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Cowboys meet division rival Redskins Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 9/14/2016  at  5:34:00 PM
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DALLAS COWBOYS (0-1)
at WASHINGTON REDSKINS (0-1)

FedExField – Landover, MD
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Washington -3.0, Total: 45.5

Both the Cowboys and the Redskins will be hoping to avoid a 0-2 start when they meet in Washington on Sunday.

Dallas did not start the season the way Jerry Jones was hoping, as the Cowboys lost 20-19 as one-point home underdogs against the Giants. Dallas’ running game had been hyped up all throughout the offseason, but the team rushed for just 101 yards on 30 carries. With QB Tony Romo (Back) out indefinitely, the Cowboys are going to need to be a lot better on the ground moving forward. The Redskins also struggled to get the running game going in Week 1, as the team rushed for just 55 yards in a 38-16 loss to the Steelers at home. Washington also struggled to get stops, as Pittsburgh had 435 yards of total offense in the game. Both of these teams will be hoping to really improve heading into Week 2 and this should be an exciting game. These teams have each won-and-covered twice in the past four meetings between them. Dallas is, however, 2-0 both SU and ATS in Washington over the past three seasons. One thing that does favor the Redskins is the fact that Jason Garrett is 27-42 ATS against conference opponents as the coach of Dallas. OT Tyron Smith (Stinger) is probable for the Cowboys after getting hurt in Week 1.

The Cowboys didn’t look awful in Week 1, but they were unable to find a way to beat the Giants in that game. QB Dak Prescott (227 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) had Dallas driving with under a minute left in the game, but the team had no timeouts left and WR Terrance Williams (3 rec, 34 yards) made a boneheaded play that ultimately lost the Cowboys the game. Williams caught a pass with just about 10 seconds remaining and chose to cut towards the middle of the field instead of getting out of bounds. Had he done that then he would have stopped the clock and given K Dan Bailey a chance to win the game. Dallas must now find a way to rebound and beat Washington in this one. Prescott should get more and more comfortable with each start and might find it easier to throw against a Redskins defense that was lousy against Ben Roethlisberger on Monday night. He will, however, need to do a better job of getting WR Dez Bryant (1 rec, 8 yards) involved. Bryant is one of the league’s best receivers and having only one reception just isn’t an option for Dallas. The team will need him to have a big game on Monday and he should be able to do that, as he has a major size advantage over Redskins DB Josh Norman. Defensively, the Cowboys really need to make sure they are ready to defend the pass. The Redskins do not have much of a presence on the ground, so Dallas should win this one if they can keep Kirk Cousins in check.

The Redskins had a rough season opener, but they should be excited to be playing in a very winnable game at home this week. QB Kirk Cousins (329 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT) is going to need to be a lot better this time around, though. Cousins did not throw for a single touchdown in Week 1 and that is just not acceptable for a team that prides itself on its ability to throw the ball. He’ll need to take some more chances in this game as well. Most of Cousins’ throws in Week 1 were well short of the marker and the Redskins need him to make some more plays this Sunday. It’d also be big for Washington if RB Matt Jones (24 yards) can find some success on the ground in this game. Jones averaged just 3.4 YPC in Week 1 and that is unacceptable for a starting running back. He should, however, find more holes against a Cowboys team that looked weak defensively against the Giants.


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