lot of things, and he's a guy who got it done all year. So I never question anything when I see that guy on the field because he's out there for us."
For the first time since being injured, Brunell admitted that his sprained right knee affected him against Philadelphia, and yet was adamant that, although he performed worse against Tampa Bay, the knee was not a factor.

"Mechanically [against Philadelphia], I was a little off," Brunell said. "I didn't get much work during the week and it bothered me on a couple of throws. Last week against Tampa, it felt great. It really did. It's not taped up. I always wear the brace, but the knee is fine."
Center Casey Rabach said the Redskins' coaching staff has tried to compensate for Brunell's injury by attempting to keep him more stationary.
"I think they changed a few things for him," Rabach said. "I don't think he was outside the pocket as much because of the knee. But it being another week after the fact, I think it bodes well for him."
With the ascension of the running game as the top priority, Brunell has not been asked to win games solely with his arm. Since the Redskins abandoned the run in the second half of the Nov. 20 loss to Oakland, Brunell has been asked to do less through the air. In his first nine starts, Brunell threw 308 passes, or 34.2 per game. In seven starts since, including the playoff game, Brunell has attempted 147 passes, or 21 per game.
But Gibbs said that in the Philadelphia and Tampa Bay games, two plays underscore Brunell's value and toughness, qualities that supersede whatever statistical evidence suggests the quarterback is under-performing
Against Philadelphia, the Redskins were leading 24-20 with 4 minutes 21 seconds left , with Brunell standing in the shotgun from his 18-yard line. It was third and eight and a Philadelphia stop would have given the Eagles good field position, possibly at mid-field, and plenty of time to mount a drive for the winning score that would have kept the Redskins out of the playoffs.
Brunell looked for Moss, and saw nothing. He looked for Chris Cooley, who was covered. He slid a few steps to his left, avoided pressure and then took off up the middle, a 12-yard limping run combination that netted the Redskins a clutch first down. The Redskins took another 1:10 off the clock, moved the ball to their 37 and wound up pinning the Eagles back to their 25-yard line. Four plays later, Sean Taylor picked up Mike McMahon's fumble and ran 39 yards for the game-clinching score.

Gibbs considers Brunell's dreadful performance last week against Tampa Bay - in which the Redskins set an NFL playoff record low for total yards by a winning team - and instead prefers to think about him taking the snap from the shotgun on third and seven with 7:42 left in the half and the Redskins leading 14-3. Again, Brunell looked for Cooley, before bolting around the left side for nine yards and a first down. Four plays later, John Hall kicked a 47-yard field goal that gave the Redskins a two-touchdown lead.
To Gibbs, these plays are proof that for every area where Brunell is statistically deficient, he is nevertheless a winning quarterback. By allowing Brunell to struggle - in a way never afforded Patrick Ramsey - Gibbs is also telegraphing another message about his own preference for a veteran quarterback presence, albeit clearly injured, especially in the postseason.
"He's out there making more plays. He's very, very good at doing the little things, getting rid of the ball when it's the right thing. I think he has helped us win football games the last two weeks," Gibbs said. "And sometimes it doesn't look good in the stats and all the things that happen there, and I understand that. I know he wants to be more productive than that and needs to be more productive than that, but he's made very key plays in both games. So to me, he's pretty much done for us what he's done all year."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10797771/

Did you see the game where there was a bad play from the other teamn and the ref put it against the Redskins? They said that one of the players spit in the refs face but it wasn't true.

That game sent Mark(my brother)into a fit. It was classic. He could NOT shutup about it. He was shouting, "HE DIDN'T DO IT YOU ---".

Yeah.

Frantic FG finish caps Redskins’ win over ’Boys
Novak misses 1st attempt, gets shot at another after Vanderjagt’s blocked
LANDOVER, Md. - Joe Gibbs watched his Washington Redskins go from blowing a chance for a last-minute victory over the Dallas Cowboys to preventing a last-minute loss to, somehow, pulling out a win with no time left on the clock.
“Gosh,” the Hall of Fame coach said, “I don’t know if I’ve experienced anything like that.”
In a finish as crazy as they come, Washington’s Nick Novak got two chances to try a winning field goal, missing the first from 49 yards with 31 seconds to go before barely making the second, a 47-yarder after time expired that lifted the Redskins past the Cowboys 22-19 on Sunday.
“It’s a short walk from the outhouse to the penthouse,” Novak said. “This is what a kicker dreams about. There are ups and downs, and this was the up.”
Between Novak’s low and high, Dallas kicker Mike Vanderjagt’s chance to win it — a 35-yarder with 6 seconds left — was blocked by Troy Vincent. The ball bounced around until Sean Taylor picked it up and made a weaving, tackle-busting return into Dallas territory as time expired. Dallas’ Kyle Kosier was flagged for a facemask penalty on the return, tacking on another 15 yards — and meaning regulation would continue for one more play.
Novak came through this time, sneaking the ball inside the right upright. With his arms up, Novak ran about 50 yards back downfield, and several of his teammates piled on top of him, led by Vincent.
A five-time Pro Bowl defensive back in his 15th year in the league, Vincent was signed last month after the Buffalo Bills released him from their injured reserve list. He’d never blocked a kick in his career, he said, and wasn’t even told until Saturday night that he’d be on field-goal duty.
“A win is a win,” Vincent said, “and it’s good to get back in the win column.”
The Redskins (3-5) snapped a three-game losing streak and dropped Dallas (4-4) into a second-place tie in the NFC East with idle Philadelphia.
In many ways, the Cowboys could only blame themselves, with all kinds of miscues and, perhaps, errors in judgment: a safety on their first offensive possession; a failed 2-point conversion early in the second quarter (“I go by the chart,” coach Bill Parcells said); and plenty more errors that wasted another fine performance by quarterback Tony Romo in his second NFL start.
“When you’ve got that much going for you, and you screw it up like that, it’s how you end up 4-4,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.
“It’s a heartbreaker,” Parcells said, “and I really don’t have too much to say.”
Another flag came on Terrell Owens for excessive celebration: He pretended to take a nap by using the football as a pillow after his 4-yard touchdown catch from Romo put the Cowboys ahead 19-12 in the third quarter.
Later in that quarter, a wide-open Owens dropped a long pass when he was behind the defense and seemed certain to give Dallas a two-touchdown lead.
“I owe this one to the team,” Owens said. “I let the team down. Honestly, I think it was a lack of concentration.”
So when beleaguered Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell connected with Chris Cooley on an 18-yard score on the third play of the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 19.
The Redskins came off their bye week knowing they needed a victory to make the rest of the season meaningful, and Gibbs vowed to revamp the playbook. There was only one significant personnel change, though: inserting Vincent as a starting safety in place of free-agent disappointment Adam Archuleta.
Still, Romo went 24-for-36 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. He repeatedly bought time by scrambling away from pressure and settled down after a rough start: Dallas gained 4 yards on its first two possessions, then totaled 235 with two TDs and two field goals on its next four drives.
But given these teams are coached by men who’ve won a total of five Super Bowls, there was an awful lot of sloppy or ineffective play.
The Redskins failed to score on their opening possession, despite starting seven plays inside the 5. Dallas’ first possession ended with a safety, when Lemar Marshall dragged down Julius Jones in the end zone.
Washington’s first possession of the second half began with a holding penalty, 3-yard run, loss of 9 on DeMarcus Ware’s sack, and a gain of 8 on third-and-26. That was enough to draw boos.
By game’s end, there was nothing but cheers.
As Novak walked off the field, his helmet aloft in his hand, he was smiling, the kick he’d missed moments earlier a distant memory.
Notes: Parcells is 14-9 against Gibbs. ... Brunell was 14-for-23 for 192 yards and a TD, even though top target Santana Moss (hamstring) missed the game. ... Redskins RB Clinton Portis carried 23 times for 84 yards, including a season-long 38-yard run for a touchdown.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15579425/

Redskins stop Saints' offense, win 16-10
NEW ORLEANS (Dec. 17, 2006) -- The New Orleans Saints returned to their lockers to find hats and T-shirts commemorating the franchise's first playoff berth since 2000.
Most players hastily stuffed them in bags as they dressed and left the stadium looking frustrated.
"I won't be celebrating at all tonight if that's what you're wondering," quarterback Drew Brees said after the Saints clinched the NFC South by default while losing 16-10 to the underdog Washington Redskins. "I have the shirt. I have the hat. They're in my bag. I'll go home and I'll put them in my closet."
New Orleans (9-5) still holds the No. 2 seed in the NFC, having beaten Dallas (9-5) last week. Clinching a first-round bye just got a little harder than expected, however.
"Our standards are higher than maybe what you would think," Brees said. "We won the division. That's great, but it came in a loss. We still have more things now that we want to accomplish."
After Atlanta's loss to the Cowboys on Saturday night, the Saints' only remaining pursuer in the NFC South, Carolina, was eliminated by a loss to Pittsburgh.
The Redskins (5-9), meanwhile, played more like a team looking to quiet harsh criticism than a unit already out of contention for the postseason, punishing the Saints' defense with a running attack that racked up 161 yards.
"I have never been prouder of a bunch of guys, with everything that has happened to us this year," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "It was a fight. It was a pride game for us. ... They played as hard as they could play."
Coming off a career-high 171 yards a week earlier, Ladell Betts gained 119 on 22 carriers, while blossoming quarterback Jason Campbell outplayed Brees.
"Ladell has made a real statement," Gibbs said. "He has led the team is what he has done."
Campbell threw for 204 yards and a 31-yard touchdown to Santana Moss, and Shaun Suisham kicked two field goals of 37 yards and another of 22 to keep New Orleans at arm's length.
Betts, filling in since Clinton Portis was lost for the season with a broken hand, also had 43 yards on three catches.
Brees, who has played his way to MVP contention by leading the league in yards passing, took too much time to get going, hurt by dropped passes at times. He also threw a costly interception in the fourth quarter and finished 21 of 38 for 207 yards. He was hurried on many plays, sacked twice and he did not throw a touchdown pass.
The Redskins defense neutralized Reggie Bush, holding him to only 14 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving. Deuce McAllister scored the Saints' lone touchdown, but finished with only 48 yards rushing.
Despite playing poorly, New Orleans was in the game until the end. Bush's 15-yard gain on a screen gave the Saints a first down on the Washington 19 in the last two minutes. But the drive stalled when Brees' fourth-down pass for Devery Henderson in the end zone fell incomplete.
"I thought we were sluggish. I thought we were flat. ... I wish I had an explanation. I don't have one for you," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "Credit Washington. They did a good job. We looked sluggish. I thought we had a good week of practice. Evidently, I was wrong. It starts with me. I've got to do a better job getting these guys ready because we were half-asleep."
Washington dominated early but led only 13-7 at halftime because of the same type of untimely mistakes that have plagued the Redskins all season.
On Washington's opening drive, Campbell fumbled a snap for no gain on a third-and-1 from the New Orleans 14 and Gibbs settled for a field goal. Later, two straight false starts squandered a second-and-2 at the New Orleans 11, leading to another field goal.
When the Redskins were error-free, they were ruthlessly efficient, going 80 yards in only four plays for their only touchdown and a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Cooley set up the score, turning a short pass into a 44-yard gain to the Saints 31. On the next snap, Campbell went down the middle to Moss, who split defenders Mike McKenzie and Fred Thomas in the back of the end zone.
The Saints, who were 3-13 last season while displaced by Hurricane Katrina, have had a number of special moments with New Orleans fans this season. They had talked during the week of this game being another.
But playing the Redskins proved a humbling experience in what on the whole has been a glorious return for their rebuilding city.
Bush never hinted at a smile when asked about winning the division.
"I couldn't care less about the hat," Bush said. "I don't even want it."
Notes: Cooley finished with 80 yards on four receptions. ... The Saints played without receiver Joe Horn (groin), who missed his second straight game, as well as starting safety Omar Stoutmire and tight end Mark Campbell, who both had minor knee injuries in a victory over Dallas a week ago. ... Betts has rushed for 549 yards in his last four games.
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20061217_WAS@NO