NFL

Moss catches on quickly to 'Skins-Cowboys rivalry

ASHBURN, Va. - Two dozen red and yellow roses - Washington Redskins colors, of course - were awaiting Santana Moss when he arrived at Redskins Park on Tuesday, a gift from an anonymous fan whose note said "Thank you."

"I didn't realize how big this game was," Moss said.

As a new arrival, the former Miami Hurricane receiver didn't grasp the full significance of the Dallas rivalry, at least not until he got into the game Monday night and started feeling the mounting tension and frustration. A 10th straight Redskins loss at Texas Stadium seemed inevitable when the Cowboys took a 13-0 lead.

"If you could just see the faces," Moss said. "The game meant so much, to where we were trying to find some way to pull ourselves out of it. To do it the way we did it - I've been in some games where we've won the fourth quarter in college and stuff like that - but at this level it's hard to do that. That was really big for us."

Now, of course, whatever he does for the rest of his life, Moss has a permanent place in Redskins lore. His two touchdown catches - 39 and 70 yards - in the final 3:46 turned certain defeat into a 14-13 victory, the perfect and long overdue antidote to Clint "Mad Bomber" Longley's miracle pass that led the infamous Cowboys comeback on Thanksgiving Day in 1974.

"As far as competitive athletic wins and having great thrills, this ranks right there with them," said coach Joe Gibbs, who has won three Super Bowls. "For me, it was so much emotion - and everything wrapped into it - where the team was and all the things that have taken place. And for that to be Monday night and to know it was the Dallas Cowboys, you roll all that into one, it was very emotional."

Gibbs jumped and hugged and celebrated like a kid after getting an ice-water bath at the final whistle. For the record, it was Washington's first win in Dallas since 1995 and only the second in the last 16 meetings overall.

"It was good to see that side of him," right tackle Jon Jansen said. "It's probably an indication of how much stress we've all been under, having to answer all the questions about, "Is it still a rivalry if you can't win?' Blah, blah, blah. I think if you go down to Dallas this morning and ask anybody about that game, I think the rivalry is still there."

[Last modified September 21, 2005, 00:25:10]