UA-59049186-1 Cowboys @ Redskins Preview - Good if it Goes
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Cowboys @ Redskins Preview

The Dallas Cowboys travel to the nation’s capital this Sunday for a huge division matchup in which both teams are looking to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start. Even though both teams lost their week 1 contest, the two teams looked significantly different in their defeats. The Cowboys lost to the Giants by 1 point in a game where they outplayed their opponent. Meanwhile the Redskins got destroyed by the Steelers on Monday Night Football. Now the Steelers are significantly better than the Giants, but I liked some of the things they did in that game. The Redskins simply look unprepared to play the Steelers and even worse they were severely out coached. So who has the edge going into this contest?

I think the Cowboys will win this game. The road team has won the last few contest between these teams and I think that trend will continue. There is no way the Cowboys offensive line will play so poorly two weeks in a row. They’re going to be looking to run the ball down the Redskins throat, especially after the Steelers ran all over them last week. The Cowboys’ ability to run the football in this game will simply be the deciding factor of the contest. Dallas doesn’t have the defense to be able to contain this potentially explosive Redskins passing attack. Jordan Reed scares me to death and could do some serious damage matched up against Dallas’s safeties and backers. If the Cowboys cannot run the football and control the clock it will mean more opportunities for Kirk Cousins and that loaded receiving group to take shots at the Dallas secondary and I don’t like their odds to hold up over the course of 4 quarters if the Redskins get too many opportunities. Another key factor for the Cowboys will obviously be rookie QB Dak Prescott. Prescott must continue to play mistake free football as he has yet to throw a interception in his short career. But even more important than keeping the turnovers down will be Prescott doing more than managing the game. Dallas doesn’t need 300+ yards and 3 TDs, but if he can throw for 200 and 2 TDs and keep the Cowboys offense from settling for field goals in the red zone the Cowboys should win this game.

Even though I’m picking big D, make no mistake, this will be a hard fought contest. The Redskins can absolutely win this game and for them it start with their defense. The Redskins improved their secondary, but their biggest issue defensively in 2015 was stopping the run and if week 1 was any indication they haven’t improved at all. If they can somehow stop the Cowboys running game I believe they win this game. However, I just do not see that happening. The Redskins’ problem against Pittsburgh was that they had to over-commit to stopping the run, which left their corners out on an island and they were not successful on that island. If Dez Bryant is isolated with either of the Redskins corners for a significant chunk of the game I like his chances to redeem himself after a poor game in week 1. Offensively I don’t think the Redskins will have much trouble throwing the football. The Redskins just aren’t built to be a great running team. Their backs aren’t that good and the offensive line is significantly better at pass blocking than run blocking. Them being 1 dimensional could do them in, but they just have so many weapons that this team can put up points in a hurry. Don’t be fooled by what happened on Monday Night. The Redskins aren’t going to be held under 20 points very often this season and I certainly don’t expect the Cowboys defense to be able to pull it off. But at the end of the day I just don’t think the Redskins offense will be able to get enough time on the field to win this game because the Cowboys will be gashing their defense in the running game.

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