IRVING, Texas — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was in full scene control early in the week.

With his team 3-0 and riding a wave of emotion following victories against Philadelphia and Green Bay, Jones said it was important to see how his team handled prosperity.

He even compared Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium to the NFC divisional playoff game against the New York Giants last January.

The same game the Cowboys lost after quarterback Tony Romo and others took a bye-week vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Well, there was no vacation preceding Sunday's game—but the outcome was the same.

The improving Redskins, who Jones said could be this year's version of the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants, shocked the Cowboys 26-24 before 63,462 fans in the final regular-season game of this historic rivalry played at Texas Stadium.

It was the Cowboys' (3-1) first loss of the season and put them in a tie with the Redskins for second place in the NFC East behind the undefeated Giants.

More important, it was another lesson learned by a Cowboys team that admittedly got too full of itself last season when they ruined a 13-3 regular season with a divisional playoff loss to the Giants.

Through the first three games of this season, the Cowboys looked like a team ready to make amends for last year's failure. They were considered to be the best team in the NFC, if not the NFL.

And based on their history against the Redskins—they had won 11 of the past 12 at Texas Stadium—there was little reason to think that things would change.

But they did, as the Cowboys were disjointed and out of sync throughout the game. According to coach Wade Phillips, they were outplayed by the Redskins.

Receiver Santana Moss continued his mastery of the Cowboys with eight receptions for 145 yards. He has topped the 100-yard barrier in each of the past three meetings, while running back Clinton Portis rumbled for 121 rushing yards.

The Redskins held the Cowboys' explosive offense to 44 yards on the ground and its lowest scoring output of the season.

"It's disappointing," Phillips said. "We didn't play as well as we needed to play. It seemed like we relaxed. We can't do that."

Said cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones: "We just needed this for a reality check for the team."

Never mind that the Cowboys rallied from a 17-7 second-quarter deficit and a 26-17 fourth-quarter deficit to pull within 26-24 with 1 minute, 42 seconds left on an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Romo to receiver Miles Austin.

Never mind that the Cowboys came within a failed onside kick of a potential miracle comeback.

And never mind that quarterback Tony Romo passed for 300 yards—tying Troy Aikman for the most 300 yards games in club history with 13 — and three touchdowns. He was not efficient against a harassing Redskins defense, completing 28 of 47 passes with a costly interception that led to a Redskins field goal. Receiver Terrell Owens wasn't a factor much of the day despite seven catches and one touchdown.

The outcome was simply representative of what transpired on the field. They were outplayed by a team that is riding a three-game winning streak and proving it's for real after a season-opening 16-7 loss to the Giants.

It was too much to overcome when you add in the Cowboys' own physical and mental mistakes, including numerous protection breakdowns.

The biggest gaffe came with 6:58 left and the Cowboys trying to stop the Redskins on a third-and-2 play at the 31 and force a long field-goal attempt. Following a timeout, the Cowboys stopped the Redskins, but were flagged for having 12 men on the field because safety Pat Watkins didn't pay attention to the defensive personnel call.

"It was 12," Adam Jones said. "We were in single (coverage) and not to point no fingers, but Pat shouldn't have been on the field."

The play allowed another 3:32 to run off the clock before the Cowboys could get the ball back after Shaun Suisham's 29-yard field goal gave the Redskins at 26-17 lead with 3:22 left in the game.

"I can't understand how two players playing the position could be standing there," said a frustrated and exasperated Phillips in his most critical comments about a player. "I can't fathom that. They were standing right next to each other."