Redskins vs. Cowboys: Dallas Proves Playoff-Worthy in Monday Night Football Win

With wide receiver Miles Austin out and quarterback Tony Romo, running back Felix Jones and wide receiver Dez Bryant all compromised by injury, the chips seemed stacked against the Dallas Cowboys against the 2-0 Washington Redskins on Monday night.

Just three weeks into the season, the game couldn't have been considered a must-win, but a loss would have left Dallas two games plus a tiebreaker behind Washington in the NFC East. Things looked bleak for much of the game as Romo and co. couldn't punch it into the endzone, but six Dan Bailey field goals were enough to pull off an 18-16 triumph.

The win certainly wasn't the prettiest the Cowboys have ever played, but the final score surely looked beautiful to head coach Jason Garrett once the final whistle sounded. Dallas will absolutely have to play cleaner, mistake-free football moving forward, but under the circumstances, any win was a great one.

The Cowboys had a myriad of mistakes throughout the game, including a number of terrible shotgun snaps by center Phil Costa that cost Dallas valuable field position time and time again. Also, the Cowboys had a number of young receivers who had to step up in place of the injured Austin.

Among them was Kevin Ogletree who was chided by Romo on a couple of occasions for running the incorrect route. Despite all the miscues, Garrett said it best in his post-game press conference, according to ESPN.com.

"

"It wasn't a perfect performance by any means, but enough to win the game," Garrett said.

"

Garrett couldn't have been any more right in his assessment of the game. The game was an absolute battle with plenty of sloppy play on both sides, but with a quarterback with broken ribs and a number of other injured players, the Cowboys simply had to find a way to get the job done, and they did.

That is the difference between Garrett's Cowboys and the Dallas teams of years past led by the likes of Wade Phillips and Bill Parcells. Past Cowboys teams, while talented, would have found a way to lose games like this and they would have had a built-in excuse afterwards.

This team just has a different vibe. Sure, they can win the pretty, shootout-type games, but they can win ugly as well. Dallas' Week 1 loss to the New York Jets harkened back to the Cowboys of the past few seasons, but they certainly have redeemed themselves over the past couple weeks.

First, Romo led Dallas to an impressive comeback win in overtime in Week 2 over the San Francisco 49ers. Romo proved many of his naysayers wrong by playing despite broken ribs and a punctured lung. Like a warrior, Romo suited up and got the job done again on Monday night.

Since taking over the starting reigns from Drew Bledsoe in 2006, Romo has been a microcosm of how the Cowboys have performed. They have often been flashy and talented, but in the big moments, they have crumbled.

That may have happened in Week 1, but a transformation is happening before our very eyes. Romo is for real, and by virtue of that, so are the Cowboys.