In today's Rewarding Moments In Redskins History presented by Maryland Lottery My Lottery Rewards, we look back at Washington's improbable victory over the Cowboys in 2005.
Wide receiver Santana Moss, who was in his first year as a Redskin after spending the first four seasons of his career with the New York Jets, was fresh to the Washington-Dallas rivalry. And while the electric playmaker who would go on to rank third in Redskins franchise history in receptions -- trailing only Hall of Famers Art Monk and Charley Taylor -- he was eerily quiet through three quarters against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 19, 2005.
Leading up to the Monday Night Football game, Moss was frustrated because he was primarily used as a decoy in practice, consistently running seam routes to clear out the top of the defense for shorter, intermediate gains. But with the game on the line, former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs put his faith in his young receiver.
After putting up nine points in the season opener, the burgundy and gold found themselves down, 13-0, late in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys. They were facing a 4th-and-15 with fewer than four minutes to go.
Then, in seemingly a blink of an eye, two deep throws from Mark Brunell to the newly-acquired Moss tied the game at 13. The 39- and 70-yard scores came on the exact same route: corner-post-corner. The second score shocked those in attendance at Texas Stadium and set the Redskins up for an improbable 14-13 win.
Thanks in part to these heroics, Redskins fans dubbed Moss as the "Cowboy Killer" for the rest of his career in Washington.
