When it’s Dallas Cowboys and Washington, let’s just toss out the records. Seriously.
When the Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Football Team on Thursday it will be just like old times when these longtime rivals square off on Thanksgiving in a game with NFC East title implications.
Consider it an ode to times gone by. Think Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson facing George Allen and Billy Kilmer in those classic showdowns of the 1970s.
Except this is 2020. The only thing that is the same is that the winner could end up in first place in the division.
The Philadelphia Eagles (3-6-1) are currently in first, but they’ve got the toughest draw of the weekend in hosting the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks on Monday night. Washington, Dallas and the New York Giants are all 3-7.
The NFC East is the only division since the 1970 NFL merger in which every team has the same number of wins and a losing record in Week 11 or later. And the three wins are the fewest by a division leader through Week 11 since the merger.
But none of that matters now.
The winner of Thursday’s Dallas-Washington game will become the division’s first four-win team and will take a temporary hold of first place.
Coach Mike McCarthy has said that the team has been improving, and on the heels of Sunday’s 31-28 road victory against the Minnesota Vikings, the Cowboys are looking to post consecutive wins for the first time in 13 months, when they beat the Eagles (Oct. 20) and Giants (Nov. 4) on either side of the bye.
“It’s a one-game season each week,” linebacker Jaylon Smith said. “That’s our focus. We’re going to go 7-0 [after the bye]. We got the Redskins next on Thanksgiving, looking forward to it.”
The Cowboys believe they have gotten better over the course of the season despite the dismal 2-7 start.
The only way to prove it to start stacking wins together and that’s why Thursday’s game is so important, especially after getting their first road win of the season.
“This game is so much about confidence and motivation, momentum, those types of things,” McCarthy said. “It’s important for us to take this experience—win on the road, which is tough—obviously we finally accomplished that and be able to come home and play on Thanksgiving in front of a national audience.”
To that end, owner Jerry Jones doesn’t even want to talk about division title implications. It’s about one game at a time; the rest will take care of itself.
“If we keep our head down, again, you can see I’m reluctant to talk about the state of the NFC East for a lot of reasons. But, number one, we just need to win a football game, and it is down to single mindedness. Get out here and win your possession and get the game, and good things could happen for us this year.”
Just like old times.
Right?
Five Cowboys things to watch for Thursday’s game against Washington:
Andy Dalton’s revenge
One might expect that the Cowboys will be heading into this game with one highly-motivated quarterback in Andy Dalton at the helm.
It was Washington linebacker Jon Bostic, who knocked Dalton from the game in the previous meeting on Oct. 25 with a dirty hit.
Dalton said he doesn’t remember much from that game because of memory loss due to the concussion and he still doesn’t taste much either because of his ensuing battle with COVID-19.
He missed the two games after Washington loss, but was triumphant in Sunday’s return, throwing three touchdowns in defeating the Vikings.
“I missed the game of football a lot while I was out for the three weeks,” Dalton said. “To have to sit at home and watch our guys play, that was tough. But I’m very thankful to be back out here.”
It goes without saying that a victory against Washington on Thursday would taste so sweet.
Growing ground game
A big key to the team’s improved play of late has been a reduction in turnovers and a return to a reliance on the running game.
The Cowboys have averaged 32.3 rush attempts and 152.3 rush yards over the past three games, culminating with the season-high 180 yards on the ground in their win over the Vikings. The team has found a nice mix of pounding Ezekiel Elliott and using the quick Tony Pollard as a change of pace.
“Change of pace, change of runner, the ability that you’re trying to tackle Zeke and then Tony comes in with a different slashing style running,” McCarthy said. “And the kind of the old adage of the ability to keep running the football. Whether it’s one or two yards in the first quarter or two or three in the second quarter, three and four in the third quarter, by the fourth quarter eventually it’s going to bust open. That’s the mindset you have to have and the commitment you have to have in running the football.
Who plays at cornerback?
Perhaps the one nagging question for the Cowboys heading into Thursday’s game is the status of cornerback Anthony Brown, who re-aggravated a rib injury against the Vikings.
Brown missed three games earlier in the season with the rib injury. The team has not practiced this week so they have no idea if he can go and for how long.
Rashard Robinson, who was called up from the practice squad last week, replaced Brown against the Vikings and he could get the call again. The Cowboys could also turn to Saivon Smith. Either way, it’s a spot Washington might try to target for big plays with receiver Terry McLaurin.
Lamb’s great catch
Everyone is still talking about the amazing touchdown catch rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb made against the Vikings. The twisting, turning one-handed catch is already considered among of the greatest in team history.
It was a part of a great day for Lamb who caught four passes to reach 48 receptions and surpass Hall of Famer Bob Hayes’ 46 for the most catches by a rookie in club history. And Lamb still has six games to go.
The only dent in Lamb’s resume is a woeful performance in the first meeting against Washington. He had no two drops and no catches on five targets. It was the only game this season in which he didn’t catch a pass. Look for him to make amends Thursday.
Zack Martin and the O-line
Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin will be at right tackle for a second straight week. And he will be key in helping keep Washington’s vaunted defensive front, filled with four first-round picks off quarterback Andy Dalton.
It must be noted that Martin didn’t play in the first meeting due to a concussion, and Dalton wound up with one after he got knocked out following a late hit. No lineman stood up to defend Dalton, but that won’t happen with Martin on the field.
Connor McGovern has slid in nicely at right guard and he’s starting to live up to some of the hype he had after being selected out of Penn State in the third round last year. McGovern missed all of his rookie season due to injuries and the offseason due to the COVID-19 shutdown, so just now is he finally getting comfortable.
“I think Connor McGovern has been coming,” said vice president Stephen Jones. “He’s really a rookie when you look at what he was able to get last year. He pretty much was redshirted and didn’t get much, if any, practice. And so he’s been getting better each week.”
