LANDOVER, Md - When the Redskins handed the Cowboys their first loss of the season back in September, cornerback Terence Newman didn't tell reporters he was hurting. He didn't say he probably re-aggravated an injury that would need surgery.
All he said was that he played arguably the worst game of his career.
So how fitting was it that his first game back since the sports hernia surgery, it was not only against Washington, but it just might have been the best game of his career.
Newman was everywhere on defense, leading the Cowboys to a 14-10 win over the Redskins in a game that might have just saved their season.
If anything, it was certainly his best game this season and it couldn't have come a better time.
In the past when Newman has been hurt, the Cowboys have eased him back in the lineup, playing him occasionally in spot duty, mostly in the nickel.
Yeah, forget that.
Not this time. Not only did the Cowboys throw Newman back into the fire, but they challenged him to do something this defense rarely does.
But this game was different. Maybe it was a must-win-game, or maybe it was just really, really important.
Whatever you call it, the Cowboys needed it. And they needed their best players to step up.
And not only that, but shadow the Redskins' best players, too.
Newman did that and more.
OK, Santana Moss won the first battle at Texas Stadium, torching the Cowboys, and mostly Newman, for eight catches for 145 yards.
This time around, Newman was healthy, and the Cowboys made sure he followed Moss all over the field.
Right side, left side, in the slot. Wherever Moss went, Newman shadowed.
And not just before the play, most importantly, Newman followed Moss between the whistles, too.
Moss has been dubbed a "Cowboys killer" for blistering the Cowboys in recent years. But on this day, Newman put an end to that.
He shut down the Redskins' top receiver, holding Moss to five catches for a measly 29 yards.
Not only that, but Newman came up with an interception of his own, his first of the season, and ran stride for stride on a deep ball to Moss in the fourth quarter that ended up incomplete.
Later in the fourth quarter, with the Redskins driving for a go-ahead touchdown and facing a critical fourth-and-six, Jason Campbell's pass to Moss on the right side was knocked away by Newman, giving the ball back to the Cowboys with 6:40 to play.
As it turned out, Washington would never get the ball again as the Cowboys, or make that Marion Barber, ran out the clock.
When you get a big win like that, there are game balls to be passed around. Pass one to Barber, please, and one to Jay Ratliff, too. Let's just hand one over to Romo so he doesn't have to catch one on his pinkie, but the way he came back after missing a month was huge.
But to me, Newman's play was just as big.
Moss might have taken the first meeting. Newman dominated the rematch.
"I was pumped. The first game I played I was hurt, I tried to fight through it and I didn't have a great game," Newman said. "I wanted to get healthy and come out here because I kept hearing my name on television. I had something to prove so my focus was to come out here and play my game."
And the best part was that the Cowboys actually let Newman . . . play HIS game.
Yes, Newman got to do what he does best. That's playing in your face, physical and aggressive at the line of scrimmage and fight for the football every time it goes in the air.
Moss is the best Washington has. Newman is the best guy to stop him. It was the game within the game and Newman won it.
"We put Newman on Moss and he played a great game," head coach Wade Phillips said. "We had to shut down Moss and he did that. I thought he was ready to play. He was challenged and I knew he was the kind of guy that would meet the challenge. Terence, you could tell in practice he was ready to go. We told him we were going to challenge him and put him on Moss and that's what he did."
Newman said he didn't ask for it this week. Actually, he said he stopped doing that a few years ago because he knows it hasn't been the Cowboys' scheme. Whether it was Mike Zimmer running the defense or Phillips and coordinator Brian Stewart in the current system, the Cowboys just haven't allowed cornerbacks to follow receivers all over the field.
With two weeks to prepare and knowing the importance of stopping Moss, the Cowboys made an exception.
"We played a lot of zone last year and a lot this year," Newman said. "But tonight, we just went to the man (coverage). I think that really helped because I don't think the Redskins were expecting that. Hats off to our coaches for making the switch. And I'm glad they challenged me to cover Santana. I had something to prove."
Newman proved quite a bit Sunday night.
He proved the Cowboys could indeed stop Santana Moss. He proved that playing man-to-man fits his style much better than zone. He proved he could make a game-changing play in the clutch, something his critics have questioned over the years.
More than anything, Newman took another step forward in proving, that when healthy, he indeed is one of the NFL's top cornerbacks.
Debate that last part all you want. But the Cowboys don't win this game Sunday night without Newman.
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Nick Eatman - 
