NFC Game Of The Week
Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Cowboys: Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars was the best I’ve seen them look in quite some time. The offense was more fluid for the first time all year, the offensive line got back to their physical ways up front and the defense handled their business. We know they have playmakers on the defensive side of the football such as Demarcus Lawrence who’s become their best defensive player, Jaylon Smith who’s really taken advantage of his chance to play after a serious knee injury in college during the Fiesta Bowl while at Notre Dame and Byron Jones who can do so many things in the secondary. What impressed me in their last game was how they never took their foot off the gas pedal on either side of the ball and they wore down a really good Jacksonville defense and scored 40 points. I’m still trying to figure the Cowboys out because there are weeks when they show up and we’ve seen them disappear as well. Moving forward, they still don’t have a guy who can create separation on the perimeter and this could come back to hurt them. They’ll be looking for their first road win of the season in Landover on Sunday afternoon.
Redskins: Sunday was a big win for them at home against the Carolina Panthers. Alex Smith threw two touchdown passes and took tremendous care of the ball and the Redskins defense bounced back nicely after being on the wrong end of history on Monday night the previous week against the Saints. When you look at the NFC East, it’s basically a three-team race with the Cowboys, Eagles and these guys now. After the news broke that they had decided to sign Adrian Peterson, I really didn’t know what to think because at this point of his career he’s definitely past his prime and he’s not the guy that we saw at the top of his game for so many years in Minnesota but at this point, he’s a player who knows his role and when you continue to feed him the football, good things will happen and he’s had a nice season. That was such a gritty win on Sunday and the defense got themselves a takeaway and they were able to shut down the comeback. I like what Alex has contributed to the team and he’s got them in a nice position to compete in the always dramatic and unpredictable NFC East. To keep up in the division, they will look for a win against the rival Cowboys on Sunday.
Cowboys Player To Watch: Allen Hurns– He was signed to be that number one receiver, where’s he been? If he can act like he wants the football, things can open up in this offense. He’s a veteran that’s played for a while and if he can lead by example, the Cowboys offense and their passing game especially will be taken more seriously.
Redskins Player To Watch: Da’Ron Payne– Remember him? The kid from Alabama who took over the Sugar Bowl last season? They drafted him hoping he can help the Redskins defense turn into a better defense that can stop the run and with Zeke coming to town on Sunday, he’ll have to be on his A-game.
Final Analysis: This rivalry goes back many years and no matter what, it’ll always get some chatter. Dallas took both games last season. The efforts that the Cowboys showed on Sunday in their big win, they need to continue that. Run the football, dominate with your offensive line and it’ll all pan out. The Redskins need to really dominate the line of scrimmage and keep Dak Prescott in that pocket.
Prediction: Cowboys 23 Redskins 21
