Gone with a Win

*Redskins Update by The Sports Column’s Columnist, Marcus from College Park.*

Washington will host Dallas in a game for all the marbles on Sunday night. With the NFC East title on the line, the two franchises that haven’t reached the promise land of Super Bowl Nirvana, in a combined total of 36-years, will slug it out in front of a national T.V audience.

Since 1991, Washington has hoisted only one measly NFC East pennant, which was in 1999. Meanwhile, Big “D” is 1-7 in its last eight playoff appearances, most recently suffering a humiliating 34-3 loss to the Vikings in 2010. Burgundy and gold Head Coach Mike Shanahan is 1-4 in the playoffs since 1999, while Dallas’ QB Tony Romo, who scores big with the ladies, strikes out in the playoffs with a career 1-3 record. The result of Sunday night’s dust up, barring an improbable tie, will mean that one of these clubs is actually going to win a very big game. Hallelujah! “To the victor goes the spoils” of a home playoff game and a date with the Seattle Seahawks.

Courtesy: Washington Post/Papa Johns

D.C.’s Dan “The Man” Snyder and Dallas’ top cowpoke, Jerry Jones, join in the irony; the owners won’t have to engage in a lively game of rock, paper, scissors anymore to prove who is the top gun in their unholy alliance. Lest we forget, Dan played “pizza boy” to Jerry in a Papa Johns’ commercial, and then joined forces to sue the other 30 NFL owners for their own bumbling use of the salary cap; both were shut out on the steps of the courthouse and the whopping penalties were upheld.

One wonders if the two megalomaniacs will vacation together again this year in Cannes with NBA great Magic Johnson, after one of the owner’s egos suffers what will surely be a crushing defeat. Could this be the end of a love affair between the two, born out of the John Ray adage penned 350-years ago, that “Misery loves company?” Rest assured, the two love birds will be amply shown on the big screen together before the shrill breakup after the game.

I almost forgot; there will be a coin toss, a kickoff, and 60-minutes of football.

Washington takes the turf giving 3-1/2 points to Dallas. In their first meeting this season, RG3 passed for 304-yards and 4 touchdowns on the way to a 38-31 victory on Thanksgiving Day. D.C.’s other rookie, offensive sensation running-back Alfred Morris, ran for 113-yards. The perfect offensive balance of passing and rushing has launched Washington to six straight wins.

Courtesy: Washington Post

On the downside, the Capital City’s interest in the condition of RG3’s knee sprain has dwarfed the coverage of the country’s imminent and disastrous fall off of the “Fiscal Cliff.” Don’t count on RG3 displaying his dazzling footwork while wearing a huge knee brace. Against Philly last week, it was obvious that he didn’t have his top gear.

The Cowboys ride into FedEx Field on the heels of an overtime loss to the Saints; that hurt. Tony Romo is having one of his best statistical seasons ever, and Dez Bryant gets behind defenses so easily that you wonder if it’s the team’s plan not to cover him. Here’s the rub; Romo attempted 62 passes in the team’s first meeting. Yes, you read that right, 62! The Cowboys rushed the ball only eleven times, three of which were by Romo. Not much of a balanced offense, huh?

Throw in three turnovers and Dallas was lucky to only lose by 7-points; no wonder the posse in Dallas is ready to string up Head Coach and alleged offensive mastermind, Jason Garrett. Albert Einstein cooked up some pretty smart stuff at Princeton, but none of the Theories of Relative Balance on offense rubbed off on pass-happy, former Princeton Tiger QB Garrett.

Everything considered, a wounded RG3 means this game will be close, very close. Remarkably, Dallas cut kicker Kai Forbath, allowing Washington to solve its decades-long field goal woes by signing him in October as a free agent. The unflappable kicker hasn’t missed all year; 17 in a row and counting. Could he be the difference maker, maybe? Dallas covers getting the 3-1/2 points and might find enough offense to win this donnybrook outright.

This much is absolutely certain.  The franchise that does win and rewards its fan’s with the NFC East Title will find that all of the agony, all of the years of disappointment and waiting will be “Gone With The Win…”