IRVING, Texas - An ocean of blue-and-white balloons splashed the Texas Stadium turf as The Triplets - Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin - added three rungs to the Ring of Honor at halftime of a nationally-televised broadcast on Sept. 19, 2005.
Santana Moss might as well have popped every single one of them, because an hour later his two touchdown catches in the final minutes of the fourth quarter deflated the sellout crowd and lifted the Washington Redskins to a 14-13 victory over the stunned Cowboys.
Just another wild chapter in the rivalry's 48-year history, which resumes Sunday at Texas Stadium (3:15 p.m. CDT). But the book isn't closed on Moss - in six career games against the Dallas defense (one with the Jets), he has 33 catches for 602 yards (18.2 avg.) with four touchdowns, and remains the focal point of the Redskins' new West Coast passing game under first-year head coach Jim Zorn.
"When something needs to happen," Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman said, "(quarterback Jason) Campbell will look at Moss and try to get something going. Those two have a little connection."
Moss' 19 catches are tied for fourth in the league and he has a touchdown catch in each of the Redskins' first three games, tying him for second among NFL receivers. He has scored a TD in six consecutive games (including playoffs) dating back to last season, which ties a Redskins record set by Hall-of-Fame receiver Bobby Mitchell in 1964.
The small, savvy eighth-year veteran (5-10, 200) is known best for his deep speed, but Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said Zorn also has utilized Moss efficiently in Washington's "controlled passing game" - a staple of the West Coast scheme.
"They recognize his speed is going to help them," Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said, "and they're getting the ball to him in screens, getting the ball within the crossing routes, like the West Coast 'flanker drive' - a guy racing across the formation. He's getting the ball there, and then they can take some shots with him deep as well as he can take the short ones for the distance because he's so quick."
The Redskins still rely heavily on starting tailback Clinton Portis - his 65 carries are tied for second in the league - but Moss has been the offensive catalyst during Washington's two-game winning streak.
He had 164 receiving yards in a Week Two victory over New Orleans and took a screen pass 17 yards for the game-winning touchdown last Sunday against Arizona.
"It's more the Bill Walsh offense - you see a lot of the same things you see in Seattle under (coach Mike) Holmgren," Phillips said, making reference to Zorn's Seahawks roots. "It's a short passing game, but still a good running attack and Clinton Portis is a great, excellent back. So they still have that threat in the running game they had last year, but (it's) the controlled passing game that's been really efficient for them."
Moss was productive in last year's two-game split with the Cowboys, catching 17 total passes for 236 yards and two scores. But hamstring and heel problems helped limit his production - his three TDs were the lowest total since his rookie season.
Now back to full strength, Moss is thriving on offense and might become a fixture on special teams, too. He hasn't returned punts on a full-time basis since 2004, but has six in the first three games.
"I think the biggest thing for Santana is just health-wise," Campbell said. "I think he's feeling good, he's healthy, he's practicing every day, and I think he feels like the most important thing to him right now is his health. Last year he was battling a lot of hamstring problems."
The Cowboys' secondary effectively stalled Green Bay's passing game last Sunday and has assembled a deeper group of corners - Adam "Pacman" Jones and rookies Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick all have contributed this season - since their last meetings with Moss.
Newman, the Cowboys' top cover man, indicated he wouldn't shadow Moss on Sunday - "The way this defense works, you line up on your side and you play," he said - and the defense indeed has more talent to throw at the Redskins' slippery receiver.
But the Cowboys also must deal with versatile tight end Chris Cooley, who has the second-most touchdowns by an NFL tight end (27) since 2004.
The Cowboys already have been successful against a tight end of Cooley's ilk. They limited Cleveland's Kellen Winslow to five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown mostly using a revamped dime defense that moves starting cornerback Anthony Henry inside.
"That's what it's made for," inside linebacker Bradie James said. "When you've got kind of like a special tight end, you want to put a bigger corner on him or a safety on him and that's what 'Ant' does real well."
Moss must be contained, too, to prevent that proverbial balloon from bursting again.
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Rob Phillips - 
