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Cowboys stun sliding 'Skins

Randall Cunningham throws two TDs as Dallas wins 27-21, dropping Washington to 1-2.

©Associated Press

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 19, 2000

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Redskins' supposed Super Bowl season is turning into a super bust.

Backup quarterback Randall Cunningham threw two touchdowns and the Dallas Cowboys overcame two touchdown runs by Stephen Davis and two turnovers to beat Washington 27-21 on Monday night for their first win of the season. The Redskins also are 1-2, a long way from expectations after they reached the playoffs last season and spent over $100-million on off-season upgrades.

Tight end Jackie Harris scored with 9:56 left in the game on a 16-yard pass from Cunningham, starting in place of the injured Troy Aikman.

The Redskins pulled within 24-21 with 5:39 left when Brad Johnson hit running back Mike Sellers for a 7-yard touchdown. The Cowboys went three-and-out on their next series, but Johnson overthrew tight end Stephen Alexander and was picked off by Izell Reese. Tim Seder kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:50 left for the final margin.

Up 14-7 at halftime, the Cowboys moved 62 yards on the first possession of the third quarter before Seder kicked a 32-yard field goal. The drive was aided by a pass-interference call against Darrell Green and featured a 14-yard quarterback draw by Cunningham on third-and-10 from the Washington 32.

The Cowboys then forced a punt. On first down, a high pass from Cunningham deflected off Chris Warren's hands and was intercepted by Sam Shade at the Dallas 23. Davis ran five straight times, scoring from the 1 to bring Washington to 17-14.

On Dallas' next series, Ragib Ismail fumbled on the Washington 35. But the Redskins failed to capitalize and punted after making one first down.

In the first half, Cunningham threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Warren and Emmitt Smith scored on a fourth-down run for the underdog Cowboys.

The lone score of the second quarter came by Smith, who took a pitchout on fourth and 1 play the 3 and avoided two defenders on his way into the end zone. Smith finished with 83 yards rushing on 24 carries.

The drive, which covered 51 yards, started after Greg Ellis recovered a fumble by Johnson.

Warren tied it at 7 with 2:32 left in the first quarter. The running back lined up wide and was all alone when catching the pass from Cunningham, who started a second straight week. Aikman practiced last week but sat out with a concussion sustained in the opener against Philadelphia.

The Redskins took a 7-0 lead when Champ Bailey ran 54 yards after taking a handoff from Deion Sanders on a punt return, setting up a fourth-down touchdown run by Davis.

Sanders, facing his former team for the first time, caught the Cowboys' first punt of the night on the 10 and broke left. Bailey took a handoff and ran toward the right sideline, moving to the Dallas 33 before finally being hauled down.

The Cowboys were seeking to avoid falling to 0-3 for the first time since 1989, when they went 1-15. Their only win that season was a 13-3 upset of the Redskins on the road.

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