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Landover, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Tony Romo had a pair of touchdown passes to Dez Bryant as the Dallas Cowboys pounded the Washington Redskins, 44-17, in the final game of the regular season. Dallas came into the game having already secured its first NFC East crown since 2009. With the win, the team has a chance to secure a first-round bye, and possibly even the top spot in the NFC. Should the Green Bay/Detroit game end in a tie, with either an Arizona loss or a Seattle win, the Cowboys will find themselves atop the NFC. Also, losses from Arizona and Seattle will give the team a first-round bye. Romo finished the game 22-for-34 for 299 yards with an interception, and DeMarco Murray set a franchise record for rushing yards in a season for the Cowboys (12-4), who won their final four games of the season to post their best mark since a 13-3 finish in 2007. Murray, who totaled 100 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, finished the regular season with an NFL-best 1,845 yards to surpass Emmitt Smiths single- season mark of 1,773 yards in 1995. Robert Griffin III finished off a lackluster season with 336 yards and a touchdown along with two interceptions on 27-of-41 attempts for the Redskins (4-12), who finished last in the division for a second straight year. The Cowboys started the game with the ball and put points on the board as Dan Bailey hit a 36-yard field goal to give the team a 3-0 lead just under four minutes in. Jason Witten caught a pair of passes for 25 yards on the drive. Each team then exchanged long touchdowns, with the Redskins scoring after DeSean Jackson caught a short pass out to the left and getting a nice block on his way to a 69-yard score. It was the first opening drive touchdown for Washington in 13 games. Four plays later, Bryant caught a short pass out to the left and made a move past the initial defender and raced down the sideline, stiff-arming another tackler near the end zone on his way to a 65-yard score. After a three-and-out, the Cowboys put more points on the board when Romo went deep to the left corner of the end zone and Bryant made a leaping grab for a 23-yard score. The play was initially ruled incomplete, but a review showed that Bryant held the ball and got both feet on the ground before going out of bounds. On the play before the score, Murray took a carry for 32 yards to break Smiths single-season rushing record. Getting the ball back after another three-and-out from the Redskins, the Cowboys got a 32-yard field goal from Bailey for a 20-7 lead, and quickly got the ball back as they recovered a surprise onside kick attempt. The short field enabled Dallas to take a 20-point lead, as Murray broke a couple of tackles on his way to a 9-yard score with 8:10 to play in the first half. Washington came back with a nearly seven-minute drive that got the team into the red zone, but came away with just a 25-yard field goal from Kai Forbath to make it a 27-10 game going into the break. After a scoreless third quarter, the Redskins were able to make it a 10-point game with 6:45 to play as Griffin ran the ball in for a 2-yard score to cap a 10-play, 58-yard drive. The Cowboys, though, came back with a 61-yard drive capped on a Bailey 23-yard field goal with 3:31 to play to put the game out of reach. Griffin fumbled the ball two plays later, with Anthony Spencer taking it in from five yards out, and Joseph Randles 65-yard touchdown run with 1:40 to play turned the game into a rout. Game Notes Bryant set the franchise record for touchdown receptions in a season with 16, passing Terrell Owens mark of 15 set in 2007 ... Dallas went 8-0 on the road this season ... Washington finished the season 3-5 at home ... Dallas totaled 457 yards and Washington finished with 413. . The club announced on Wednesday that Malhotra signed a 25-game professional tryout contract. The 33-year-old suffered a serious eye injury when struck by a puck during a game versus Colorado in March of 2011. .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. . -- David Freese is starting to pick up his run production, which is something the Los Angeles Angels have been waiting half a season to see. . Hamelin overcame a weak start to win bronze in the 500-metre race behind winner Wu Dajing of China and American J.R. Celski on Saturday at the world short track speed skating championship. . As TSN reported Thursday, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is under intense pressure from the federal government to focus drug testing on athletes who compete in international events representing Canada. Since funding for the tests has been frozen and the cost of testing can eclipse $1,000 per test, university athletes in a number of sports are being tested less often.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The solid performance by the Williams team in early testing has left Felipe Massa upbeat about the new Formula One season. The Brazilian driver had the second-best time in last months tests at Jerez and said the "good start" could play to his advantage when the season gets underway in Australia in March. "It always helps to start well, especially now that we have a completely different car, which requires a completely different driving style," Massa said at a news conference on Tuesday. Testing is seen as crucial this year as significant rule changes have been implemented, including a switch to a turbo engine and more sophisticated energy recovery systems. Debuting with Williams after eight years with Ferrari, Massa was clearly looking forward to making a fresh start. "Im really motivated, this is a special moment for me," he said. "I changed to a team that welcomed me with open arms. I needed this change and I think the team needed too." Massa remained cautious, however, saying that the cars full potential wont be known until the first race starts. Car designs needed significant aerodynamic alterations compared to last year, with reliability and fuel consumption likely to play a big part in races. "I think theres a lot too learn with the car and a lot has to be done to make the car improve," Massa said.dddddddddddd "Its hard to say right now how good we will be. Usually, in the first races it will be difficult just to finish the race. But it was a good start, I was happy." He said Mercedes also looked to be in a strong position after the tests, but that Red Bull has a lot of work to do to get its car ready after a series of mechanical difficulties. McLarens Kevin Magnussen had the best time overall after the four days of testing in Jerez, Spain. There will be two more test sessions ahead of the March 16 opener in Australia. The next testing period runs from Feb. 19-22 in Bahrain. Massa said he went to France to visit former Ferrari teammate and seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, who is recovering from a serious head injury after a skiing accident in the French resort of Meribel on Dec. 29. "I stayed a long time by his side," said Massa, without providing many details on his condition. "It was good to be there. It looked like he was just sleeping, like anyone of us sleeps. Im really hopeful that everything will be OK and that he will wake up and recover fully." Massa said he is getting daily updates on the condition of his "great friend." ' ' '
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