American Football: Cowboys give critics more rope

The last time the Dallas Cowboys lost at home the local media reacted with all the understanding of a spurned royal lover. It was all Barry's fault, they said, this being the same Barry Switzer that had been in charge as the Cowboys had established themselves as the best team in the NFL.

That defeat, three weeks ago to the San Francisco 49ers, was to the defending Super Bowl champions. Which makes you wonder how the Texan press are going to take the Cowboys' latest reverse, to the Washington Redskins, a team that has taken up a residency in the basement of the NFL East.

The 49ers' defeat was generally put down to poor coaching with Switzer, who had no experience in the pros before replacing Jimmy Johnson as head coach 18 months ago, vilified as a country hick who was out-thought by those smart chaps of the San Francisco sideline.

That caricature can be expected to make a comeback this week, as the Cowboy camp followers seek to explain losing to a side they outshine in terms of talent in just about every department.

Not that the result was a complete surprise. Nine weeks ago the Redskins became the first team to beat the Cowboys this year, a victory their head coach Norv Turner hoped would transform an ailing franchise. In fact the Redskins notched just one more win before travelling to Dallas on Sunday. Then history repeated itself.

Turner, who was the Cowboys offensive co-ordinator as they won two Super Bowls, was credited with the victory in October and was up to his tricks again, devising a defensive strategy that thwarted the revered Cowboys offense, while his attacking unit created enough running room for Terry Allen to rush for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Despite reports that he would be out for a month after injury in his last game, Emmitt Smith, the Cowboy running back, did play and indeed scored, which just goes to show that there are lies, damned lies and NFL medical bulletins.

The Redskins look like becoming the latest NFL team to move home, though their departure hardly ranks alongside some of the recent relocations. Jack Kent Cooke, the Redskins' owner, is thought to have signed an agreement to build a stadium in Maryland, five miles from their much-loved but economically obsolete RFK Stadium home in the nation's capital.

The Cowboys retain the best record in their conference, but should they lose again and the San Francisco 49ers continue their winning streak to the end of the season, their meeting in the NFC Championship game (a formality, surely) would take place in the Bay Area rather than downtown Dallas.

The 49ers were held until the third quarter by the visiting Buffalo Bills, when their linebacker Lee Woodall returned a fumble recovery 96 yards for a TD. Woodall, a rising star in an increasingly impressive defense, finished with 10 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery as well as his score - the seventh TD the 49er defense has scored this season.

The only NFC team with a hope of challenging the 49ers and Cowboys are the Green Bay Packers, for whom Brett Favre is performing weekly miracles. Favre threw three TDs as the Packers beat Cincinnati 24-10.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers won their divisional titles in the AFC, with Marcus Allen entitled to a particularly smug grin after the Chiefs 29-23 victory in Oakland. Allen was an oustanding running back for the Raiders before falling out big-time with the owner, Al Davis. He belied his 35 years to rush for 124 yards to lessen Davis's chances of another a Super Bowl this season.