In a comment last week, Andrew Wiseman posed what amounts to the $64,000: “Will this team ever win with Snyder as owner?” Snyder’s tenure has thus far been marked by frustration, personnel turnover and inordinate sums of money being thrown at whatever problem seems to be in vogue. Lately, Snyder’s had trouble beating the trees in his own backyard. But no single statistic is as emblematic of Snyder’s mostly inept reign than the team’s sorry record against Dallas.

Dallas is the rivalry game. The passion game. It’s just not a memorable Redskins season if it doesn’t include at least one instance in which the burgundy and gold lay the hammer down on the ‘Boys. Dating all the way back to 1997, Washington is 1-14 against Dallas, and hasn’t eked out a win in Texas since 1995. These days, there are plenty of sportswriters who wonder aloud if Washington v. Dallas is actually much of a rivalry at all. For their part – and despite the fact that the ‘Skins are hardly a team that anyone needs an extra boost to play against – the Cowboys are going the extra mile tonight by honoring their trio of yesteryear, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, at halftime.

The big story for Washington is, of course, the quarterbacking controversy, back in ’05 and better than ever. Tonight, Mark Brunell – the quarterback who failed to earn the start in preseason – plays in the place of Patrick Ramsey – the quarterback Gibbs didn’t like enough to keep as a starter. Should Brunell fail tonight, Gibbs error will be far worse in the political sense than the tactical. After all, if Ramsey remained the starter, this season would serve as a referendum on his ability. But now that Brunell’s reinstalled, it’s Gibbs who finds himself in the hotseat. For the amount of pure blind faith being invested in him, we sure hope Mark Brunell comes prepared to play the game of his life tonight.