Dallas - Washington
Division games are always hard to predict. Emotion plays a big part of the outcome. Turnovers are huge. On paper the Dallas Cowboys should route the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys are coming off of their most complete game, their victory over the New York Giants. The Washington Redskins on the other hand really had control of the Philadelphia Eagles but allowed that game to slip away.
How the Cowboys win: The Cowboys strike early with a couple of long passes down the field to Sam Herd or Patrick Clayton. The 2 quick scores will cause the Redskins ot get out of their old Skins style of football. They are forced to score points. Now, they are playing into the Cowboys hands. The Cowboys dime package intercepts a couple and the rout is on. Yeah, right, that is wishful dreaming. The reality of the game will be that the Redskins will somehow keep the game close. I’m guessing that the Cowboys will rack up stats but not points. The Cowboys will pass to set up the run. Look for excellent running by Jones and Marion Barber in the second half. I do believe that the Cowboys will try to jump on the Redskins early to take them out of their run game. The Cowboys defense will take an initial pounding then stiffen. The key to this game will be time. The Cowboys offensive line will have to give Tony Romo time to throw the ball. The Cowboys must stay out of 3rd and long. The Cowboys must stop Clinton Portis. If he is standing on the sidelines instead of running the ball, the Cowboys will win.
How the Cowboys lose: With parody, on any given Sunday any team can win. If the Cowboys revert back to the first half of last week’s game and commit drive sustaining defensive penalties and drive killing offensive penalties, it will be a long afternoon for the Cowboys. If Romo has flashbacks to the Buffalo Bills game and throws several interceptions, it will be a very long afternoon. Look for the Redskins to try to use their special teams to pick up a cheap score. Finally, if the Cowboys defense is unable to win on first down so the Redskins have 2nd or 3rd and short, the Redskins will roll.
