Two fierce NFC East rivals, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, met for the conference championship on January 22, 1983. With divisions set aside due to a 57-day strike by the players that limited the schedule to nine games, Washington topped the NFC with an 8-1 record and the Cowboys ranked second at 6-3. The usual playoff format was set aside for a tournament of the top eight teams in each conference. Washington easily defeated Detroit and Minnesota in the first two rounds to advance to the NFC title game, and the Cowboys got past the Buccaneers and Packers.
Washington had last been in the postseason in 1976 and
was appearing for the first time under second-year Head Coach Joe Gibbs. Little
had been expected of the Redskins coming into the ’82 season, but things fell
into place on both sides of the ball. On offense, the line, known as “the
Hogs”, coalesced into the league’s best unit. QB Joe Theismann had a Pro Bowl
year and, while WR Art Monk was missing in the postseason with a broken foot,
WR Charlie Brown was coming off of a fine year in which he was also selected to
the Pro Bowl. Workhorse 33-year-old RB John Riggins (pictured above) was stepping up in the
playoffs with hundred-yard performances in the two wins. The defense had
improved dramatically since the preceding year and led the league in fewest
points allowed in the short season. Mark Moseley received rare MVP plaudits for
a placekicker with his 20 field goals in just 21 attempts.
The Cowboys, coached for the 23rd season by Tom Landry,
were back in the NFC Championship game for the third consecutive year, and had
lost the last two. QB Danny White was capable but had taken criticism for
failing to win big games. Still, he was a Pro Bowl performer, as was star RB
Tony Dorsett, who led the NFC in the abbreviated season with 745 rushing yards.
The receiving corps was a good one that featured WRs Drew Pearson and Tony
Hill. The aging defensive line was still formidable, as was the defensive
backfield.
There were 55,045 enthusiastic fans in attendance for the
Saturday game at RFK Stadium. The Cowboys had the first possession and drove 75
yards in 10 plays, with Tony Dorsett running effectively and Danny White completing
three passes. But after reaching the Washington 15 yard line, the Redskins
stiffened on defense. On third down, CB Jeris White knocked a pass out of Drew
Pearson’s hands that would have been a touchdown and Dallas settled for a
27-yard Rafael Septien field goal.
The Redskins responded by driving 84 yards, starting off
with two carries by John Riggins for 12 yards. Theismann had completions to TE
Rick Walker for nine yards, 15 yards to TE Don Warren, and 11 yards to WR Alvin
Garrett, and Riggins contributed a 17-yard run. The possession was capped by a
pass from Theismann to Charlie Brown for a 19-yard touchdown. Mark Moseley
added the extra point and Washington was in front by 7-3.
On their next series, the Redskins converted a
fourth-and-one play at the Dallas 40 with a carry by Riggins, but they ultimately
came up empty when the drive stalled and Moseley’s 27-yard field goal attempt
hit the left upright and was unsuccessful.
The Cowboys were having difficulty on offense, with three
straight possessions in which they were unable to get a first down. As the
first half wound down, a punt by the Redskins was muffed by Dallas DB Rod Hill
and, while LB Monte Coleman recovered in the end zone for Washington, the ball
had to come back to the 11. It was a formality as Riggins carried twice for
eight yards and, after RB Joe Washington gave the Redskins a first down at the
one, Riggins carried again for a touchdown with 3:41 remaining in the first
half. Moseley again added the PAT and Washington took a 14-3 lead into
halftime.
In the last minute of the half, White was hit hard by DE
Dexter Manley and suffered a concussion, knocking him out of the game. He was
replaced by third-year backup QB Gary Hogeboom (pictured at left), who had thrown only eight
passes all season.
A fumble by Washington DB Mike Nelms returning the second
half kickoff gave Dallas the first possession in the third quarter, and Hogeboom
directed the Cowboys to a score, finishing the series off with a six-yard
touchdown pass to Pearson. Septien’s point after narrowed the Washington lead
to 14-10, but Nelms returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards to the Dallas 20. Five
plays later, Riggins ran for a four-yard TD, Moseley converted, and the home
team was up by eleven points at 21-10.
The Cowboys blitzed linebackers and defensive backs on
first down in an effort to shut down Riggins and the relentless Washington running
attack. Later in the period, Hogeboom threw to WR Butch Johnson for a 23-yard
TD and, with Septien adding the extra point, Dallas was behind by only 21-17.
The tide turned in the fourth quarter. First, LB Mel
Kaufman intercepted a low pass by Hogeboom that was intended for WR Tony Hill.
That set up a Moseley field goal from 29 yards to make the score 24-17. Then, on
the next play from scrimmage, DT Darryl Grant (pictured at right) grabbed a pass tipped by Manley
and ran 10 yards for a touchdown. Moseley converted and, with two scores in a
span of 17 seconds, Washington was ahead by two touchdowns with 6:55 remaining
in the contest. The Redskins got the ball back with 4:26 to play and Riggins
ran nine straight times for 43 yards to finish off the Cowboys by a final score
of 31-17.
The game had an odd ending when Theismann took a knee on
fourth down with 12 seconds left, forgetting that the clock would stop for the
change of possession. The Cowboys left the field and had to be called back,
returning after five minutes to run the last play with Pearson taking the snap
and not attempting to advance. In the meantime, happy Washington fans had
already flooded the field and torn down the goal posts.
Dallas led in total yards (340 to 260) and first downs
(21 to 18). Only 65 of those yards came on the ground, as opposed to 137 for
the Redskins, and the Cowboys also turned the ball over three times, to none by
Washington.
John Riggins set a NFL postseason record with his third
straight hundred-yard rushing performance (he made it four straight in the
Super Bowl) as he gained 140 yards on 36 carries that included two touchdowns.
Joe Theismann completed 12 of 20 passes for 150 yards and a TD with no
interceptions. Alvin Garrett, performing well in the playoffs as the
replacement for Art Monk, had four catches for 46 yards and Charlie Brown
gained 54 yards on his three receptions that included a TD.
For the Cowboys, Gary Hogeboom was successful on 14 of 29
throws for 162 yards in relief, but after tossing two TDs he gave up the two
interceptions. Prior to leaving the contest, Danny White was 9-of-15 for 113
yards and no TDs, although also with none picked off. Tony Dorsett was held to
57 yards on 15 rushing attempts and he gained 29 yards on two catches. Three
Dallas receivers caught five passes apiece, with Butch Johnson gaining the most
yards with 73 that included a touchdown, Tony Hill contributing 59 yards, and Drew
Pearson accounting for 55 yards and a TD.
“If we are a fluke, you can just put NFC Champion behind
it,” exclaimed Joe Theismann. “They say we are lucky, they say we don’t have
enough talent, but we did it.”
“It was just a pleasure to be in a game like this,” said John Riggins. “This is the first championship game I’ve been in. To tell you the truth, after the strike, I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue the season. I was ready to pack my bags and head for Kansas. Boy, what a mistake that would have been.”
The pleasure continued for the Redskins, who defeated
Miami in the Super Bowl. Riggins was again the star as he rushed for 166 yards.
They repeated as NFC Champions in 1983. Dallas returned
to the playoffs in ‘83, finishing second to Washington in the NFC East, but
lost in the Wild Card round. The Cowboys would not appear in another NFC
Championship game until the 1992 season.
Gary Hogeboom came up short in his relief performance
against the Redskins, but it set the stage for a quarterback controversy that
culminated with his getting the starting job ahead of Danny White in 1984. His
performance was lackluster, White took back the reigns, and Hogeboom was traded
to the Colts in ‘86.
