IRVING, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys were woozy coming into Sunday's game. At halftime, so was Deion Sanders.

	Deion Sanders celebrates in the end zone following his 70-yard punt return.

But with Troy Aikman leading the way, Dallas snapped out of a two-game slide with a 38-20 victory over Washington that Sanders capped by overcoming a head-spinning hit and returning a punt 70 yards for a touchdown.

Aikman, who led the Cowboys to scores on their first three possessions, threw two touchdown passes and ran for one. It was quite an awakening for an offense that had scored two touchdowns and 20 points over the last two games.

"Considering the fact that we lost the last two, this game might have been a little bigger. Everybody knew that," said Aikman, who finished 20-for-32 for 244 yards. "I don't think anybody was questioning themselves. We just needed to go out and do it as a group."

The Redskins, who had won four straight since losing to the Cowboys 41-35 in overtime in the opener, are tied with Dallas (4-2) for the NFC East lead.

The Cowboys have a five-game winning streak against their top rival for the first time since 1979-81.

"We didn't get it done," Redskins cornerback Darrell Green said. "Everything was out of sync today."

Sanders got things going by tackling Stephen Davis for a 4-yard loss on the game's first play. The crowd, which included former Nobel prize winner Nelson Mandela, went crazy and kept it up as the Cowboys took a 17-0 lead.

GAME NOTES

Dallas leads the overall series 45-33-2. The Cowboys had a 12-8 advantage in the 1990s. Deion Sanders' last punt return for a touchdown was a 71-yarder on Sept. 21, 1998, against the New York Giants. The win was Troy Aikman's 87th victory of the 1990s, making him the winningest quarterback in any decade. Joe Montana had 86 wins in the '80s. Washington had no problems with Brad Johnson replacing injured punter Matt Turk as the holder for kicks. His only test was on a high snap on an extra-point, and he handled it fine. Dallas' Alvin Harper played for the first time since 1997 with Washington. Former Nobel prize winner Nelson Mandela and Prince Bandar, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, were guests of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. They arrived at halftime and visited the Dallas locker room after the game. "It was an honor to meet him and shake his hand," Cowboys receiver Ernie Mills said of Mandela.

The cheers were silenced a bit when Sanders was crushed between Dan Turk and Mike Sellers on his second punt return. He went to the locker room with a mild concussion and didn't return until the third quarter.

When he did, the Redskins were threatening to pull off a comeback similar to the 21-point rally Dallas had in the season opener. They cut their deficit to 24-20 early in the fourth quarter on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson to Albert Connell.

"We were able to get close," Johnson said. "Then they broke the door down and ran away with it."

The runaway began with the Cowboys at their own 7 and Emmitt Smith and Raghib Ismail also in the locker room with injuries.

But Dallas still had Aikman, and he found a way to move the Cowboys 93 yards in 13 plays. Aikman scrambled the final yard for the touchdown, which made him a 1,000-yard rusher over his 11-year career and gave Dallas a 31-20 lead.

Then, it was Sanders' turn to shine.

On his first punt return since the one that knocked him out, he ran 70 yards for a touchdown. Once in the end zone, he pointed to the sky several times, but he later said his celebration did not feature the "Holy Ghost" dance he's been promising.

The devout defensive back had reason to give thanks after this one, considering he wasn't expected to return. When he did, it was without permission.

"I knew the doctors weren't going to let me go out there, so I ran in straight from the tunnel," said Sanders, who apparently convinced them he was OK because they let him remain in after he returned to the sideline. "But I don't remember half the game."

Johnson simply couldn't find the same touch as the opener, when he threw for 382 yards and the Redskins churned out 504 yards.

This time, the NFL's No. 1 offense managed 272 yards. Johnson was 23-for-35 for 218 and Davis, who came in as the NFC's leading rusher, was held to 62 yards on 14 carries.

"For some reason, we just haven't been clicking the last couple of weeks," said Connell, who had two catches for 52 yards after getting four for 137 in the first meeting. "It's been hard for us to get anything going."

Smith ran 24 times for 80 yards, a huge improvement over his 26 yards on 22 carries the previous game. He also had a 1-yard touchdown run.