Of all the historic rivalries, the Dallas Cowboys’ oldest one is with the Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders.
It began long before the Cowboys ever set foot on an NFL field for the first time in the fall of 1960.
The then-owner of the Washington Redskins did not want an NFL team in Dallas.
When he tried to block the new franchise, Clint Murchison Jr. simply purchased the rights to the Redskins’ fight song, played at every home game in D.C.
Murchison gave the Redskins a simple choice. Vote to allow the new franchise in Dallas, or get a new song.
The Dallas Cowboys were born, as was an immediately heated rivalry.
This year, it’s heating up even more.
The Cowboys are looking to rebound from a train-wreck season that ended at 7-10. It also had Mike McCarthy packing his bags.
Now the Commanders, at least for now, Washington held the NFC East lead briefly last year before settling for second and a wild card spot.
Both teams want to wrest the division crown away from the Philadelphia Eagles. Only one of them can accomplish that.
Which makes this first meeting, in Week 7 at AT&T Stadium, one of the Cowboys’ biggest of the year, at least for the first half of the season.
There Can Be Only One
Dallas jumped up and stunned Washington in the first meeting last year, a 34-26 loss that all but sealed Washington’s fate to finish behind the Eagles.
The win was highlighted by one of the craziest fourth quarters in NFL history.
After a first half that ended in a 3-3 tie, both teams scored a touchdown in the third quarter. Only the Cowboys made their extra point try.
A Brandon Aubrey field goal and a Luke Schoonmaker touchdown extended the lead to 20-9 with five minutes left in the final quarter.
In the final three minutes of the game, Zack Ertz scored for Washington, KaVontae Turpin returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score, Austin Siebert hit a 51-yard field goal, and Terry McLaurin scored on an 86-yard pass from Jayden Daniels to make it 27-26 with 21 seconds left.
Then, just for good measure, Juanyeh Thomas recovered an onside kick attempt and ran it in for the final score.
Expect similar insanity in this season’s two meetings.
Historically Speaking
Dallas has dominated the series with a 79-49-2 record all-time. The Cowboys are 43-18-2 when they play Washington at home.
The last two seasons, Dallas has had their bye week in Week 7. This will be the first time they’ve played this week since beating Detroit at home in 2022.
The Cowboys have won their last four Week 7 home games and are 32-28 all-time this week. They are 21-5 when those games are played at home.
But against Washington, they are just 1-5 all-time in Week 7 contests, but all five losses have been at Washington.
Dallas’ lone Week 7 win over the Commanders was a 38-20 victory in 1999 at Texas Stadium.
