LANDOVER, Md. -- The previous time the Dallas Cowboys and Washington faced off with a combined record worse than this, the longtime NFC East rivals were each 0-4, and the 2001 "Gutter Bowl" got off on the wrong foot.
During pregame warmups, Dallas kicker Tim Seder collided with a horse who was on the field for some reason. The horse backed into his kicking leg, Seder missed two field-goal attempts but wound up scoring all of the Cowboys' points, including a 26-yard game-winner to make it 9-7 when time expired.
"Could've been ugly, but I think we survived and it ended up being OK," Seder told The Associated Press by phone. "You're just proud of your team that they keep fighting and you're in a position to win at the end of the game, and you want to put your best foot forward, so to speak, to finish the deal."
Dallas-Washington won't have a horse on the field -- or fans in the stands -- this time, but it could go a long way to determining which team wins a bad division.
The Cowboys (2-4) and Washington (1-5) are in the thick of the race, even though each team has a different starting quarterback than it began the season with.
Dak Prescott's broken ankle forced Andy Dalton into action for Dallas under first-year Coach Mike McCarthy. Ron Rivera saw how the NFC East was sputtering and pulled the plug on 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins' development because he believed Kyle Allen gave Washington a better chance to win in his first season in D.C.
Philadelphia (2-4-1) leads the division after Thursday night's 22-21 victory over the Giants (1-6).
"The opportunity that we have, it's right in front of us," McCarthy said. "You clearly understand what our division looks like, and the importance to get this win, it did not change with the quarterback situation."
If anything, the quarterback situations are under the microscope given what's at stake. Dalton tossed two interceptions in a 38-10 defeat to Arizona on Monday night in his first start since replacing Prescott, and Allen had a pick, lost a fumble and threw an incomplete pass on a last-minute two-point conversion attempt to lose to the Giants 20-19.
Yet, Washington can still say it's in the running for the NFC East title more than a third of the way through the season despite a five-game skid.
"For us to have those growing pains and still at this point be only one game out of first place is incredible," Allen said. "We're looking at that very hopeful and understanding the situation that we're in."
The Cowboys look at it like they've fumbled away their chance to build a substantial division lead. Running back Ezekiel Elliott, who lost two fumbles against the Cardinals, said he and his teammates "are going to get this thing right."
"The beauty of it though is we're still first place in the division," Elliott said. "We still hold the keys to our future. Now it's up to us to get this thing right."
That's how Seder, now a high school football coach in the Dallas area, looked at it 19 years ago. It hasn't changed for his beloved Cowboys and Washington.
"You've just got to find a way to win a ballgame," he said. "Sometimes you just got to step back and say, 'Hey, let's do something well,' and when you get an opportunity, take advantage of the opportunity."
