James Washington SS - Cowboys Madden Career 1992-1996 - Peak 92 OVR

James Washington will be remembered for about ninety seconds of football that swung a Super Bowl. A fifth-round pick out of UCLA in 1988, he was a solid, hard-hitting safety for the Cowboys, but in Super Bowl XXVIII he was the difference: he scooped a Leon Lett-forced fumble and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown to tie the game, then set up an Emmitt Smith score with an interception, a two-play stretch that turned a deficit into a rout and drew serious MVP consideration.

Madden rated him a good starter with the range his big plays suggested. Washington peaked at a 92 in the mid-90s Cowboys cards, built on speed ratings in the 90s, the number of a rangy, ball-hawking safety. He intercepted 17 passes in his career and had a five-interception season in 1994, a genuine playmaker on the back end.

Washington won two Super Bowls with Dallas before finishing up in Washington. He was never a household name, a role-playing safety on a team full of stars, but for one night in Atlanta he was the most important player on the field. Madden's 92 marks a good starter; the tape from Super Bowl XXVIII marks something more, the rare role player who decided a championship.