Defense Enjoys a Feast

After an especially tough dose of Coach Bill Parcells, the entire Dallas Cowboy defense went out for a Friday night steak dinner and relieved some in-house tension.

Two days later, the Cowboys shut out the Washington Redskins for the first time in 32 years.

Rookie Terence Newman tied a team record with three interceptions, Pete Hunter had two fumble recoveries and an interception and Troy Hambrick ran for a career-high 189 yards to power the Cowboys, 27-0.

“It was just a night out, a good break after two weeks of getting slammed the way we have defensively,” said safety Darren Woodson, reflecting on the two-hour outing called by linebacker Al Singleton.

“I’m not saying we’ve been going at each other, but I think there’s been some tension amongst ourselves because we haven’t been playing that well. There was a lot of pressure on us. Al just wanted us to get away and relax, because it has been pressure-filled at practice.”

In the mud and driving rain, the Cowboys held Tim Hasselbeck to a 0.0 quarterback rating and gave up only 161 yards, including 37 in the second half.

Not bad for a team that had lost two in a row by a combined 45 points.

Parcells rode the Cowboys hard after last week’s 36-10 loss at Philadelphia, but he still has the Cowboys (9-5) in solid position for a wild-card berth in his first season with the team.

“I kind of put their backs against the wall a little bit,” Parcells said. “And they responded well.”

Washington (5-9) was eliminated from playoff contention and was guaranteed a second consecutive losing season. They have lost 12 of 13 against the Cowboys.

Hasselbeck was six for 26 for 56 yards and four interceptions in his third NFL start.

Rock Cartwright had a career-high 94 yards rushing for the Redskins.

Hambrick had the third all-time best rushing game by a Dallas back behind Emmitt Smith’s 237 yards in 1993 and Tony Dorsett’s 206 in 1977.