Coaching legends Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells squared of once again last night as the eyes of the nation, not to mention a Redskins record crowd of 90,367 at FedEx Field, were focused in on their Monday Night Football clash. The result? Same old, same old. The Cowboys used a halfback option late in the game to pull out a 21-18 win. Parcells has now beaten Gibbs seven straight times (granted their last meeting was in 1990) and 12 out of 15. Adding insult to injury, the ‘Boys are now 12-1 in their last 13 meetings against the ‘Skins, dating back to 1997.

The game started out slowly as it took over an hour to complete the first quarter due to penalties and coaches challenges. The Redskins racked up more penalty yards than offense in the first 15 minutes. Play picked up in the second half and Mark Brunell finished 25 of 43 for 325 yards and Rod Gardner had a career-high 167 receiving yards on 10 catches, including 2 touchdown passes.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Parcells said. “But we’re happy to win on the road. Anytime you can come some place on a Monday night, in a rivalry like this, and you’re able to win, you have to be happy.”

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

The Redskins, at 1-2, are now sitting at the bottom of the tough NFC East. Next up is a trip to Cleveland to face the revamped Browns on Sunday at 1 p.m.