Redskins Target Dallas to Honor Taylor

ESPN Radio reported early this afternoon that the Dallas Cowboys are locked in the sights of every Washington Redskin player. A Redskins fan apparently brought a Sean Taylor autograph from the beginning of the season to show the entire team. In addition to his signature, Taylor wrote: “We want Dallas.” And that has become the rallying cry of NFC Wildcard Washington team.

The blew up a photo of the departed Taylor’s autograph and inscription for the whole team to see. The Redskins will first face Seattle in a couple hours, but their ambitions reach a bit higher despite their unlikely position. Despite a lackluster running game, Seattle is favored in this matchup against the Redskins. Seattle’s defense has been excellent this year, and the passing game is much improved with the return of wide receiver Deion Branch. Washington players don’t care. This is just one step in their bid for a Cowboys defeat and a Super Bowl appearance.

Should Dallas be concerned? Probably not. Although an emotionally charged Redskins team could be tough to beat after a victory against Seattle (assuming they faced the Cowboys next). Even with Terry Glenn back in the lineup, though, the Cowboys will be vulnerable if Terrell Owens can’t play the first game. They depended on him most of the season to jump start the offense. So worry about Dallas only if you hear that TO is sitting out. If that’s the case, pray that Glenn has made a miraculous recovery!

Dallas Allows Washington Into the Playoffs

It was a less-than mediocre performance today from Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. Wade Phillips kept several starters on the inactive list this week, including Terrell Owens and Terrence Newman.

Romo had an off day in the rain, which is not surprising considering the lack of motivation. The only things the Cowboys had to play for today were records. Romo fell one pass short of a franchise record for the season. Jason Witten fell a few catches short of 100 for the year. Such is life.

Now let’s move on, shall we? Let’s take a deep breath, and just exhale all the tension right out of our shoulders… Good. That’s much better, now, isn’t it?

Now we can realize that this game didn’t matter and look forward to the playoffs. Dallas gets two weeks to rest its players before the first game as the best team in the NFC. I’m not making any promises about this team, as we’ve all seen some weaknesses which any opponent could potentially exploit. But they’re as solid a team as there is in the NFL short of the Patriots, and the Cowboys still have as good a shot at the champs as anyone else.

So let’s not overreact. Leave that to Randy Galloway and crew on Monday afternoon.

On the flip side, if you’re a Redskins fan, you should thank Wade Phillips for giving your team a chance to play in the playoffs. Had the Cowboys come out full force, it would have been over for Washington and Minnesota would be in the dance. So count your lucky stars, Redskins fan… those beautiful blue stars!