Cowboys at Redskins: Win One For The Gibbster

Dallas Cowboys (13-2) vs. Washington Redskins (8-7)
4:15 p.m. FedEx Field
I’m going to end the season talking about the same thing I did to begin it. Back in September, I discussed the reasons why Joe Gibbs was still the best man for the head coaching job of the Washington Redskins. Those reasons are still true today, and many others have been added.

Let’s take a look at all the Redskins have overcome this season. Start with the tragic death of Sean Taylor. This was an unprecedented situation that no coach currently in the game has ever had to deal with. That alone would be more than most teams could conquer. Look at the Atlanta Falcons. They lost one of their best players (albeit, in a completely different set of circumstances) and completely fell apart. They went from a team that could win 9 to 10 games to a team that was lucky to win three. Their season was over before it even began. The quarterback situation was never resolved. Things got so bad that their head coach packed up and got out of Dodge before the season was over.

Add to Taylor’s death the ridiculously long list of injuries. Jon Jansen was out for the season before the first game was over. Randy Thomas joined him during game two. The right side of the offensive line, one of the greatest strengths of the Redskins, was lost before the end of September. Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El were in and out of the lineup for the first three months of the season. Carlos Rogers went down. Shawn Springs has had injury problems to go along with his serious concerns about his father’s life. Rocky McIntosh, a young player who has shown tremendous talent, is done for the year. Oh…and the starting quarterback is hurt too.

Finally, all the close losses could have caused lesser teams to quit. Not just quit on their season, but on their coach. The Redskins lose more close games than any other team in the NFL. Yet, they compete hard every week.

Why is this? Why are the Redskins a game away from a playoff bid? Why won’t they go quietly into that good night? The answer is simple: Joe Gibbs. The players absolutely love him. Gibbs made a terrible mistake against Buffalo with the double timeout. There’s no getting around that. But only four days later, the Redskins weathered a funeral, the loss of their starting quarterback and their fading playoff hopes to beat the Bears on a Thursday evening. What other coach could possibly get their teams to do that? Considering the situation the Redskins were in, most teams would have quit on their coach for an unacceptable mistake. The Redskins rallied around theirs. You think Wade Phillips would get that kind of response? What about Tom Coughlin? Heck, even the Hooded Bum? There’s no way.

Say what you will about the game passing Gibbs by (I don’t think that’s the case at all…if you go back to the Redskins-Dolphins pregame thread you’ll read why). The case can be made against Gibbs being fit to coach. But he has one thing that most coaches, no matter how smart they are and how well they prepare their teams, never get. The unquestioned loyalty, admiration and respect of all of his players. When a guy like Clinton Portis, who has no real loyalty other than the almighty dollar, comes out and says he won’t play for the Redskins next year unless Joe Gibbs is the coach, then you know there’s something special there.

Fortunately, Dan Snyder is enamored with his coach more than most of his players are. It’s clear that Gibbs will be the head coach of the Redskins for as long as Joe Gibbs wants to be head coach of the Redskins. I think he’ll be here at least one more season, maybe two. I think with all that’s happened this season, there’s no way that Gibbs will walk out on his team in the offseason.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s move on to the game this Sunday. It is impossible to analyze this game in any real way since it is unknown who the Cowboys will or won’t play and for how long all those players will be in the game. Considering how much these rivalry games mean to Jerry Jones and Jerry Jones’ Plastic Face, I would be willing to bet that the Cowboys will play most of their defensive starters for the majority of the game. Other than Terrell Owens, I bet the Girls will play most of their other backs and receivers. We won’t see Owens, probably won’t see Tony “0 Playoff Wins” Romo and a couple of offensive linemen. Other than that, I would fully expect to see the majority of the regular Cowboys.

So that means that this game, and the Redskins season, could come down to our old friend Brad Johnson. And there is no fury like a former quarterback scorned. Despite winning a championship with Tampa, and beating Washington last season in the opener and grounding the Redskins season before it even took off, you can rest assured that Brad Johnson is still a little ticked about the screw job he got at the hands of Snyder back in 2000.

Now before you all roll your eyes and lick your chops at the thought of the Redskins facing one of the league’s oldest quarterbacks, here’s what I said about Johnson back in September of 2006 before the Redskins hosted Minnesota:

“…Johnson, who can still win games in this league, has certainly seen his best days a long time ago. But he’s an accurate passer. He’s also a smart passer. He won’t make bad decisions. Johnson is still one of the best quarterbacks in recognizing and picking up blitzes.”

Those statements still prove true. Johnson has always been one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league. His physical abilities may have dropped off, but he can still win games. The way the Redskins play defense, which is still too passive for my liking, should allow Johnson to play fairly well while he’s in the game.

This contest is going to come down to the Redskins offense. Can the Redskins run the ball effectively? Can Todd Collins keep it going? Can the Redskins find ways to capitalize off Cowboys mistakes?

I would expect Clinton Portis to get somewhere around 70-85 yards on the ground and a handful of yards receiving. The Redskins aren’t blocking well enough on the right side for Portis to gain a lot of yards. On the other hand, there is no reason to think that Todd Collins will play poorly in this game. He fits very well into this offense. He gets rid of the ball quickly and accurately. The Redskins downfield attack has been better now than at any other time this season. Some of that has to do with Moss and Randle El finally being healthy. Most of it has to do with the quarterback. I continue to believe the Cowboys secondary is massively overrated, as evidenced by the way the Redskins moved the ball against them back in week 11. The big plays will be there.

This coaching effort from Joe Gibbs has already been one of the greatest accomplishments of his career. It would be amazing if he could will another win out of the Redskins and wrap up the NFC’s final playoff spot. This team deserves it. This city deserves it. The fans deserve it. Most importantly, Gibbs deserves it. There are plenty of reasons to worry about this one. The Cowboys aren’t going to lay down. And the Redskins never make anything easy. Hopefully the New Year will be brought in with a Redskins resurgence.