Monday, December 31, 2007

Heart, Guts, Talent...Skins Thump Dallas, Make Playoffs

The equation holds true.

Skins/Cowboys + Skins at home x Something important at stake = Redskins Victory.

The Redskins dominated the Dallas Cowboys for 60 minutes yesterday, and will be heading into the playoffs on a 4 game winning streak after their convincing 27-6 victory.

Clinton Portis bulled his way through the vaunted Dallas defense for 104 yards on 25 carries and 2 touchdowns, and became the only player this season to rush for over 100 yards against the Cowboys. Todd Collins carved up the Dallas secondary with precision timing and accuracy. Collins went 22-31 for 244 yards and a 42-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss that sealed the victory for the Redskins.

Moss finished the day with a total of 8 catches for 115 yards to go along with his touchdown reception.

The defense put on one of it's greatest efforts of the season, holding the Cowboy rushing attack to only 1 yard, which is a new Dallas franchise-low for a single game. Media darling Tony Romo was humbled by the Redskins, going only 7-16 for a mere 86 yards and 1 INT before leaving the game in the 3rd quarter after the Redskins had gone up 20-3 and were firmly in control of the game.

Redskins outgained the Cowboys in total offense by a margin of 354-147.

The Redskins will face the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs. The game will be at Qwest Field in Seattle, and will start at 4:30 ET on Saturday, January 5th. The game will be televised on NBC.

Key Redskin stats from the regular season...

Clinton Portis had another fine year...325 carries, 1262 yards, 11 TDs, as well as 47 receptions and 389 yards out of the backfield.

Before going down with an injury in week 13 against Chicago, Jason Campbell was having a pretty good year despite the "growing pains" of a young quarterback. Campbell went 250-417 (60% comp), 2700 yards, 12 TDs and 11 INTs in 12 1/2 games.

Todd Collins has filled in for Campbell with spectacular play over the final 3 1/2 games. Collins has gone 67-105 (63.8%), 888 yards, 5 TDs and 0 INTs.

Santana Moss turned it up in the final half of the season, finishing with 61 rec, 808 yards, and 3 TDs. Chris Cooley had a Pro-Bowl season with 66 rec, 786 yards, and 8 TDs.

Defensive leaders...
Tackles - London Fletcher - 129 (101 solo)
Tackles For Loss - Anthony Montgomery - 5.5
Sacks - Andre Carter - 10.5
Forced Fumbles - Andre Carter/Phillip Daniels - 4
INTs - the late Sean Taylor with 5 for 98 yards

On a Final Note...

Does anyone else just love watching Brett Farve play? I don't think anyone has simply enjoyed the game of football the way Farve has in his career. He has had his best season in a decade at the age of 38, and his "low-fiving" the referee after a touchdown pass yesterday was a perfect depiction of how much Brett Farve loves playing football. We need more guys like this in professional sports.

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