Washington Redskins Vs Dallas Cowboys: The Old Time Rivalry in Week 1

There have been great rivalries in sports for nearly a century.

Red Sox and Yankees.

Dodgers and Giants.

Bears and Packers.

Ohio State and Michigan.

When mentioning all-time great rivalries, it is almost impossible to not include the Cowboys and Redkins. Best of all, they are meeting in Week 1.

Coach Mike Shanahan is making his first appearance as a regular season head coach for a team not named the Denver Broncos since 1995.

Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb is making his first start for a team not named the Eagles in his career.

One thing McNabb has experience with more than the experienced Shanahan is that he has played in the NFC East his entire career and is no stranger to the Dallas Cowboys. 

Both teams have been filled with some offseason drama. The Shanahan-Haynesworth squabble caused hundreds of articles to be written about the Redskins. The Patrick Crayton drama filled the news for Dallas. Now with the season starting tomorrow, and the drama hopefully behind them, these teams are set to start off the NFC East battle right from the beginning.

So the burning question is, "Who will win?"

For most people who live in the DC Metro area, the answer is generally the Redskins.

For those who live in D-town, it's "America's Team" of course.

Putting two and two together, here is how these teams match up:

QB: Draw. Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo are both considered among the league's elite.

RB: Draw. Clinton Portis and Marion Barber are both Pro Bowl caliber backs.

FB: Redskins. Mike Sellers is one of my favorite backs in the league.

WR: Cowboys. The Redskins are small and weak at the outside position. The Cowboys have Miles Austin and Roy Williams, enough said.

TE: Draw. Chris Cooley and Jason Witten are what little kids should watch if they dream of becoming a tight end.

OL: Cowboys. Slight advantage goes to the Cowboys, even though they are facing injury problems. Once healthy, the Cowboys offensive line will be great.

DL: Redskins. Didn't expect to see that did you? The Redskins are deeper at the DL positions than the Cowboys and generally have better talent.

LB: Redskins. The Cowboys linebackers are great. Demarcus Ware and Keith Brooking are fantastic, but that is only two of the four positions. The Redskins are good or great at all four places and deep.

CB: Cowboys. The Cowboys have experience and better speed. Terence Newman is a great back and has been for years. Jenkins and Scandrick are both very fast and can close quickly. Carlos Rogers and DeAngelo Hall are both good CB for the Redskins, but their depth is not very deep.

S: Redskins. LaRon Landry and Reed Doughty are better than their opposition this time.

K: Redskins. Graham Gano showed great potential in the preseason.

P: Cowboys. Mat McBriar is better than Josh Bidwell, sorry.

Return Game: Cowboys, for now. The Boys have Felix Jones and Dez Bryant to do their returns but Devin Thomas is going to come on strong.

Winner: Cowboys. The Cowboys have a great aerial attack that the Redskins will try and shut down, which leaves the ground game wide open.

Final Score: 24-13