Monday Night Football: Cowboys Kick Six Field Goals, Top Redskins 18-16

i wonder what the story line would have been if the Cowboys lost that game.

At the time, we chalked it up to some miscommunication but, apparently, there’s more to the story. Romo said after the game that the Redskins were yelling the Cowboys’ snap count.

Why is this an issue?

FOX and NBC’s numbers were up as well. So much for fear of fan backlash over the lockout. It became apparent pretty early on in August that the NFL wouldn’t lose any fans as long as they didn’t miss any games. The league avoided that, and as a result their popularity hasn’t taken a hit at all.

After the game, Hall ripped the defensive play-calling that he felt put him in position to fail, as well as the official who threw the flag. From the AP:

CBS Washington has audio of Hall’s rant at the bottom of this article (via @granthpaulsen). For what it’s worth, Mike Shanahan defended the play-calling:

Jones had long runs of 29 and 40 yards on Monday, which, coincidentally, add up to the same number of rushing yards he tallied in the first two games combined. Needless to say, the breakout game was a welcome surprise for the Cowboys, especially considering how poorly the offensive line performed for much of the game.

Unfortunately, Jones’ game ended on a sour note, as he appeared to re-injure his shoulder on Dallas’ second-to-last drive and was not on the field during the team’s final drive. From The Oklahoman:

*Offensive Player of the Game: Dan Bailey, the Cowboys Kicker, hit all six of his field goal attempts. This could go to Felix Jones, who averaged 8.2 yards a carry, but we’ll give it to the guy that put all the points on the board for the winning outfit.

For more on the game, check out our Redskins blog Hogs Haven and Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys. And get full NFL Wee 3 scores and highlights on SB Nation NFL.

Finally, a touchdown! The Redskins ended the field goal party with a nine-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in a TD catch for Tim Hightower from Rex Grossman. Before that, we’d seen six field goals between the two teams.

Of course, field goal enthusiasts shouldn’t give up on this game just yet. Dallas responded by marching down the field for another field goal to pull within four points at 16-12. It looked like the Cowboys would answer with a touchdown but safety O.J. Atogwe was able to break up a pass in the end zone intended for Kevin Ogletree.

For more on the Redskins head over to Hogs Haven. For more on the Cowboys, check out Blogging the Boys. Follow the rest of Week 3 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.

Marcus Spears will replace Hatcher for the game, a former starter for the Cowboys originally drafted in the first round by Bill Parcells. Spears started for the Cowboys in 2010, missing half the season with an injury and losing his starting gig this year.

For more on the Redskins head over to Hogs Haven. For more on the Cowboys, check out Blogging the Boys. Follow the rest of Week 3 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.

Here you can see Josh Wilson recovering the football (h/t @bubbaprog).

The play was originally ruled Cowboys football, but after further review Ed Hochuli explained that Barnes had not actually touched out of bounds prior to touching the football, so it was Redskins ball. Four plays later, the Redskins added three more points.

Tony Romo followed that up by taking the Cowboys 57 yards on nine plays, leading to a 41-yard make from kicker Dan Bailey.

For more on this game, check out our Redskins blog Hogs Haven and our Cowboys blog Blogging the Boys. Follow the rest of Week 3 of the regular season at SB Nation NFL.

London Fletcher, getting his Redskins teammates amped while standing on the Dallas star midfield before tonight’s game:

Grossman is in his 9th NFL season, but hasn’t been able to put together consistency as a starting quarterback. Steve Young apparently thinks he will now. Yes, the same Rex Grossman who has a career quarterback rating of 72.2. The same Rex Grossman who posted sub 40 quarterback ratings in 4 different games in 2006, the only season he’s started a full 16 games. That Rex Grossman.

For more on this week’s matchup, head over to SB Nation’s Cowboys blog Blogging The Boys, and our Redskins blog Hogs Haven.

Romo’s punctured lung has reportedly healed and dealing with the rib injury he has is generally a matter of pain tolerance. For that, ESPN’s Ed Werder reports, Romo will take a painkiller injection for Monday’s game and give it a go.

He’s expected to start the game against the Redskins, Werder reports.

This is big news for the Redskins as Landry has been missing in action since Week 10 of last year. Just a couple weeks ago, reports were suggesting that he could be out for a longer period of time.

Landry said earlier this week that he would be active for this game but considering he’d been out for so long that was hardly a slam dunk. He’s been suffering from an Achilles injury since last year and suffered a hamstring injury during training camp.

Game Date/Time: Monday, Sept. 26, 5:30 PM

Location: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas