Going into Sunday’s game at Dallas, there seemed to be two opposing forces pulling at 'Skins fans. Common wisdom, most pundits, and the Vegas oddsmakers said Washington would return to D.C. humbled by an offensive juggernaut just getting warmed up. But if you looked hard enough, there were calls for optimism: fantasy experts talked up Jason Campbell’s surging value, while others talked about the 'Skins’s recent success against their hated rivals. And in press conferences this week, Santana Moss and others spoke with a subtle confidence and a hint of disdain for the 11 point line favoring Tony Romo and Co.

They did not disappoint. In the last game of this great rivalry to be played in dry Texas Stadium, Jim Zorn became the first Washington coach since George Allen to beat the Cowboys in his first try as head coach, 26-24. It wasn’t exactly easy, but it was easier than the slim 26 – 24 scoreline indicates. After Jason Whitten blew by an obviously still ailing Marcus Washington to grab a 25 yard pass from Romo and give Dallas an early lead, the rest of the half was all 'Skins. Campbell and his charges responded well with three methodical drives that saw the young QB finally begin to step away from pressure and buy time in the pocket. With plenty of dinks and dunks mixed with a new patience in the face of the fearsome Cowboy pass rush, Campbell showed yet more progress over the past couple weeks. He went 20-31 for 231 yards and 2 scores, helped by a monster day from Santana Moss (8 catches, 145 yards), a man looking like one of the best at his position at the moment.

The defense stepped up too, completely bottling RB Marion Barber (who just last week was setting career highs for yardage in a game) and getting physical with the Cowboys’s cadre of receivers. This led to a succession of punts, giving the newly confident Campbell a chance to reconnect with Moss and stretch the lead out to ten points through a Antwan Randle-El short TD catch and a 33 yard Suisham field goal.

After a Big D field goal made it 17-10 at halftime, the second stanza began ominously for the 'Skins. The Cowboys, making a concerted effort to appease Terrell Owens, gave him the ball every which way possible and marched down the field for the tying touchdown. But poised as ever and buoyed by a hard-running Clinton Portis, the Skins responded with a strong drive. Two scores – a Clinton Portis outside sweep and then a spectacular Campbell escape and throw to a diving Randle-El – were negated by penalties on veteran center Casey Rabach, but field goals ended up being enough.

After the game, Tank Johnson moaned about Redskins special teamster Rock Cartwright celebrating on the Dallas star in midfield. Johnson – whom you may recall has an intimate relationship with law enforcement officials in a variety of locales – knocked Cartwright’s lack of “class” and insisted it was too early in the season to be celebrating anything. He got that right – this win just puts the Skins in the dead heat of what could be an epic battle for the NFC East. It is only the fourth game, but that means it’s also a little early for Terrell Owens to be complaining about not getting the ball (he was thrown to 17 times and also ran the ball twice). Here’s hoping a self-implosion is just around the corner for our hated rivals from Dallas.