IRVING, Texas - The little things can make a big difference, and that was never more apparent than Sunday afternoon at Texas Stadium with 6:58 left in the game.

Coming out of a called Redskins timeout, the Cowboys stopped running back Clinton Portis on third and two at their 31-yard line, apparently forcing a long field goal.

But not so much, the Cowboys getting nailed for having 12 men on the field, giving the Redskins a first down. The fresh set of downs allowed the Redskins to eventually kick what would be the game-winning 29-yard field goal in the 26-24 beating of the Cowboys in the NFC East matchup.

Cowboys safety Patrick Watkins took the blame for being the unwelcomed 12th man after the game, saying it was his fault he didn't get the change in defensive packages in time to get off the field.

"Apparently it changed; it was on me," Watkins said. "I should have been looking at the sideline. The personnel got switched and I was still in there."

Watkins had been on the field when the Redskins were in their two-tight end offense, but after calling time out, the Redskins switched to a three-receiver set, causing the Cowboys to bring in their sub-package, playing with an extra corner and just one safety. They thought.

"It's not really counting (players on the field), but you know who's supposed to be in for you," Watkins said.

Cowboys coaches also shouldered some of the blame.

"That one really hurt us," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said after the Cowboys fell to 3-1. "That was a mistake you can't make. It goes back to coaching. I take the blame for all of the mistakes."

But Phillips was also frustrated with the defense not realizing what was going on until it was too late to do anything.

"I can't understand how two players playing the position could be standing out there," Phillips said. "I can't fathom that. They were standing right next to each other."

Secondary coach Dave Campo said the mix-up was a result of bad communication.

"Somebody comes in and we just tell everybody and everybody is supposed to echo it along," he said. "Didn't get it done. That's our fault, that's not the player's fault. That's our fault, so I'll take that one."

The 12-men penalty was actually only the third (and final) flag thrown on the Cowboys. Dallas finished with a season-low three penalties for 15 yards.

But this one stuck out.

Linebacker Bradie James didn't mince words about the miscue, saying that it cost the Cowboys when they were finally able to stop the Redskins offense.

"I mean you just can't do that," James said. "It's not Pop Warner, this is the NFL."

Defensive end Marcus Spears said he wasn't aware of the confusion going on in the backfield.

"I was mad because we had stopped them and would have gotten the ball back with a little more time on the clock," Spears said. "That's things that we've got to get handled as players. We can't allow those types of situations to happen."

Veteran linebacker Zach Thomas put the situation in perspective.

"That's where we've got to learn discipline," he said. "Everybody's got to pay attention, even in practice. Little things. The little things can get you beat and that's what happened today."

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