Cowboys’ first win surprises Redskins
By Chris Taylor, managing editor

     The Dallas Cowboys took the field Monday night with the Washington Redskins and the possibility of an 0-3 start to their season.
     Many NFL experts didn’t think the Cowboys had a chance against the Redskins, picked by many to go to the Super Bowl. However, a commitment to the running game and another fine performance by back-up quarterback Randall Cunningham led to a 27-21 win for the Cowboys.
     The Cowboys’ rediscovering the run paid immediate dividends. Emmitt Smith carried 24 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. This was not his best performance, but after getting only 23 carries in the first two games combined, this shows Smith is on his way back to becoming a workhorse.
     After two games, the Cowboys’ defense finally showed up, holding Washington running back Stephen Davis to 91 yards on 25 carries. After weeks of ridicule by the local media, the defense managed to hold against the Washington offense.
     Cornerback Ryan McNeil is doing a better impersonation of Deion Sanders than Deion himself. McNeil finished the game deflecting two passes and allowing no passes caught. He is starting to look like the Cowboys most important free-agent acquisition of the season.
     The win is the first for the Cowboys this season and the first for Dave Campo in his career as head coach. The Cowboys had suffered through a winless preseason and the first two games of this season.
     The game looked to be another blowout, but then Cunningham threw a 76-yard bomb to a wide open Chris Warren to tie the score at 7-7. Dallas took the lead for good in the second quarter on a three-yard scoring run by Emmitt Smith. The Redskins gave Dallas a scare when they came within three points late in the fourth quarter, but a key interception by Izell Reese led to a field goal to put the game away.
     The loss will throw the Redskins into turmoil. Starting quarterback Brad Johnson has been ineffective so far this season and is in danger of being benched. The high-salaried Jeff George is waiting in the wings to take over at quarterback. Considering the money invested in George, Snyder will be very anxious to see his investment in action.
     Cornerback Deion Sanders is looking to be an $8 million dollar bust. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is looking like a genius for letting him go.
     Washington owner Daniel Snyder spent millions in the off-season in an attempt to buy a Super Bowl but can’t be too happy about his investment right now.