The Cowboys can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Redskins on Sunday night. Their best chance for victory is for Tony Romo to have a big passing game, targeting Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and Miles Austin. However, the Cowboys' defense must also improve on its poor performance against Robert Griffin III and the Redskins from their previous meeting on Thanksgiving. A Cowboys win would end their two-year playoff drought.

1. C1 M 12-30-2012 Set: 22:58:49
Sent by: cci Sports CYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK
The Dallas Morning News Section C Sunday, December 30, 2012
SportsDay
M . . . . . . . .
Who wants it?
Romo and
leading targets
Bryant, Austin
and Witten …
… offer the
best shot at a
Cowboys win,
NFC East title
TIM COWLISHAW
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
See COWBOYS’ Page 15C
O
ne of the NFL’s most
misleading statis-
tics is the Cowboys’
0-4 record when Tony
Romo passes for 400 yards.
It suggests the Cowboys
need to go into Washington
for their biggest game of the
season — their final game if
it does not go well — and
present the Redskins with a
balanced offensive attack.
They need to do nothing
of the sort.
The Cowboys’ best hope
to win — the only one that
in seven games. Let him
direct his anger at being
overlooked for the Pro Bowl
(he can manufacture some
if he doesn’t really harbor a
grudge) at one of the most
porous secondaries in the
league.
Let Jason Witten take
the single-season record for
receptions he set last week
and put it out of sight for
future tight ends. Let Miles
Austin — somehow the
they can actually strive for
as opposed to hoping that
breaks and loose balls
bounce their way — is for
Romo to come out firing.
Dez Bryant is the hot-
test-scoring receiver in the
league with10 touchdowns
Automotive
Classified, 22-25C
7:20 p.m. today (Ch. 5) INSIDE: GameDay, 12C Breakdown, 15C Line: Redskins by 3
COWBOYS (8-7) AT WASHINGTON REDSKINS (9-6)
W
ASHINGTON — The
path the Cowboys
must travel is a sim-
ple one.
How they reach their desti-
nation is the tricky part.
TheCowboyscanendatwo-
year absence from the postsea-
sonwithavictorySundaynight
over Washington. This win-
and-in scenario requires that
the team not stumble on the
road against a division oppo-
nent as it has in two of the pre-
vious four seasons.
It mandates that the de-
fense perform better against
Robert Griffin III and the Red-
skins than it did on Thanksgiv-
ing, when, in the eloquent as-
sessment of Cowboys defensive
coordinator Rob Ryan, “they
slaughtered us.”
The coldest game of the sea-
son for the Cowboys — the
temperature should be in the
mid 30s by kickoff — comes
against the NFC’s hottest team.
Washington has won six
straight and not lost since the
first weekend in November.
It’s reminiscent of last sea-
son against a New York Giants
teamthathadrighteditselfand
entered the final game of the
regular season with momen-
tum.
The Cowboys hope that is
where the similarities end, giv-
en the 31-14 outcome that night
in the Meadowlands.
“Hey, at some point you’ve
got to grab these opportuni-
ties,” tight end Jason Witten
said.“Alotofworkhasbeenput
in to get to this point. Now
DAVID MOORE
dmoore@dallasnews.com
COWBOYS INSIDER
Opportunity
knocks again,
and defense
must answer
See BURDEN Page 14C
Multiplechoice
Tony Romo ranks third in the
NFL in passing yards (4,685),
and the Cowboys are the only
team with three players
among the top 20 in receiving
yards:
DEZ BRYANT
1,311yards (8th in NFL)
88 receptions,12 TDs*
JASON WITTEN
983 yards (17th)
103 receptions**, 2 TDs
MILES AUSTIN
943 yards (20th)
66 receptions, 6 TDs
*second in NFL
**fourth in NFL
ADVERTISEMENT
H E A R T O F DA L L A S B OW L
JA N . 1 , 11 : 00 A.M.
COTTO N B OW L . DA L L A S
G E T YO U R T I C K E T S AT
THE HEARTOFDALLASBOWL .COM
PURDUE
---------------------- vs. ----------------------
OKLAHOMA
STATE
Classified......22-25
Colleges...........2-7
High schools17-19,21
NBA.................7-8
NFL.........2,12,14-16
NHL....................2
Outdoors...........22
Running ............23
Scoreboard ........23
Soccer.................2
Tennis ................2
Winter sports......2
INSIDE
New Orleans........98
at Charlotte .........95
at Atlanta ..........109
Indiana ..............100
Toronto..............123
at Orlando ...........88
at Brooklyn ........103
Cleveland...........100
at Chicago............87
Washington.........77
at Memphis..........81
Denver................72
Oklahoma City ....124
at Houston ..........94
at Minnesota.......111
Phoenix .............107
at Milwaukee .....104
Miami.................85
Philadelphia ............
at Portland..............
Boston....................
at Golden State........
NBA, 8C
SCORES
Kevin Sumlin (above) and
Texas A&M were supposed
to struggle in their first SEC
season, however, that was
far from the case. Staff
writer Gerry Fraley looks at
the top regional stories this
year. 10-11C
I Gerry Fraley remembers
top sports personalities
who died this year. 9C
MAVERICKS
Year’s final game
more about survival
The Mavericks have strug-
gled as they have tried to
come together as a team,
and tonight’s game against
the Spurs is just another
step. 7C
San Antonio at Mavericks
6:30 p.m. today (FSSW)
COLLEGES
Cedar Hill QB sparks
Rice in second half
Driphus Jackson came off
the bench and ignited a big
second half, helping the
Owls score the game’s final
26 points for a 33-14 victory
over Air Force in the
Armed Forces Bowl. 2C
I For coverage of TCU’s
late game against Michigan
State in the Buffalo Wild
Wings Bowl, go to
SportsDayDFW.com
I West Virginia was
snowed under by Syracuse,
38-14, in New York. 4C
I Big day coming in a few
months for Cotton Bowl. 3C
HIGH SCHOOLS
No. 1 Duncanville rolls
to tournament title
A 12-0 run in the second
quarter helped the Duncan-
ville girls pull away en route
to a 64-32 victory over
Plano West in the Sandra
Meadows Classic. 19C
I Cedar Hill edged Mans-
field Timberview, 61-59. 19C
I Skyline won the DISD
event, holding off Lincoln,
42-40. 19C
I Long Beach (Calif.) Poly
ran past the Plano East
boys in the Whataburger
tournament, 51-40. 17C
I Big second half lifted
Richardson over Mesquite
in Plano, 67-53. 17C
Vernon Bryant/DMN
A&M tops
list of year’s
best stories
Mike Kondracki/Staff
S
AN ANTONIO — Alex
Okafor and Marquise
Goodwin each delivered
signature moments in their fi-
nal appearance in a Texas uni-
form.
In his first game calling
plays for his alma mater, Major
Applewhite managed to coax a
Bowl, the future of the Texas
football program — or at least
the perception of the future —
looksfardifferentthatitdid24
hours ago.
In a postgame interview
with ESPN, coach Mack
Brown immediately pointed to
double-digit comeback and
confidence from quarterback
David Ash.
After a 31-27 win over Ore-
gon State in the Valero Alamo
VALERO ALAMO BOWL | TEXAS 31, OREGON STATE 27
After rare comeback, things looking up for Texas
Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer
Texas quar-
terback
David Ash
hurdles
Oregon
State de-
fenders to
score on an
11-yard run.
CHUCK CARLTON
ccarlton@dallasnews.com
COLLEGESBig plays by Goodwin
and Okafor spark rally
from 10-point deficit
See TEXAS Page 4C
Goodwin finishes career on
high note, 4C