One-trick Cowboys win

LANDOVER, Md. – Bill Parcells celebrated the touchdown with a big smile and his fist thrust high in the air. The Dallas Cowboys coach had turned the trick that put his old rival on the ropes.

Richie Anderson’s halfback option pass floated into the hands of Terry Glenn in the back of the end zone early in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys sacked Mark Brunell five times in Monday night’s 21-18 victory over Joe Gibbs and the Washignton Redskins.

“You’ve got to make it about the coaches,” said safety Tony Dixon, who had two of the sacks, the fourth and fifth of his four-year career. “How many times in this era are you going to see coaches like that come together? It’s an honor that we’ll be able to look back and see a classic game and see Parcells and Gibbs on the sidelines – and hopefully see some of the plays I made.”

Despite the long gap of 14 years between meetings, Parcells showed he still has Gibbs’ number. The Dallas coach has won 12 of 18 and seven in a row against the Hall of Fame coach, the last six coming when Parcells’ New York Giants and Gibbs’ Redskins were NFC East rivals from 1983-90.

“They’re extremely well-coached,” Gibbs said. “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

The victory, Dallas’ 13th in its last 14 meetings with Washington, also made Parcells the 10th NFL coach to win 150 regular-season games.

Anderson’s pass gave the Cowboys (2-1) a 21-10 lead with 13 minutes remaining, enough cushion to survive a comeback by the Redskins (1-2).

Mark Brunell, playing one week after straining his hamstring in a loss to the Giants, hit Rod Gardner for a touchdown pass and Taylor Jacobs for a 2-point conversion with 4:30 to play.

The Cowboys were able to use all but 21 seconds on the clock on their final drive because Washington was out of timeouts, but the Redskins almost got a chance at a tying field goal.

The Redskins managed two plays in their final drive. The last was a 46-yard pass to Gardner at the Dallas 21, but Gardner could not get out of bounds and time expired.

Vinny Testaverde was 14 of 29 for 214 yards for the Cowboys.

Brunell was 25 of 43 for 325 yards, including 167 yards and two touchdowns to Gardner.