1987-10-19 Washington Redskins vs Dallas Cowboys

This was the final scrub game from 87.

[@bison4me]

The brilliance of Joe Gibbs and Bobby Beatherd. Only Gibbs could coach up a scab team and go 3-0 with them. That man deserves his due.

[@johnjacob5844]

Best ever

[@maskcollector6949]

Ron Rivera is basically doing that now in WAS considering all our first stringers are basically injured and Heinicke himself was a backup and never given a true shot at being the starter until the Fitztragic injury. Check out his lockerroom videos starting after the Tampa victory, nobody gave them a chance at winning that game, either. Rivera is as close to as true of a coach as Gibbs 1.0 that WAS has ever seen and to be honest he might be better because Gibbs gave them no shot and Rivera said blow their head off.

[@jp783]

@@maskcollector6949 I really don't care, but that might be one of the crazier diatribes I've ever read on YT and that's saying something

[@collin355]

@@maskcollector6949 Ron Rivera is awful..are you seriously comparing him to Joe Gibbs?? Are you drunk???

[@MaximusWolfe]

@@maskcollector6949 Rivera was a joke. He couldn’t shine Gibbs’ shoes. You might want to ponder anti-psychotic medication.

[@tohaz]

How is this not considered the greatest upset in NFL history? If you scroll down--you will see a bunch of people saying that the cow pies were "has beens"... but they were playing guys that had 3-week NFL careers. There were some Skins that had played/would play--but the most were there for the strike only. This game helps accentuate that Joe Gibbs is the greatest coach in Modern League History. He took these guys on the road to complete a 3-0 strike. He also won 3 Super Bowls with 3 different starting QBs/TBs and very few starters from all 3 teams.

[@1992reyflorez]

Thanks for uploading this. Just watched it through. My boys Vital and McEwan moved the chains while Dorsett put the ball on the mat lol

[@johnjacob5844]

Mcewan was great and stayed in league. Vital was very quick and tough

[@mikewazowski350]

This is considered as one of the best upsets in the NFL history. I can see why. The so called 'scabs' were really good considering.

[@Xsyllman]

This was an absolutely delicious game to watch (and to re-watch in compressed form here). Frank Gifford always had some negative take on the Redskins, and him having to eat his words was the cherry on top. Watching the replacement Redskins beat "America's Team", when the latter had most of its starters back, will always make this game one of my favorites. (As a side note: After this season, if I recall, Tony Robinson had to return to prison to serve out the remainder of a prior conviction on a minor drug charge. One can imagine the cred he must've had, though, being able to say that he beat the Dallas Cowboys.)

[@leogetz3570]

Pro's vs Joes!! My senior of high school, this was all we talked about during football practice

[@bnegs521]

Landry looked so desperate on the phone at the end.

[@tonyny3266]

13:45 sign reads “ Hi Mom sell my stock” --this game was played 10-19-1987 -Black Monday - one of worst stock market crashes in US history.

[@MaximusWolfe]

Pound for pound the greatest upset in sports history. Don’t care if you disagree. When you consider the talent levels at odds here it is absolutely extraordinary what Gibbs pulled off. This makes the miracle in ice look like a mediocre win indeed.

[@matsugo24]

After this game, I remember accepting that Danny White, Tony Dorsett, Ed Jones, and Randy White had all seen better days and that the franchise was embarking upon an unstoppable downslide.

[@bb-gc2tx]

did danny white ever have any good days lol

[@robertpapich]

@@bb-gc2tx he was a decent punter with a great arm. Ive followed the Skins since Pardee. Dorsett was my favorite RB. Would you like to know anything else about my past?

[@jasongoldsworthy6149]

Tony Robinson should have been an NFL great, sadly life went the other way for him.

[@mozsmith2121]

Just got done watching the documentary on 30 for 30. It was really good. Those guys I believe could of went to the Superbowl on their own without the regular players. I am happy they got their super bowl rings even though unfortunately was 30 years later. The strike I know was very important but just speaking on football the game those replacements went out there and did their job!

[@ckendall67]

Apparently all of the regular starters wanted to play in this game but coach Gibbs held them back, insisting that they wanted to play their replacements one last time as a show of solidarity for the players that showed up during the 3-week strike. Though they were considered 'scabs', they actually helped set the Redskins up for their success the rest of that season, they won all their replacement games including this game on Monday Night Football & it propelled them all the way to 1st place in the NFC East where they eventually finished & then from there of course marched all the way to Super Bowl XXII.

[@zippitydoodads9947]

@@ckendall67 no, they wanted to play but the NFL wouldn’t let them.

[@bnegs521]

​@@zippitydoodads9947That's not true. It was Gibbs and Bethards call

[@ellisonlowrimore7751]

The movie The Replacements based on this season.

[@Dan97LHS]

My ninth birthday and the stock market crashed. Hail to the Redskins!

[@daletaylor2524]

Gibb's best coaching job of his carrer, in my humble opinion.

[@LogoAttitude]

Dan Dierdorf joined Al Michaels and Frank Gifford in the MNF broadcast booth in 1987. This was the first game called by this team to be blacked out in the market of origin. This prevented the game's broadcast on WFAA (Metroplex), KTEN (Sherman-Ada, also an NBC affiliate) KLTV/KTRE (Tyler/Lufkin), KSWO (Wichita Falls/Lawton), and KXXV (Waco). The next "Frank and Al and Dan" blackout was also a game at the Cowboys where they hosted a division rival, November 2 against the Giants. It was the last ever Cowboys MNF game blacked out.

[@albertschaf6985]

If you still need to know how great a coach that Gibbs was.....

[@redmustangredmustang]

Ahh the replacement player game. Getting the QB straight from prison.

[@johnjacob5844]

From jail. True

[@Xsyllman]

Tony Robinson had to return to prison after the season to serve out the remainder of his sentence on a minor drug charge. Still, he seems to have gotten his life turned around after that. While he was in prison, he must've had some kinda cred, though. How many of his fellow inmates could say they beat the Dallas Cowboys? Also, if I recall, Tony Robinson was in the running for the Heisman award while in college, but blew out his knee in late in that season, thus putting a crimp in his ability to garner that award. Still, I'd say that this game helped make up for that, in part. And, even though it was 30 years after the fact, it was nice that he and the other replacements received a championship ring.

[@bnegs521]

​@11kfulthe giants team they beat was full of scabs.

[@MainEventPoint]

By this point Danny White was in his 12th year, Dorsett his 10th, Randy White his 12th and Ed Jones his 11th. The rest of the team was just not that good. It was the first game as a Cowboys fan you noticed maybe the game had passed Tom Landry by. The way he was let go is still pretty egregious but perhaps he needed to realize it was time to retire.

[@RoarOfWolverine]

The only good thing that Snyder did during his time as owner was finally giving the replacement players their Super Bowl rings for the 1988 world championship. The team owed those guys because had they not went undefeated, Washington may not have won the division and been in place to host the championship game, thanks to the Vikings knocking the number one seed Niners out of the playoffs that year. Washington always struggled in San Francisco in other playoffs. The skins were only the number three seed that year, but they knocked the number two seed Bears out in Chicago and then got to play at home for the championship once the Niners were eliminated. The replacement players beating these Cowboys, who had more than 12 veterans cross the line, including Danny White and two Hall Of Famers in Tony Dorsett and Randy White was all heart. They knew it was their last game since the strike had been settled prior to this game, so they really stepped it up. This game inspired a movie, but the movie sucked and wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the real story. They spent more of the movie on some love story between the QB and a cheerleader, something that is forbidden by the team and had nothing to do with the football story. The real replacements went undefeated, but in the movie, they lost a game. As great as Gene Hackman is, he couldn’t play a good Joe Gibbs, an NFL legend.

[@jfont5899]

Reminiscing my high school days when I had to tackle this guy . Excellent job Lionel Vital . 💯💯💯

[@e2go]

HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS?!

[@TheLastRomantic68]

The best part of the story is that Snyder gave them Super Bowl Rings... these guys have a piece of glory that Dan Marino and Jim Kelly will never ever have.....

[@kevinburke6055]

The only good thing Synder.has done as the owner

[@collin355]

@@kevinburke6055 hate synder but he also brought back Joe gibbs..that was the best thing he did

[@stevep8445]

Cowboys had many of their regular players in the lineup for this one... Skins had ZERO

[@chrisuncleahmad]

including two HOF'ers

[@MaximusWolfe]

Yup. Not only did Dallas lose to the Redskins un the two most important games possible, that is, the two NFC championship games they played against each other, but they also lost to the scrub replacements who had no starters with a host of pros at their disposal. Arguably the most humiliating loss in NFL history.

[@ricktheitalianrebel6687]

@@MaximusWolfe Agreed

[@Xsyllman]

@@MaximusWolfe Yes, and that --- along with the Redskins' win over the Cowboys at RFK Stadium in 1981 --- is what makes this game one of my favorites.

[@ellisonlowrimore7751]

That was a super low light as a 45 year Cowboys fan.

[@Xsyllman]

I hear you, but this helped make up for some low-light games that Redskins had with Dallas in times past. (Can you say "Clint Longley"?)

[@femgoo]

The legendary Scrub game!! My Favorite game as a Redskins fan!! HTTR!!

[@bnegs521]

The Redskins went 11-4 in the regular season in 1987. The regulars went 8-4 and the scab team 3-0. Despite their obvious contribution coach Joe Gibbs actively campaigned against the scabs getting super bowl rings except if they remained on the roster after the scab games concluded. Such as Anthony Allen. In the 30 for 30 documentary Gibbs was once again asked about the scab players never getting super bowl rings. Gibbs once again stated they did not deserve super bowl rings despite their obvious contributions to the championship team of 1987. Gibbs also did not want any reunion with any of the players from the 1987 scab team. It was Daniel Snyder who after the 30 for 30 aired that finally gave these guys on the scab team their due and made the team the super bowl rings they deserved. A DIRTY, LOW CLASS move by Joe Gibbs to deny the guys who had played hard and won all 3 games during the strike or he would have never had that second super bowl win at the time. LOW CLASS move by Gibbs corrected many years later by Dan Snyder.

[@christianorr1059]

With all due love and respect to our 1982 and 1991 Super Bowl-winning teams, I consider the 1987 Redskins squad to be the franchise's best, as they're the ONLY Redskins team to win the Super Bowl AND sweep the Cowboys along the way (including the legendary Replacements Game);, ergo the only truly complete season in franchise history; the '82 and '91 squads both suffered an inexcusable HOME LOSS to the damn dirty Cowpies.

[@Xsyllman]

It's hard to disagree with you, amigo. In addition to the replacement players, another gem from this season was Barry Wilburn's efforts at cornerback --- especially his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in the NFC Championship game against the Vikings. Wilburn, if I recall, had quite a number of interceptions that season, yet the Pro Bowl committee inexcusably snubbed him. And then, of course, there's that 2nd Quarter in the Super Bowl. Ah, yes, it WAS a season for the books.

[@vincefisher9907]

The score didn't reflect what an incredible game the Redskins played

[@Xsyllman]

Absolutely correct. Despite fielding a team of replacement players without much NFL experience, to play against a team with most of its starters, the Redskins outplayed the Cowboys on BOTH sides of the ball. Danny White got sacked four times and intercepted twice. And, the Redskins prevented the Cowboys from getting beyond the 50-yard line until the waning seconds of the 1st Half. They also did a decent job in the 2nd Half. By contrast, the Redskins' offense scored or was near the Dallas goal line at least five times in that game, scoring on three of those drives.

[@Mike-aka747]

A Cowboys team which had many players cross the picket line vs a Redskins squad who would’ve been no better than a mid level USFL team. The Cowboys should’ve steamrolled them. Just goes to show maybe the NFL is a bit overrated and they are full of themselves. Way to go Redscabs!

[@garytruex6906]

What a sorry effort by Tony Dorsett in this game.

[@alexibarra3472]

Didn’t the Redskins win the Super Bowl this year in Jan of 88?? How so if they had replacement players?

[@classicsports5057]

Replacement players were for three weeks in 87. Although some regular players crossed and played anyway. The Replacements movie was based on the concept of what actually happened although the movie was totally fictional.

[@garytruex6906]

They went 3-0 with the replacement players then the regulars came back. San Francisco got upset by Minnesota in the divisional round that year, they were 13-2 (only played 15 games in '87 due to the strike).

[@michaelleroy9281]

@@garytruex6906 Minnesota went 0-3 with the replacement players but still went 8-7 with upset wins at New Orleans and San Francisco but couldn't make it 3 in the NFC championship at Washington

[@Xsyllman]

@@michaelleroy9281 Quite true. Jerry Burns had a good team, and it looked like the Vikings were going to win that NFC Championship game. Redskins wide reciever Charlie Brown escaping for a touchdown, and Redskins cornerback Barry Wilburn intercepting a pass in the End Zone and running it back 100 yards for a touchdown, helped seal Minnesota's fate in that game.

[@femgoo]

Dad, What did you do in 1987? I played football for the Dallas Cowboys and lost to a NO NAME SCRUB TEAM!!🤣🤣🤣 HTTR!!

[@michaelleroy9281]

I wonder what Skip Bayless thought about this game

[@Xsyllman]

LOL !!! 😄😄😄 Skip "the Lip" Bayless would probably have had a similar --- if not greater --- meltdown after this game, had he been there instead of Frank Gifford (who seldom missed an opportunity to disparage the Redskins). People like Bayless are the cherry on top with games like this.

[@ckendall67]

I think this was the game that in fact inspired the movie 'The Replacements'.

[@bb-gc2tx]

that qb robinson could play and had great arm suprised no teams gave him a look

[@johnliberty3647]

Imagine if Vital replaced Timmy Smith on the roster and ended up playing the superbowl. Bet he would have out done Timmy Smith.

[@johnjacob5844]

Yes our line would have opened up the holes for quicker Vital!

[@kevinburke6055]

Without this game there would've never been "the Replacements" No Shane Falco.

[@kevindouglas5333]

Not like the Cowboys players wanted to cross the line but team played hardball and started fucking with pension and stuff if they didn't cross

[@untexan]

And this is apparently the reason Buddy Ryan and the Eagles ran up the score on them the next week. Basically to jam it down Tex Schramm’s throat.

[@Xsyllman]

@@untexan Say what you will about Buddy Ryan, you have to admire his unique style. (As a Redskins fan, I will never forget the "body bags" game, for which Washington eventually got even.) I remember when Ryan came to the Eagles after leaving the Bears. Eagles players were afraid to pick up the morning paper, since there would occasionally be a comment from Ryan about some player --- "He looks like a reject guard from the USFL" or "He's too damn fat!" Ultimately, though, his style was more a liability than an asset.

[@evancortez2]

I remember after the strike when the regular Redskins came back I was like, can we have the replacements instead?

[@Xsyllman]

When the regular Redskins came back, they didn't play too shabbily, either.

[@michaelleroy9281]

You know the Cowboys were going downhill with a team with some veterans couldn't beat a Redskins team with all replacement players which was the story for a movie

[@diaz5292]

A lot of those veterans players should have been released YEARS before. I mean a lot of them were over the hill by 1980.

[@ejackson7281]

The WAS replacement players beat the Dallas Cowgirls starters ?? Rigged Rigged Rigged !!!!!!

[@diaz5292]

Dorsett throughout his career fumbled a lot. That balances out a lot of his greatness making him a mediocre player overall.

[@johnjacob5844]

Well not mediocre. But he did fumble

[@Xsyllman]

I've been a Redskins (not Commanders) fan all my life, and the Cowboys --- even now --- remain what George Allen used to call them. Still, I can't disparage Tony Dorsett like that. He did fumble at times, but the guy was a versatile and capable running back that would've helped any team win more often than not.

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

Shane Falco....

[@pd9971]

Oh ya the scab game I forgot all about it.

[@zippitydoodads9947]

Duck Fallas

[@debaser_666]

The Redskins got lucky Herschel Walker didn't play this game. They would have never stopped him. Running game or passing game.