IRVING, Texas (AP) – The Dallas Cowboys began “showtime” with a wretched opening act. Lucky for them, the Washington Redskins were even worse.

The Cowboys overcame four first-half turnovers and a series of bizarre events to beat the Redskins 21-14 Sunday, giving them a 3-0 start against division foes. That tightened their grip on the NFC East midway through the season.

Coach Bill Parcells talked all week about November being “showtime” because of a five-game stretch in which Dallas could go a long way toward winning the division for the first time since 1998.

He couldn’t have been too pleased with the performance Sunday. But after starting with the same ineptness that led to a 16-0 loss to Tampa Bay last Sunday, Dallas recovered in time to send the Redskins to their fourth straight loss and fifth in six games.

Troy Hambrick atoned for two lost fumbles with two short touchdown runs. Terry Glenn made up for some awful drops, including one that led to Washington’s first touchdown, with a nice catch-and-run for a 19-yard TD that gave Dallas breathing room early in the fourth quarter. Quincy Carter was 17-of-33 for 196 yards and Hambrick had 100 yards on 21 carries, helping the Cowboys (6-2) win for the sixth time in seven games.

Washington (3-5) was so bad that its Fun ‘n’ Gun offense had 11 first-quarter yards.

and minus-11 yards passing at halftime, leaving coach Steve Spurrier grimacing and gripping his visor. So much for having worked out their kinks during a bye week.

Patrick Ramsey was 16-of-30 for 147 yards, and backup Tim Hasselbeck, throwing for the first time in his NFL career, went 2-of-3 for 20 yards while Ramsey was briefly out with injuries.

The Redskins aren’t big on running anyway, and were even less so with Ladell Betts and Trung Canidate sidelined with injuries. Then starter Chad Morton went down, too. Rock Cartwright ended up producing 44 yards on eight carries.

Dallas beat Washington for the 11th time in 12 meetings and the eighth straight at Texas Stadium. That certainly didn’t go over well with Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who watched from a luxury box.

The sloppy game was filled with wackiness:

– Dallas had two first-half touchdowns erased by penalties, including a 101-yard kickoff return to open the game.

– The Cowboys’ first three drives ended in a long interception, a fumble by Hambrick and another interception when Glenn rolled over trying to control a catch, but instead flipped the ball to Washington safety Ifeanyi Ohalete.

– Two plays later, the Redskins got a 7-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Ramsey to Laveranues Coles. The extra point was blocked.

– The Cowboys appeared to get within 6-3 on a 22-yard field goal, but Washington’s Antonio Pierce was flagged for unsportmanlike conduct; officials said he was “jamming signals.” Given a first down at the 2, Hambrick scored.

– Both teams had faulty flea flickers in the first quarter. Washington’s turned into the first of its four sacks.

– Spurrier took a risk by not declining an illegal motion penalty, giving Dallas third-and-8 from the Washington 31 instead of second-and-15 from the 38. The Cowboys converted and Hambrick scored from the 1 a few plays later.

– Hasselbeck’s debut ended when Ramsey returned to throw a 19-yard TD pass to Taylor Jacobs and a 2-point conversion pass to Darnerien McCants with 2:30 left.

AP-ES-11-02-03 2002EST