DALLAS — A sense of normalcy returns to the Dallas Cowboys this weekend after a hectic schedule that included three games in 12 days and back-to-back Thursday contests. The annual late November, early December slate is nothing new to the Cowboys, but it’s a taxing stretch for the team every year.
However, for as tired as the Cowboys may be, they did get to enjoy a mini bye with nine days between games before ramping up for the final five games on the schedule, four of which are against NFC East foes.
The first game in this stretch might be the biggest one on the docket, as Dallas prepares for the Washington Football Team. Winners of four games in a row, the Football Team is just two games behind the Cowboys in the division. If Dallas can win in D.C., they should be able to cruise to the NFC East title.
But before they can claim the crown, Mike McCarthy’s boys will need to beat the WFT, which he practically guaranteed this week. Here are the keys for fulfilling McCarthy’s promise and tightening the grip on the division:
Slow down the Football Team’s dynamic RB duo
The Cowboys aren’t the only team that has a strong tandem in the backfield on offense. The Football Team has a double-headed monster with RBs Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic. Their offense might run through Gibson as the workhorse, but with McKissic set to return from a concussion, he’ll be heavily involved on the ground and in the passing game.
Gibson leads Washington with 800 rushing yards, which ranks seventh in the league, and he’s hitting his stride. In the last four games – coinciding with the winning streak – Gibson has had his four best games of the season. Gibson has produced 358 yards in the last four games for an average of 89.5 per contest.
The WFT has begun utilizing Gibson heavily on offense, prompting his recent success. Gibson had 19 or more carries in each of his last four games, a total that he’d only hit twice in his first eight games. It’s clear that Washington is starting to lean on Gibson against tired defenses later in the season.
McKissic, meanwhile, excels as a receiver out of the backfield. The former Arkansas State standout has the second most targets and receptions for the Washington offense and needs to be accounted for, especially on third downs. The Cowboys cannot allow McKissic to make plays that extend drives and keep the squad’s high-powered offense off the field.
Bottle up WR Terry McLaurin
The Football Team doesn’t have an elite passing offense, but they do have a star at receiver. McLaurin leads the WFT in yards and targets by a wide margin; his 808 yards are more than 500 yards greater than the next wideout and those have come at almost double the amount of targets as the next receiver (103-53).
McLaurin has enjoyed playing against the Cowboys during his career, as well. In three games against Dallas, McLaurin has scored twice and averaged 6.3 catches per contest with 81.3 yards per game.
The WFT doesn’t have many options in their passing game, so slowing down McLaurin would go a long way toward winning this game. The Football Team also lost injured tight end Logan Thomas to shrink the number of good options in their passing attack, which should benefit the Cowboys.
Give Dak Prescott time to throw
Coming into the season, the Football Team was supposed to have one of the best defenses in the league. That hasn’t gone to plan and their unit will be without two of their top defenders for Week 14. Defensive ends Chase Young (torn ACL) and Montez Sweat (COVID) won’t be available for this contest, which will help Prescott feel more comfortable in the pocket.
If the offensive line can give Prescott time, he should be able to pick apart the third-worst passing defense in the league. Washington allows almost 264 yards per game and has given up a league-high 26 touchdowns through the air.
Prescott hasn’t been as sharp since he returned from the calf injury, but he does rank fifth in the league with 288.2 passing yards per game, so this could be a game for him to get back on track.
With the offense having their top three receivers healthy and playing together for almost the first time all season, the Cowboys need to take advantage of a suspect passing defense in Washington.
Pressure Washington QB Taylor Heinicke
The Cowboys haven’t been great on defense this season, but that has often been masked by their ability to create takeaways. The unit gets a boost this week as defensive end Randy Gregory and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore are set to return to pressure Heinicke.
It’ll be the first time this season that the Cowboys will have their top three edge rushers with Gregory, DE DeMarcus Lawrence and DE/LB Micah Parsons all set to take the field at the same time.
A return to health is just what the defense needs to make Heinicke uncomfortable. In the past four games, the QB for Washington has played some of his best football. Heinicke has a 77% completion percentage during the WFT’s four-game winning streak and has thrown for seven touchdowns against just two interceptions. Heinicke had nine interceptions in the first eight weeks of the season, so pressure could cause an errant throw.
Washington’s offensive line has also given up 25 sacks on the year, 19 of which have come in the last six games. If the Cowboys can get to Heinicke, they’ll give themselves a better shot at winning this game.
No quarterback is immune to getting rattled and Dallas needs to harass Heinicke into mistakes if they want to escape D.C. with a larger division lead.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to win in Washington and begin to pull away in the NFC East? Share your predictions with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
