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Sunday, Oct 1, Noon Central Time - FOX

LINE: Dallas by 13½

SERIES RECORD: Dallas leads the series 39-27-2.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Dallas defeated Washington at home on Nov 20, 1994, by a score of 31-7.

LAST TIME THEY PLAYED: Dallas continued their domination over their NFC East rivals by defeating Arizona 34-20. Washington travelled to Tampa Bay and returned with a 14-6 defeat.

COWBOYS OFFENSE (RUSH: #1, PASS: #12, OVERALL: #2)
Emmitt Smith has had 100+ yard games throughout the season so far. He leads the league with 543 yards and is more than 100 yards ahead of the nearest rusher. Michael Irvin is 2nd in the NFC with 415 yards so far. Troy Aikman has had 1 INT this season and has a QB rating of 99.0, 5th in the NFL

REDSKINS OFFENSE (RUSH: #2, PASS: #13, OVERALL: #4)
QB Gus Frerotte has stepped in for the injured Heath Shuler and performed admirably. His QB rating is 85.9. WR Henry Ellard leads the team with 19 receptions for 294 yards, while RB Terry Allen has a healthy 4.4 yard average for his 340 rushing yards.

COWBOYS DEFENSE (RUSH: #4, PASS: #14, OVERALL: #5)
The passing defense is a little anemic, allowing the Cardinals a total of 329 yards in the air last week. The absence of Kevin Smith is being felt. The bright spot is that there were 3 interceptions vs. Arizona from the defensive backfield, and the front line is getting pressure on opposing QBs, as evidenced by Tony Tolbert and Charles Haley combining for 8 sacks thus far.

WASHINGTON DEFENSE (RUSH: #25, PASS: #5, OVERALL: #12)
Their run defense is beginning to resemble Swiss cheese, and that does not bode well for them to play the team with the NFL league rusher and largest offensive line.

SPECIAL TEAM
Washington KR Brian Mitchell leads the league with an average of 21 yards per return. K Eddie Murray has 28 points and is 7-10 in FG attempts, while his counterpart, Dallas K Chris Boniol, has 25 points and is 4-5 in FG attempts.

STREAKS, STATS & NOTES
Emmitt Smith has 9 TDs in 4 games, and with a low-ranked rushing defense such as Waskington, he could reach the ½ way mark to the current NFL record (24 TDs) this week. He has 11 straight games where he has scored a TD, which ties Lenny Moore for 3rd place in NFL history. ...The Arizona game was the 13th time that Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin have both topped the 100-yard mark during the dame game. Consequently, Dallas is undefeated when that happens. ...Redskins S James Washington may well miss his first appearance against his old teammates with a groin injury. Redskins LB Monte Coleman has announced his retirement this past Tuesday and will be honorary Captain for the game. He currently is the Redskins leader in games played (216) and is 4th on the all-time sack list (56½). ...Dallas is off to its best start since the 7-0 start of the 1983 season. ... Last season, Dallas outscored Washington 65-14. Dallas currently has been in the "Red Zone" (inside the opponent's 20) 17 times, scoring 13 TDs for a percentage of 76.5 - all league bests.