Stakes raised in NFC East rivalry
Win against 9-1 Cowboys would show team is for real
Redskins, Cowboys meet on Thanksgiving
ASHBURN, VA. Josh Norman could feel the tradition as he trudged toward the locker room at FedExField on Sunday night, basking in the moment of the biggest victory of the season.
It was the familiar chant from the stands, screamed repeatedly over the years. We want Dallas!
“I noticed that,” Washington’s big-money cornerback said Tuesday.
He laughed when sharing his initial thought.
“OK, go out there and take ’em on,” Norman wanted to tell the fans.
Surely, a legion of burgundy-and-gold backers would relish the chance. Some would probably wear battle fatigues as John Riggins and Co. did for a trip to Big D for a classic chapter in the 1980s. But Norman knows it’s up to him and his teammates to represent on this mission, which plays out on the grand stage that is football on Thanksgiving.
Still, there’s nothing like a reminder about the temperature of one of the NFL’s most storied rivalries — with intensity that ebbs and flows depending on the won-lost relevance at any given time.
With the Dallas Cowboys riding a franchise-record nine-game winning streak that began at Washington in Week 2, it’s pretty hot.
Who better to knock off Dallas than Washington?
“It’s not so much about knocking anybody off their roost,” Norman said. “We’re trying to get our seventh win.”
Norman, who arrived with a $75 million free agent deal, had his share of rivalries in the NFC South while with the Carolina Panthers. But he has sensed that time seemingly adds depth to these NFC East rivalries with the Cowboys, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
“These guys have had rivalries for ages,” Norman said. “Since I was born … my grandfather … back in the day … geez, the history of that is so old. You want to live in the moment, because children’s
children are going to someday talk about the game.”
Clearly it’s a new moment. So much has changed since Week 2, when the Cowboys won 27-23 after converting Kirk Cousins’ endzone interception into an 80-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that was the gamewinner.
For one thing, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have blossomed into rookie of the year favorites — maybe even MVP candidates — while sparking Dallas (9-1) to the NFL’s best record.
Washington (6-3-1) has lost once in its last eight games. It was 0-2 after the loss to Dallas, and Cousins was catching heat after one of the final two drives ended with him missing a fourth-down throw to Pierre Garcon.
Now he’s the quarterback, playing under a $19.53 million franchise tag, they can’t let get away in the offseason.
“It’s a long season,” Cousins told USA TODAY Sports, recalling the mind-set of 0-2. “You’ve got to stay the course and keep playing.”
That might sound a bit bland, but it reflects the even-keeled steadiness that Cousins brings.
But sometimes Cousins cuts loose with a window into his emotional soul. He inspired a mantra (then trademarked it) when he yelled, “You like that!?” after a 2015 comeback win vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sunday, cameras caught him bellowing, “How you like me now?” as he embraced — and mussed the hair of — general manager Scot McCloughan at the end of a blowout of the Green Bay Packers.
Hey, it’s a game of chants and emotion. Even team owner Dan Snyder, caught by cameras way too often over the years as a glum figure while watching from his box, let it flow as his team put the wraps on the 18-point win. He became Dancin’ Dan, swaying in his box like nobody was watching.
You can’t blame Snyder for getting caught up in the moment. It seems that after so many false starts, they’re building something sustainable for the long haul, with McCloughan and coach Jay Gruden calling the shots.
The offense — with Cousins and an array of weapons that includes lethal tight end Jordan Reed, deep-threat receiver DeSean Jackson and sensational, out-of-nowhere rookie running back Rob Kelley — is as balanced and potent as any. Washington, second in the NFL in yards, is capable of shredding an overachieving Dallas defense and holding its own in anybody’s shootout.
You want Dallas? Rivalry games are also perfect for a gut check. Washington won the NFC East with a 9-7 record last year, when the division was derisively referred to as the NFC Least. Now Dallas is the talk of the NFL in rising from worst (4-12) to first, with every team in the division improved.
A win Thursday would not only put Washington in line to defend its division crown, it would also demonstrate a certain resilience after being dealt a tough hand from the NFL in following a Sunday night game with a road game on a short week.
Then again, a loss on Thanksgiving virtually eliminates the prospect that Washington — which ended last season with a one-and-done playoff cameo — can repeat as division champ.
“Time will tell,” Cousins said. “The script doesn’t need to be written right now. We’ve got six games left. People remember how you finish. We need to finish strong.”
But first they must find out whether they will make it a real race to the finish line.