Just get the playoff. The third period ends on Nick Pass out of the end zone.
Intended for Clark. He looks for an interference ball from the side good.
And there is a flag down at the six yard line.
But it didn't come out of the pocket of the man closest to the play.
Coming upfield a bit.
And the last couple of passes by the Redskins. Mark Ripon has been hit and hit hard.
Offensive interference against the Redskins.
But Ripon has taken a couple of good shots.
That time from Jeff Koch.
So offensive interference against the Redskins is the play that will end the third quarter.
And there's that great offensive threat. Ray Horton talking to the official.
Jeff Koch number 77.
Stumbles into Ripon as he walks past Donnie Warren.
Gary Clark was in the area of the flag.
I don't know whether he was called for offensive interference or not.
He has not told us yet.
Here's Dick Hansack to give a call.
Offensive pass interference against the offense number 84.
Ten yard penalty. Repeat the down. First down.
This is the end of the third quarter.
It'll be first and 20 at the 33 when we come back.
Cowboys lead 23-7.
And we'll return to Monday Night Football after this work from our ABC station.
Since the Cowboys came into the league in 1960,
they're 73-0 when leading after three quarters by 16 or more points.
On first and 20, Ripon throws to the 30-yard line and Gary Clark gets banged down at the 28.
They had a 73-0 record even without Dennis Eckersley.
Joe Jacoby on the bench.
We have been told he will not be back. He has been getting ice on his left knee.
We find some amazing numbers downstairs.
In other words, in a situation such as this, the Cowboys have never been overtaken.
And Ripon throws and overtakes Gary Clark, throwing it off the goal post.
And it will be third down.
Again, that was just a late read on the part of Ripon.
Gary Clark had a step on the cornerback.
Had Ripon been able to deliver a little earlier, six points.
You can understand Joe Gibbs' befuddlement.
They're just kind of out of sync both offensively and defensively.
They were shocked and stunned when they lost 30-0 in their regular state in the game
right into the fourth quarter last week against Minnesota.
And they're playing about the same way here tonight.
Griskin's current drive, 55 yards, but they're still just in field goal range, and that's a long field goal in third and 14. And this play is dead.
Before its inception as Haley had come across the line.
And boost or not is the question.
Well, you'd think, though, that for the whistle to have blown, it just must be against Washington.
Because if Haley was across the ball, that's not enough to stop it.
Ball start. Offense. Number 79.
Lashay's been having his problems. Five yard penalty, still third down.
If that's just that left step, drop that left foot, then you know that he's concerned about getting beat.
Yeah, if that's just Haley jumping offside, they don't blow the whistle and stop it.
There's 79 Lashay at the top, and you see him start to come back out of his stance way before the snap of the ball.
He was going on one when Ripon was going on three.
Again, Lashay with that long holdout, and didn't look good against Goldman in the exhibition game against Minnesota.
Third down and long, and Irvin's on the delay that fools nobody.
Ernest Binder, rather, as the Dallas defense surrounds him, stops him for no gain.
And the Redskins are going to have to settle for a long field goal attempt by Lohmiller.
And on third and extremely long, that doesn't demonstrate a lot of confidence in your passing game by running on the way.
Lohmiller, one of the great kickers.
We have four here last year in the Redskins, 33-31 victories.
All long ones, just as good a night as I think a kicker has ever had.
This one is 49 yards, held by Rutledge, and Lohmiller just loves this ballpark.
Right down the middle, with five or six yards to spare.
13-38 to go in the fourth quarter.
That looked to be good from at least 55.
23-10.
If you are a Cowboy fan, that is the perfect time.
23-10, Dallas ahead. Lohmiller booms one into the end zone, and that is down.
Eight yards in by Alexander Wright.
And the Cowboys will take possession of the 20-13-32 remaining, and Dallas up 23-10.
Nate Newton helps them to lead the way up front on the offensive line.
They lead 23-10 with 13-32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
They're pretty much the same people as they had a year ago, except they are a year older.
Nate Newton has moved back to left guard, replayed for so many years,
and they have collected a tremendous crop of athletes here.
Dallas has eight Plan B players, eight first-round draft picks, and six second-round picks.
And they're growing up.
First down, 17-yard game for the 37-yard line.
And again, Emmett Smith doing in the skins.
A game that's been so tough to run against in recent years,
and Emmett Smith keeps going up into triple figures against them.
They were third in the NFL last year against the Russians.
And Emmett Smith is making them look like 23rd.
There is 19 carries, averaging almost six yards to carry tonight.
From the 37-yard line, Alfredo Roberts in motion.
Give it to Smith again.
Big enough hole after the 42, and they're opening up some nice holes for Emmett Smith.
Of course, they're also going to get a guy, Stepnosky,
who a lot of people think is their best offensive lineman back maybe next week.
Although they've been delighted with the way Frank Cornish has been playing
the center position of Stepnosky's absence.
I know one thing about Washington.
The talk shows and the papers are going to be busy after this preseason of theirs
and after this opener.
They're going to want to talk about 1988,
the year after winning the Super Bowl when they went 7-9
and failed to make the playoffs.
They've already been beating around that bush in Washington,
and boy, it's going to heat up.
Emmett Smith can't dance his way to a first down this time.
It'll be third and three up at the 44.
Marshall and Stokes make the tackle.
And I think one big difference there is the skins will tell you in 88,
Doug Williams was the quarterback, but he had only taken over late in the 87 season.
Tim Smith proved to be a one game wonder.
Kelvin Bryan was hurt.
Don't misunderstand me.
There is no way this team is going to go 7-9.
That will not keep people from talking about it.
They've already been hot on the topic after their lackluster preseason,
and this certainly isn't going to quell it.
Sandy Noonan with the newest in that.
Third and three at the 44.
And Martin gets almost broke free for a first down,
but gets hit again and is not short of it up at the 46 yard line.
The old saying is, where your head goes, your body follows.
I think it also follows.
If your head is cool, your body is cool.
Noonan going for the ice down look.
But now he's got to get ready to go back to work.
The Cowboys will be forced to kick.
Defensive lineman ought to walk around with an ice bag on his head.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Mike Sachs into putt.
Bryan Mitchell.
Sachs who receives.
Dale Hellestrayer is the snapper.
Deep angle kick, fair caught at the nine.
Forty-five yard punt.
Bryan Mitchell making the catch at the nine yard line.
The Sticks have it deep in their own territory with 10.51 to go.
The Cowboys up 23-10.
Looking forward to it from Columbus.
Last time I was at Ohio Stadium, I was the senior admission.
Miner up to the 15 yard line for a gain of six.
Oh, man.
Now what is that card worth these days, folks?
Pre-mustache, about 14 to 15 cents.
With an autograph on it, about a dime.
What do you figure?
It's coming down.
It'll be off the market.
Trading will be suspended by the time you two are done.
Second and four at the 15 yard line.
Ripping throws, and that is dropped by Art Monk.
Low pass, Brown covering, incomplete.
Third down, coming up.
You know, last year the Redskins ended the preseason with a clunker against the Jets.
They played terribly.
Bounced back the next week and won 45-0 against Detroit.
So a lot of people are saying, you know, hey, so what?
Preseason means zero.
Normally it does, but it was a precursor to the way the Redskins have played tonight.
You're right.
Joe Gibbs had it.
As much last night, he was really concerned.
And I don't think he was just seeing the worrisome Joe Gibbs that you usually have.
He was puzzled by it all.
Clark makes the catch up at the 28 yard line.
That's enough for a first down.
He's a worry ward anyway.
You know, Joe is never going to be a bully-in and optimistic and enthusiastic, at least
outwardly.
But didn't you get the sense that he was real last night?
He talked about how it was the best off-season training program they've had since he's been
there.
Yep.
From the 28 yard line.
Catch is made by Ricky Sanders up at the 40 yard line.
First down, Robert Jones makes the tackle.
And as we mentioned at the very outset tonight, the NFC East is going to be the toughest of
the divisions.
Philly wins yesterday.
Dallas on their way to a win tonight, but it's plenty of time left.
Washington showing not much in terms of being able to overcome this lead.
They can't act with the goal.
Ball starts, offense, two players prior to the snap.
Five yard penalty, still first down.
Once you put your hand on the ground, you cannot come up out of that stance.
There's Raleigh McKenzie and Jim Lachey on the left side.
Some sort of confusion as to whether or not Mark Rippon is calling a play or calling for
the snap of the football.
Lachey is getting dangerously close, Dan, too, on pass plays, lining up off the line
of scrimmage.
Well, there's always big talk about enforcing that, but they never do.
Look at Haley run that down.
That's the off-tackle, the counter-tray, a lot of ways you can call it.
And Haley read it, came down the line of scrimmage, and caught it from behind.
Biner is knocked down, no gain.
Washington had a good drive going here, a couple of successive first downs.
And now what's happened?
An off-sides penalty and a poorly executed play.
Second and 10 at the 34-yard line, 8.5 to go.
Cowboys up by 13.
Rippon with time, and a leaping, juggling catch is made up at the 49-yard line.
The Cowboys are saying no, sir, but Gary Clark did come down with a football.
And Washington keeps it going with the first down near midfield.
Right.
He was actually banged back into the ball, kept his concentration, and came up with it.
Gets a little short of the first.
The Irvins will get it.
Didn't that ball hit the ground?
Very possibly.
Biner picks up three, but of course, without replay, away we go.
Haley, meanwhile, still bothers.
Something in the neck and shoulder.
Well, he has already become a force here tonight, though, pressuring the passer all night long.
Let's look at this again.
I guess the ball comes down and actually cradles in the arm, of course.
Rippon throws, it's not accepted, but there's a flag down.
James Washington has it.
There was no Redskins near it.
Ricky Sanders doesn't have his jersey on, I know that.
Shoulder pad is torn right out of Ricky Sanders' jersey.
I think that's probably going to be the call.
That's a pretty good indication.
Illegal contact.
Defense, number 37, five-yard penalty, first down.
Ricky Sanders, who gave a little move to the inside and was going to take it deep,
and Washington knew he was going to be beat.
And he just reached out and grabbed it.
Well, the call was the illegal contact.
It was major league contact, though.
I have to give James Washington credit for that.
He knocked Ricky Sanders completely on his back.
And had he not, it might have been six.
That's a 42-yard line, first and 10, 722.