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Buehler's late FG leads Cowboys over Redskins

Dec 19, 2010 - 11:35 PM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - David Buehler's 39-yard field goal in the final minute of the game led the Dallas Cowboys to a 33-30 win over the Washington Redskins in an NFC East battle at Cowboys Stadium.

Jon Kitna had two touchdowns passes and finished the game with 305 yards on 25-of-37 passing for the Cowboys (5-9), who rebounded from a loss to Philadelphia last week to win for the fourth time in six games under head coach Jason Garrett.

"It's nice to win these games, play competitively but we don't have to keep making them like this," said Kitna. "We want to control all three phases of the game and get to it early. That's where we want to get to. But they are what they are and it was a good win."

Jason Witten had 10 catches for 140 yards and a score, Miles Austin caught a touchdown and Buehler went 4-for-5 on field goal attempts with three extra points.

"The nature of the National Football League it's going to be a challenge every time you go out there," said Garrett. "No one's going to go away, every time you break that huddle you need to be ready to play offensively, defensively and in the kicking game as well. The Redskins battled back, they made some plays on offense, they made some stops on defense, and they did a good job, they cashed in on some opportunities and we had our backs to the wall and we had to respond to it and ultimately we were able to do that."

Rex Grossman was 25-for-43 with 322 yards along with four touchdowns and two interceptions as the Redskins (5-9) rallied from a 20-point deficit, but fell for the fourth straight week. Santana Moss finished the game with eight catches for 72 yards and two scores.

"You'd like to get a victory every time you are out there," said Grossman. "I thought I played as hard as I could and did as good a job as I could. You're never fully happy if you don't get the victory, but I'm glad we got a chance to move the ball and put up some points."

Grossman started the game as head coach Mike Shanahan announced on Friday that he was benching regular starter Donovan McNabb for the rest of the season.

"I thought Rex did an excellent job today," said Shanahan. "I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he took advantage of that opportunity. It's always tough when you don't play for a while, especially with the type of week we had in practice, the conditions were a little tough, but he did a good job."

Washington tied the game with 7:37 left and each team punted before Dallas started the winning drive near midfield with 3:11 to play.

A nine-yard catch by Sam Hurd got the ball across midfield and, after the two- minute warning, Austin caught a 12-yard pass. The next three plays gained nine yards and Buehler booted the go-ahead score with 50 seconds left.

Washington had burned all its timeouts on Dallas' possession and got near midfield, but Grossman was picked off on the final play of the game.

The Cowboys got a 38-yard kickoff return from Bryan McCann to start the game near midfield. The team used the short field to take a 3-0 lead on a 42-yard field goal from Buehler just over four minutes in.

Dallas then held Washington to a three-and-out and got another big return from McCann as he took the punt 31 yards to the Washington 30. However, Dallas came away empty as Tashard Choice tried to go over the top on 4th-and-1 but was stuffed.

During the ensuing drive, Gerald Sensabaugh picked off Grossman to give Dallas the ball back at the Washington 27. Three plays later, Kitna found Austin in the end zone from three yards out for a 10-0 lead with 4:09 left in the first.

With a drive spanning the first and second quarters, Dallas got into the red zone for the fourth time in the game, but again managed just three points as Buehler booted a 20-yard field goal for a 13-0 lead just over two minutes in.

Washington responded on its ensuing possession with an 78-yard march in just eight plays with Grossman tossing a screen pass out to the right and Ryan Torain going in from 19 yards out to make it a 13-7 contest with 9:35 to play in the second.

The Cowboys came right back with a score for a 20-7 lead. On 3rd-and-9 at the 14, Kitna tossed a pass to the right sideline which Witten caught and took into the end zone as the defender attempted to jump the route. The big play of the drive saw Kitna and Felix Jones hook up on a 32-yard play.

Washington started the second half with the ball, but Grossman fumbled the ball as he was sacked and the Cowboys recovered at the 15. Five plays later, Choice took it in from three yards out for a 27-7 lead.

The Redskins answered quickly as Moss caught a short pass over the middle, broke a tackle and took it into the end zone to make it a 27-14 game. The first play of the drive saw Grossman connect with Anthony Armstrong for 47 yards.

Dallas responded with a 20-yard field goal from Buehler to make it a 16-point game with 4:26 left in the third.

The Redskins were able to make it a one-score game with a drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters when Grossman hit Moss in the back of the end zone with 13:44 to play and the two-point conversion was good for a 30-22 contest.

After holding Dallas to a three-and-out, the Redskins went 56 yards in eight plays and Chris Cooley caught a pass right at the goal line from five yards out for the score.

Washington again lined up for two points, but the pass fell incomplete. However, Dallas was called for holding and Grossman connected with Mike Sellers to tie the game with 7:37 to play.

Game Notes

Armstrong finished the game with five catches for 100 yards...Dallas wide received Roy Williams sat out the game with a groin injury...The Cowboys have won four of the past five games against the Redskins and avenged their Week 1 loss at Washington...The Cowboys had possession for almost 35 1/2 minutes and totaled 434 yards, compared to 341 for Washington...Jones had 70 yards on 12 carries with two catches for 47 yards and Choice added 53 yards on 15 carries in addition to four catches for 31 yards...Torain had 11 carries for 53 yards and five catches for 62 yards along with the score...Witten eclipsed the 600- catch plateau in the game.