Should the Cowboys host the Redskins every Thanksgiving?

A former Dallas Cowboy legend wants to see the Cowboys host the Washington Redskins every Thanksgiving to reignite the rivalry.

Former Dallas Cowboys’ defensive lineman Ed “Too Tall” Jones has an interesting idea aimed at bringing intensity back to one of the NFL’s most storied rivalries. Jones recently told a Washington D.C. radio station that he would like to see the Cowboys host the Washington Redskins every Thanksgiving, but would that would be enough to reignite this once volcanic rivalry.

"“The first thing I would do when the schedule came out was look to see when we were playing the Redskins…I think those Redskins Cowboys games took football to another level…” Jones told 106.7 The Fan earlier this month."

The two rivals have played seven times on Thanksgiving Day with Dallas holding a 6-1 record. However, the Redskins won the most recent Thanksgiving meeting when in 2012, Washington’s rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III led his team to a 38-31 win.

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Jones is among a declining number of fans and former players that count the Cowboys and Redskins as one of the NFL’s premier rivalries. Free agency in the modern era of the NFL has taken away the tribal nature of 1970’s NFL rivalries when star players remained with one team for their entire career allowing teams to form a collective hatred towards their divisional rivals.

Now, many players have done what Hall of Fame corner back Deion Sanders and current Redskins’ defensive tackle Jason Hatcher did and played for both franchises. The new era of player movement has taken the focus of most NFL players away from the logo on their helmet and placed it on the name on the back of their jersey.

As that shift has occurred, NFL rivalries have suffered in intensity. Perhaps no rivalry has lost more vigor than the Cowboys and Redskins.

Of course, the rivalry has also suffered because of the mediocrity that has encased both franchises for the last two decades. The Redskins have not been to a Super Bowl since 1991 and the Cowboys last played for the Lombardi Trophy in 1996 meaning that for over twenty years the meetings between these two legendary franchises have been mostly inconsequential in terms of the NFL standings.

So does “Too Tall” Jones’ idea have merit?

On one hand, there will always be an air of nostalgia when two of the NFL’s most popular and successful franchises take the field against one another. Seeing the Redskins and Cowboys square off will always invoke memories of Roger Staubach, Bob Lilly, Randy White, Harvey Martin, Charlie Waters and so many other Cowboy legends trying to not only beat the Redskins but to inflict punishment and pain on an opponent they truly despised.

Watching the Cowboys and Redskins each Thanksgiving would remind fans of the history the two franchises share. A national television audience would tune in to see these two adversaries do battle thus bringing nation-wide attention back to the match up.

Also, NFL franchises hate the fact that Dallas gets to host the Thanksgiving afternoon game every year. Teams seem to play with more inspiration and motivation as they attempt to embarrass the Cowboys in their home stadium on national television in a game that has become as synonymous with Dallas Cowboys football as almost anything else.

One must think that the Redskins, and especially their outspoken owner Daniel Snyder would relish having an annual opportunity to ruin what has become one of the Cowboys’ most marquee games of the season. Likewise, the Cowboys would hate to lose to their oldest rivals at home on a national stage.

Furthermore, the game would take on added importance because it is an NFC East contest. Games within the division are far more intense and seeing Dallas play Washington every year on Thanksgiving would be far more fun than seeing Dallas play the Oakland Raiders or the Miami Dolphins as has been the case in recent seasons.

Ultimately, this idea probably won’t happen (though reports are surfacing that Dallas will host Washington on Thanksgiving Day 2016). There is too much competition between NFL owners for nationally televised games and each owner wants his franchise to be featured on a day when the nation turns its attention to football.

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“Too Tall” Jones’ idea is intriguing and would be fun to see. It would bring an added intensity to a rivalry in need of extra voltage.

However, money and greed will prevent this from happening just like money and greed helped sterilize this once amazingly bitter blood feud between two of the most important franchises in the history of the NFL.

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