News » This season ended with 100 or so protesters out

LANDOVER, Md. - DeMarco Murray passed Emmitt Smith with a change-of-direction that left a safety flat-footed.Dez Bryant moved ahead of Terrell Owens by getting the left tiptoe down in the end zone, a touchdown that didnt count until the replay showed what a superb catch it was.And Tony Romo? How about a 4-0 month that might help dispel the notion that the Dallas Cowboys cant be a December team.The Cowboys prepped for the playoffs Sunday with a 44-17 win over the Washington Redskins, with Murray and Bryant breaking a pair of prestigious franchise records along the way and the team as a whole maintaining momentum heading into its first post-season appearance since 2009.Right before peoples eyes, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, we have basically torn it up in December.Thats a change of pace from recent history, when Dallas capped three consecutive season win-or-fail losses to NFC East rivals in the final weekend, yielding back-to-back-to-back 8-8 records that fueled more doubts about Romo as a big-game quarterback.Sundays game didnt have the same magnitude. The result mattered only if at least one of the later games ended in a tie, which didnt happen. The Cowboys would have also received a first-round bye with losses by both Arizona and Seattle, but that didnt happen, either. Instead, they will host Detroit next Sunday.With the pressure off for the game against the Redskins, Dallas (12-4) did just fine — and didnt pack it in. The Cowboys went 8-0 on the road for the first time in team history.Ive been speaking on it the whole year, weve got to grow and mature, Dallas defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. Its clear as day these seeds are turning into flowers, and Im happy, man. Coach is going to continue to give us sunshine and rain, and well be all right.Coach Jason Garrett deployed his full complement of available resources, opting not to give Romos ailing back some extra rest nor to play it safe with Murray, who broke his hand two weeks ago. The Cowboys scored on their first five possessions to take a 27-7 lead, throwing in a successful onside kick along the way.Romo played nearly the entire game, completing 22 of 34 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. For the month, he completed 75 per cent with 12 touchdowns and one interception, and his 114.4 season passer rating is sixth best in NFL history.Romo has a 1-3 career record in the playoffs. Asked whats different this time, he said: Im different, so Im excited about that aspect. Im a different player than I was — now you got to go out and do it.Murray rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, passing Smith for the team single-season mark on a 32-yard first-quarter run with a nice move in front of safety Ryan Clark. Murray ends the season with 1,845 yards, bettering Smiths 1,773 yards in 1995.Also in the first quarter, Bryant caught scoring passes of 65 and 23 yards to give him 16 touchdown receptions on the season, breaking Owens team record of 15 set in 2007. The 65-yarder was a screen in which Bryant juked cornerback David Amerson at the line of scrimmage and took off for the end zone.After the game, Bryant was less concerned about his record and more focused on giving props to Romo. Bryant made a Shhh! gesture aimed at the quarterbacks critics.That man showed his (butt) in December, Bryant said. And I give it to him.Robert Griffin III capped a tumultuous year for the Redskins (4-12) by completing 27 of 41 passes for a career-high 336 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, both in the Dallas red zone. He also lost the fumble that Anthony Spencer took 5 yards for a touchdown.Griffin missed six games this season with a dislocated ankle and later was benched by first-year coach Jay Gruden, and the franchises hopes for next year will likely hinge on whether the Gruden-Griffin partnership can win in Washington.I want to be here to help this team win, to help turn this thing around and change the culture, Griffin said. If coach Jay and the organization wants me to be around, Ill be ready to go.The Redskins lost seven of eight to finish last in the division for the sixth time in seven seasons.This season ended with 100 or so protesters outside the stadium condemning the teams nickname, the inside of the stadium well-populated by Cowboys fans as the game took on a preseason feel in the second half, and owner Dan Snyder hardly the picture of joy as he took it all in seated next to Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.We need to change a lot, Gruden said. I honestly think if you dont change something, youre probably going to get the same results.Notes: Cowboys LB Anthony Hitchens left with a right ankle injury in the second quarter, and DT Henry Melton suffered a knee injury. ... The Redskins lost three linemen: T Trent Williams (high ankle sprain), T Tom Compton (knee sprain) and G Chris Chester (sprained toe), forcing TE Logan Paulsen to line up at tackle late in the game.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Kevin Byard Titans Jersey . - Skiing far more aggressively than in her season debut a day earlier, Lindsey Vonn was in provisional 10th place after the first 45 skiers in a World Cup downhill on Saturday. Marcus Mariota Jersey . Now, the hottest team on the ATP are pointing their sights on qualifying for the eight-team season finals in London next November. Pospisil has now established the year-end World Tour Finals as the benchmark for a breakthrough season, with Pospisil and Sock provisionally standing ninth. http://www.authentictitanspro.com/Eddie-george-titans-jersey/ . TSN 1290s coverage begins with Hustler & Lawless at 3pm. Rick Ralph hosts the Official Jets Pre-game Show at 5pm. Corey Davis Womens Jersey . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Earl Campbell Womens Jersey . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central.Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - Alex Galchenyuk posted his first career hat trick to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Brandon Prust also scored and Max Pacioretty supplied three assists for the Canadiens, who won their third straight game. Carey Price made 25 saves in the win. Victor Rask supplied Carolinas lone goal and Cam Ward gave up all four goals on 29 shots in his teams sixth straight loss. Early on, David Desharnais took a cross-ice feed from Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and skated down the left side to below the goal line, dragging Ward out of position. Prust received a pass from Desharnais and buried the puck into a wide-open net to open the scoring 9:15 into the contest. Galchenyuk increased Montreals lead with a wrister from the right circle off a tic-tac-toe passing play at 8:33 of the second. After an errant pass from a Canadiens defender, Jeff Skinner skated behind the net and wristed a shot from the right circle.ddddddddddddPrice made the stop, but did not know where it was. Rask barreled through the crease and chopped it past the goal line for a 2-1 game 6:47 into the final stanza. Galchenyuk put the game away with two late goals separated by just 1:09. He broke into the Carolina zone on a breakaway and beat Ward blocker side at 16:41. Pacioretty tracked down a loose puck at the left circle and slid a pass to Galchenyuk, who completed the hat trick with a quick wrister to account for the final score with 2:10 to play. Game Notes The Canadiens are 12-0-0 when scoring first this season ... Montreal is 8-1-2 in its last 11 games against Carolina ... Skinner registered his 200th career point ... Carolina forward Justin Shugg made his NHL debut after being recalled from Charlotte (AHL) on Monday ... The season series resume on Dec. 29 in Carolina. ' ' '