NFL Old School Game Of The Week: 'Scabskins' Stun Cowboys

NFL fans were not happy when replacement players were brought in to play NFL games during the 1987 NFL strike.

One of the reasons the National Football League became the most popular league in America was the fact they have had labor peace for 30 years, meaning no cancellation of regular season games, unlike the NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball.

But that wasn't always the case as not one but two player strikes nearly crippled the league during the 1980s.

The first came in 1982, which lasted for 57 days and reduced the season from 16 games to 9 games.

The second came in 1987, when the NFL Players Association demanded chances to the league's free agent policy.

Just like the strike in 1982, players struck after the second game of the regular season and games for the third week of the season were cancelled.

Vowing to avoid the 1982 debacle and put pressure on the union, the NFL decided to resume the season with replacement players filling the rosters of all 28 teams in the league, with the results counting toward who would make the playoffs, assuming the regular players would return.

While attendances and TV ratings dropped, the move worked as several NFL stars like 49ers quarterback Joe Montana and Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent and helped end the strike one month after it began.

Still before all the regular players would return, there was one game left to be played and that was the Monday Night Football encounter between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys.

While the Cowboys had about 20 players cross the picket lines, the Redskins were filled with all replacement players or "scabs" as they become to be known.

Nevertheless, the "Scabskins" did pretty well winning their two previous games, the first being a 28-21 win over the St.Louis(now Arizona) Cardinals where wide receiver Anthony Allen set the Redskins record for most receiving yards in a game with 255 yards on seven catches and three touchdowns.

Washington followed that up with a 38-12 win over the New York Giants behind a 128-yard rushing performance by running back Lionel Vital, increasing the "Scabskins" record to 2-0 as they head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Facing a team mixed with actual NFL players, the Redskins were essentially given no chance to defeat the Cowboys.

But the "Scabskins" would write one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NFL history in the final game for the replacement players.

Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett carried the ball 19 times for 81 yards, but had two costly fumbles.

The Cowboys got the ball to start the game and begin their possession at their 20-yard-line with Danny White back at quarterback and Tony Dorsett back in the backfield at running back.

Dorsett did not seem rusty as he picked up 17 yards on his first two carries, but on his fourth carry, Dorsett lost the football when he fumbled the football on a 3rd-and-1 with Redskins defensive tackle Dan Benish recovering the fumble at the Cowboys' 46-yard-line.

From there, the Redskins went to Vital, who carried the ball three straight times for 16 times before quarterback Ed Rubbert found tight end Joe Caravello for 22 yards, giving Washington a 1st-and-goal at the eight-yard-line.

But on 3rd-and-goal from the one-yard-line, fullback Wayne Wilson was dropped for a one-yard loss, forcing the Redskins to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Obed Ariri, which gave Washington a 3-0 lead with 8:49 remaining in the first quarter.

After both teams went three-and-out on their next possession,the Cowboys got the ball back at their 10-yard-line, only to have Dorsett fumble the ball for the second time in three possessions, when he was hit by Redskins defensive end Alec Gibson with linebacker Bobby Curtis recovering the loose ball at the Dallas 41-yard-line.

Even though they were in Dallas territory, it appeared the Redskins were in trouble when Rubbert was knocked out of the game with a bruised shoulder following a hit by Dallas linebacker Dale Jones on 2nd-and-6.

Rubbert was replaced by Tony Robinson, who had been in jail in the spring of 1987 for selling cocaine and was out on a prison furlough to play in another football league when the strike hit.

All Robinson did on his first play from scrimmage was scramble out of the pocket and find tight end Craig McEwen for a six-yard gain, then hit Anthony Allen for a 25-yard completion to give Washington a 1st-and-goal at the Dallas eight-yard-line.

However, the Redskins gave the ball back to Dallas when Vital fumbled on 2nd-and-goal as Cowboys defensive tackle Kevin Brooks recovered the loose ball at the Cowboys' five-yard-line with 55 seconds to go in the first quarter.

Redskins quarterback Tony Robinson came off the bench to complete 11 of 18 passes for 152 yards.

The score was still 3-0 in the middle of the second quarter when Washington linebacker Reggie Bunch was able to partially block a Buzz Sawyer punt, giving the Redskins the ball at the Dallas 47-yard-line with 8:52 to go before halftime.

The drive got off to a good start was Vital ran for 21 yards on the first play of the drive, but the Redskins were unable to pick up another 1st down, forcing them to try a 43-yard field goal attempt by Ariri.

However, Ariri's kick hit the right goalpost and the score remained 3-0 midway with 7:44 left in the second quarter.

Following another Cowboys punt, the Redskins drove took over at their 36-yard-line and were able to drive to the Dallas 11-yard-line, thanks to a 29-yard-run by Vital on the first play of the drive and a 4th-and-2 gamble that paid off when Cowboys defensive tackle Randy White was called for offsides, giving Washington 1st-and-10 at the Dallas 11-yard-line with less than two minutes in the half.

But the Cowboys defense was able up to not only hold the Redskins out of the end zone, but get the ball back when Dallas defensive back Tommy Haynes intercepted a Robinson pass to give the Cowboys the ball at their 23-yard-line with 1:12 left in the first half.

Dallas was able to drive into Redskins territory but came with no points as the first half came to a end with the "Scabskins" shockingly leading the Cowboys 3-0.

Washington got the ball to start the second half and put together its best drive of the game: a six-play, 80-yard drive that began with a 42-yard pass from Robinson to McEwen and ended with a 16-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Ted Wilson on an end around to increase the Redskins' lead to 10-0 with 11:35 left in the third quarter.

The Cowboys would respond with a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by White's 38-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Edwards, to cut the deficit back to a field goal at 10-7 with 8:10 to go in the third quarter.

It seemed that the offenses for both teams had awakened as the Redskins would drive from their 21-yard-line to the Cowboys nine-yard-line as Washington converted on three 3rd down conversions on the drive with the first being a 30-yard-pass from Robinson to McEwen on 3rd-and-5 from the Washington 26-yard-line, followed by a 12-yard run by Ted Wilson on another end around on 3rd-and-3 from the Dallas 37-yard-line, then a nine-yard run by Tim Jessie to give the Redskins a 1st-and-goal at the nine-yard-line.

However, the drive ended on 2nd-and-goal from the seven-yard-line when Robinson was picked off again by Haynes, giving Dallas the ball back at their five-yard-line with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.

Redskins tight end Craig McEwen had seven catches for 108 yards, six of them for 102 yards in the second half alone.

The Cowboys were able to drive 24 yards before they had to punt, giving the ball back to the Redskins at their 47-yard-line with 13:17 left in the fourth quarter.

Just like they did on their previous drive, the Redskins were able to convert on three 3rd down situations as Robinson snuck for a 1st down on 3rd-and-1 at the Dallas 44-yard-line, then hit McEwen for a six-yard completion on 3rd-and-6 at the Cowboys 38-yard-line, and finally connecting with McEwen again, this time for seven yards on 3rd-and-6 from the Dallas 28-yard-line.

But on the Redskins were unable to convert on their fourth 3rd down situation of the drive as Robinson overthrow a pass intended for Allen in the end zone, forcing the Redskins to try a 39-yard field goal attempt by Ariri.

Ariri's kick was good to increase the Redskins' lead to 13-7 with over six minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

Facing an embarrassing loss to a bunch of "scabs", the Cowboys took over at their 25-yard-line with 6:05 left in the game and seemed poised to end the Redskins' chances of a momentous upset as White hit Mike Renfro for 15 yards on 3rd-and-7 from the Cowboys' 28-yard-line.

But on the very next play, White was picked off by Redskins defensive back Michael Mitchell on a pass intended for Renfro.

Mitchell's 17-yard return gave Washington the ball at the Dallas 34-yard-line with 4:26 left and a chance to run out the clock, only to have the Cowboys defense not permit a 1st down and force a Redskins punt, giving White and the Dallas offense the ball at their seven-yard-line with 2:37 and a chance to pull out the victory.

After a holding penalty pushed Dallas back to the three-yard-line, White connected with E.J. Jones for 10 yards on the final play before the two-minute warning, then came right back with a 19-yard pass to Edwards, followed by a 16-yard screen pass to Dorsett, putting the Cowboys at their 48-yard-line.

Following a three-yard pass to Jones to put the Cowboys into Redskins territory, White connected with Cornell Burbage for 12 yards, then found Renfro for 17 yards, to give Dallas a 1st-and-10 at the Redskins' 20-yard-line with under a minute to go.

It looked like the Redskins' chances of a fairy tale ending were going to be squashed until White finally threw an incomplete pass on 1st down, which was followed by a three-yard run by Dorsett, and then a four-yard scramble by White, setting up a do-or-die 4th-and-3 from the 13-yard-line with seven seconds left.

White threw a pass over the middle for Edwards, but the pass fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Redskins with two seconds left.

And after Robinson took a knee, the "Scabskins" had pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NFL history with their 13-7 win over the Cowboys in the final game featuring replacement players as all the regular players came back the following week.

Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs is carried on the shoulders of some of the "Scabskins" after their upset over the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys would end up finishing the season with a 7-8 record and out of the playoffs while the Redskins finished 11-4 and winning the NFC East Division, which earned them a spot in the playoffs.

Washington would knock off the Chicago Bears 21-17 in the Divisional Playoffs, then held off the Minnesota Vikings 17-10 in the NFC Championship Game, and then scored 35 points in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII as they routed the Denver Broncos 42-10 for the team's second Super Bowl title in six seasons, with the first one occurring ironically during the 1982 strike-shortened season.

While the "Scabskins" never got Super Bowl rings for helping out the Redskins during the 1987 season, they did get the next best thing: a movie made about their story in the 2000 comedy The Replacements starring Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman, which used the Redskins' win over the Cowboys as inspiration for the climax of the movie.

If you want to watch the highlights from the game, click below to watch: