Arguably the fiercest rivalry in NFL history comes together again tonight in the nation’s capital, when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Washington Redskins in a matchup of teams heading in two very different directions. Last weekend, the Cowboys exerted some major demons by physically dominating the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints in the Superdome and pulling off a huge victory in December.
Going into that game, the Cowboys were in the midst of their annual December swoon, losing back-to-back games against the Giants and Chargers. In danger of being left out of the playoff picture, Dallas put together what was its best performance of the season. With that win, Dallas currently occupies one of the two remaining wild card spots. Meanwhile, the Washington Redskins find themselves at the opposite end of the fortunes spectrum, in the midst of a thoroughly disappointing season that recently saw them blown out by the Giants at home on Monday Night Football.
It was the worst home loss in franchise history, as new General Manager Bruce Allen saw his new team look as lifeless as possible. Washington’s season is over, but they have a chance to play the part of killjoy for their hated enemies. Dallas needs the game too, so expect a tough game, as evidenced by their meeting earlier this season, where the Cowboys came back to win a grueling 6-3 win.
What the Dallas Cowboys accomplished last weekend against the Saints was nothing short of a miracle. They were berated throughout the week for their habit of fading during the stretch of the season, particularly in the month of December, and they pretty much picked up their most significant win of the season. The Cowboys managed the Saints to a 24-17 victory that came close in the fourth quarter. Now, one could argue that all that win did was keep them in the wild-card race, but the significance of what that win meant to them on a psychological level was monumental. It instilled confidence in this group, which last time we checked, is very talented.
In particular, quarterback Tony Romo, who has simply played hard the last three games, if not all season. In 2009, Romo passed for 3,886 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions, while managing the third-most prolific offense in the league, producing an average of 394.5 yards per game. The pairing of Marion Barber and Felix Jones have been very productive thus far, and they took center stage against New Orleans as they combined for 120 yards and two rushing scores. The offensive line remains one of the most massive in the league, and is capable of creating open holes for either back to exploit. In the receiving game, receiver Miles Austin and tight end Jason Witten have been top targets, as the former leads the team with 1,138 yards while the latter has recorded a team-high 82 receptions.
Defensively, Dallas got a big boost from their star pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, who made life miserable for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees all night despite spraining his neck the week before. Ware has 11 sacks this season, having two of them against New Orleans, while his counterpart Anthony Spencer’s also had a pair. Wade Phillips’ team had a Saints offense that has been a machine all year with season lows of 17 points and 336 yards. It should be noted that most of those yards came in the fourth quarter when they were already down 24-3. Dallas’ run defense ranks sixth overall as they are holding teams to 97.7 yards per game. Washington will try to run the ball tonight to prevent quarterback Jason Campbell from diving at the passer, but Dallas has shown they can take him away from almost any team, making their opposition one-dimensional, which will be the game plan tonight.
In the midst of a very forgettable season that saw the Washington Redskins rack up just four wins, the loss to the New York Giants last week on Monday Night Football must have been like rock bottom. At least that’s what it looked like. Washington seemed uninspired throughout the game as the Giants quickly took a 21-0 lead going into the half. At one point, the ‘skins only accounted for three plays midway through the second quarter, as the Giants finished in a 45-12 blowout. What exactly do the Redskins have to play for, though? Their head coach has been a lame duck since the third week of the season, their quarterback has struggled to play behind a depleted offensive line, while productive players like Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley have been out for more than a week. half of the campaign
The playoffs have not been a possibility as another lost season draws to a close, with a host of changes surely on the horizon. Well, though, they still have a rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, and they can still play the part of the killjoy that might be enough to get these guys up on a Sunday, for a change. As we stated earlier, the aforementioned Campbell has struggled, throwing for 3,138 yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, but has had to play without the benefit of a cohesive offensive line, which has started ten different players this season, two of whom they are undrafted rookies. Help in the backfield has been hard to come by, as head coach Jim Zorn is on his third starting running back, while the receiving staff has once again underperformed (as if it were a surprise).
The defense in hand has been some of the best in the NFL, despite being on the field far too often. Defensive ends Andre Carter and rookie Brian Orakpo have been tenacious, each recording eleven sacks, while huge nose tackle Albert Haynesworth has performed very well, despite playing through a nagging ankle injury. The problem here is that this unit simply hasn’t gotten the ball away, forcing just 15 turnovers thus far, which is tied for last in the league. As much heat as they put on the quarterback, they don’t make a lot of plays in the back. To successfully spoil their nemesis’ playoff momentum, they have to find a way to make plays on defense, because God knows they haven’t been able to on the other side of the ball.