Game Preview, Week 17: Redskins at Cowboys
December 27, 2019
by Steve Thomas
Well, folks, we’ve once again made it through the long slog to the end of another season. It sure would be nice if at some point this team stopped subjugating its fans and the media (or quasi-media) that covers them to “long slogs” that we have to “make it through”. A competitive, consistent, winning franchise, perhaps? Maybe? The Redskins have had a disastrous year, even by their standards, stumbling to a three win season heading into this final game, good for what will most likely turn out to be the second pick in the 2020 draft. This game has meaning, however, with Dallas playing to avoid a losing record on the season and possibly for a division title depending on how the Eagles – Giants game shakes out. Fans can therefore expect the team to be motivated to play well and win in order to finish the season on a positive note and to ruin Dallas’ season. You should all be rooting for the Redskins to get a much-needed victory. It’s probably a tall order, but it’s definitely possible. Read on to find out how it could possibly happen.
Game time & location: Sunday, December 29, 2019, 4:25 p.m. ET, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX; gates open at 2:25 p.m. ET; parking lots open at 12:25 p.m. ET
Television: Fox
Television announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Kristina Pink
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Redskins radio network: Click here
Cowboys radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: XM: 228 (Cowboys broad.) Sirius: 113 (Redskins broad); internet: 831 (Redskins broad.)
Redskins roster: Click here
Redskins depth chart: Click here
Cowboys roster: Click here
Cowboys depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Dallas: 43 – 72 – 2 (last 10: 2 – 8) (streak: 0 – 2)
Last meeting: L, September 15, 2019, 21 – 31
Early odds: Cowboys, -11.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Focus on the underneath game in defending Dallas’ passing attack
While it’s certainly true that Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott has stepped up his game this year and become more varied, the heart of what he does is still in the underneath, short passing attack. Prescott currently has an injury to his throwing shoulder, and whether he’s able to play Sunday remains an open question as of publication. Whether his backup, Cooper Rush, can in any way replicate Prescott’s game is an open question, because Rush has all of 1 completion for 3 yards in 3 attempts in 26 snaps in his entire three year NFL career. Thanks to the Redskins’ infuriatingly bad and predictable standard soft zone coverage, they’ve have been terrible against that type of passing game. Added to that joy, they now have a bunch of brand new street free agents on the roster who will be expected to play significant minutes thanks to the injury problems in the cornerback group. This is most likely the single most important factor in this game if the Redskins are going to have a shot at winning this game.
Don’t let Ezekiel Elliot go crazy
Elliott has had an up and down year, but he had a fairly big game against Washington back in September, with 111 yards and 4.8 yards per attempt. Dallas is hard to stop if Elliott gets going, so that would mean bad news for Washington’s chances at winning. The offensive hasn’t run through Elliott this season quite as much as it has in prior years thanks to Prescott’s emergence, but he’s still a very important cog in the Cowboys’ offensive machine. If Rush ends up starting or Prescott, it’s likely that the Cowboys will revert to an Elliott-centric game plan. Add to that the 2019 misadventures the Redskins defense has had in trying to stop, well, anyone, from running all over them, and it clearly needs to be a major factor in Washington’s defensive effort.
Keep up the momentum in the passing game despite the injuries
Dwayne Haskins had the Redskins’ passing game rolling against the Giants last week before his injury, and Case Keenum continued the trend. Since they are up against an offense as potentially as potent as the Cowboys’ offense can be at times, Washington will need to continue the recent trend and keeping looking like a legitimately competitive offense. This is not the game in which the Redskins can just rely on an Adrian Peterson-heavy ground game. It needs to be an effective mix of run and pass again, with Keenum being the primary cog in the wheel. If the Redskins feature a very run heavy game that starts to stall out early, it could be a long day.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Amari Cooper vs whatever corner the Redskins can dig up
Cooper has had a huge year for Dallas, to the tune of 75 receptions, 1,097 yards, and 8 touchdowns, and now he gets to go up against a bunch of street free agents who’ve been with the Redskins for about 5 minutes thanks to the injuries to Quinton Dunbar, Fabian Moreau, and Jimmy Moreland, and the benching of Josh Norman for injury prevention purposes. It’s pretty likely that Cooper, who has as much talent as any receiver in the league, is going to have a field day against the bunch that the Redskins are going to have to put out on the field. Washington needs to play zone and shade a safety towards Cooper as much as possible in order to keep him from running wild. This is a huge matchup for the Redskins if they want to keep Dallas from running up an impossibly high score against them.
With Ryan Kerrigan on injured reserve, Montez Sweat is now the Reskins’ #1 pass rusher, and it’s high time that the defensive coaching staff keeps him the heck out of coverage on third downs and gets him back to doing what he does best, which is rushing the passer. Now, whether they actually do that is another story entirely, but they should, without question. For his part, Smith happens to be one of the best left tackles in the game, so if nothing else, this will be a fun battle to watch for the limited time that Greg Manusky and company let their best pass rusher actually rush the passer.
Kelvin Harmon vs. Chidobe Awuzie and Byron Jones
Terry McLaurin is in concussion protocol this week as a result of a hit he took late in the Giants game, so, while we don’t have a definitive answer as of publication, it seems pretty unlikely that he’ll be allowed to play this week. With Paul Richardson Jr on injured reserve, the onus for receiver production is likely going to fall to Harmon. Dallas has been good but not great, for the most part, against the pass, so Harmon will have opportunities to get open and get yardage. He’s going to need to do just that in order to give the Redskins a fighting chance at finishing the season strong.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (as of Thursday (active roster only)) (starters in bold)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful NL – not listed
| Redskins | Cowboys |
| LB R. Anderson, achilles/shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | DE D. Lawrence, shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP |
| S T. Apke, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP; game: Q | LB S. Lee, pec/thigh; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP |
| S L. Collins, shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | QB D. Prescott, right shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP |
| QB D. Haskins, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | T T. Smith, back; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
| WR T. McLaurin, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | DL M. Bennett, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| CB F. Moreau, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: to IR; game: to IR | CB C.J. Goodwin, thumb; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| T M. Moses, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | S J. Heath, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| S M. Nicholson, neck/ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: to IR; game: to IR | P C. Jones, abdomen; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| T D. Penn, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | LB J. Thomas, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| LB C. Holcomb, thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | T L. Collins, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| CB J. Norman, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | G Z. Martin, ankle; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| RB A. Peterson, toe; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP | WR D. Smith, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| LB C. Covington, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP | |
| DT A. Woods, hip/ankle; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q | |
| CB B. Jones, ankle; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
TEAM STATISTICS
Redskins:
The Redskins offense has finally climbed out of the statistical basement, rising from 32nd and last in most of the major categories all the way up to 31st in total points, total yards, yards per game, and third down conversions. They are still last in passing yards and time of possession, but it’s baby steps. Quarterback Case Keenum, who will step in for the injured Dwayne Haskins, sports an outstanding 67.6% completion percentage. Washington’s terrible third down conversion percentage (30.54%) continues to hold down time of possession and the number of both passing and rushing plays run. On the season, the run game is averaging a respectable 4.4 yards per carry despite the poor performance against the Giants last week.
Defensively, Washington has given up a total of 388 points, which is ranked 24th in the NFL. They are ranked 25th in total yards surrendered, 14th in passing yards, 29th in rushing yards, and have given up 4.6 yards per rushing attempt, which is 26th in the league. They are surrendering 141.9 rushing yards per game, which is ranked 29th. They’ve gotten a fairly high number of sacks this year, as they traditionally do most in seasons, with 43 on the season, which is ranked 9th. The story for this defense, at least statistically, is third downs. The Redskins remain the worst team in the NFL in third down defense, allowing opponents to convert on 48.56% of their attempts. They are ranked 24th in the red zone, which isn’t good but isn’t quite as horrendous as third downs.
Record: 3 – 12 (4th) (Away: 2 – 5; NFC: 2 – 9; NFC East: 0 – 5)
All-time franchise record: 603 – 602 – 28
Offense
| Offensive rankings | 31 (points) / 31 (total yards) / 31 (yards per game) / 27 (yards per play) / 32 (passing yards) / 22 (passing yards per att.) / 21 (rushing yards) / 17 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 250 |
| Yards per game | 274.9 |
| Passing
|
442 att (30th); 280 comp; 63.3% comp per. (17th); 6.8 Y/A; 2629 net yds; 17 TD; 12 Int |
| Passing leader | Keenum (210 att, 1501 yds (32nd), 67.6% comp perc (6th), 10 TDs / 4 Int, 96.2 QB rating (13th); Haskins (203 att, 1365 yds, 58.6% comp perc, 7 TDs / 7 Int, 76.1 QB rating) |
| Receiving leader | McLaurin (919 yds (31st), 93 tgts (44th), 58 rec (49th), 7 TDs, 15.8 YPC) |
| Rushing | 336 att (30th); 1495 yds; 4.4 Y/A; 99.7 Y/G (21st); 9 TD |
| Rushing leader | Peterson (198 att (20th), 820 yds (18th), 5 TDs, 4.1 Y/A (30th), long 29) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 48 / 27 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 27:17 / 32 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 30.54% / 31 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 51.35% / 25 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 24 (points) / 25 (total yards) / 25 (yards per game surrendered) / 19 (yards per play) / 14 (passing yards) / 23 (passing yards per att.) / 29 (rushing yards) / 26 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 388 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 376.3 |
| Opponent’s passing | 507 att (10th); 348 comp; 68.6% comp perc. (29th); 7.5 Y/A; 3529 net yds; 31 TDs; QB Rating 100.1 (27th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 457 att (30th); 2116 yds; 4.6 Y/A; 13 TD; 141.1 Y/G (29th) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 43 / 9 / Ioannidis (8.5) |
| Tackles leader | Collins (117) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 13 / 13 / Dunbar (4) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 48.58% / 32 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 60.71% / 24 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 25.8 Y/R (4th), 31 returns, long 91 yards (5th), 1 TD |
| Punt returns | 4.7 Y/R (31st), 22 returns, long 15 yards (32nd), 0 TD |
| Kick return defense | 25.5 Y/R (28th), 15 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 9.7 Y/R (29th), 36 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 49.2 Y/P (1st) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 19 / 21 / +2 / 14
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 104 / 18
Cowboys:
From a statistical perspective, the Cowboys’ 7 – 8 record is a bit of mystery. This is an elite offense that can move the ball at a prodigious rate (1st in the NFL in total yards) and has scored 387 points (ranked 8th). Quarterback Dak Prescott is ranked second in the league in passing yards and has a quarterback rating of 97.4. Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t been quite as successful a season as he’s been in the past, but is still averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Amari Cooper has already gone over 1,000 receiving yards this year. The Cowboys haven’t been great in the red zone, converting touchdowns 56.86% of the time (ranked 17th). Assuming Prescott is able to play on Sunday, this is an offense without any glaring weaknesses that stand out on paper.
Dallas’ defense isn’t as successful as their offense, but their stats don’t show any huge weaknesses either. They are ranked 11th in points surrendered, yards, yards per game, and passing yards, and are 13th in rushing yards. They’ve been outstanding on third down, giving up third downs on just 34.92% of attempts, which is ranked 9th. They are also solid in the red zone (ranked 10th). The one thing that’s probably hurt the defense more than anything is turnovers – Dallas has a -2 turnover differential, with just 15 total takeaways, including only 6 interceptions.
Overall, Dallas’ problems seem to be more about coaching and player failures at inopportune moments rather than talent and their ability to put up big numbers.
Record: 7 – 8 (2nd); Home: 4 – 3; NFC: 6 – 5; NFC East: 4 – 1)
All-time franchise record: 519 – 388 – 6
Offense
| Offensive rankings
|
8 (points) / 1 (total yards) / 1 (yards per game) / 1 (yards per play) / 2 (passing yards) / 4 (passing yards per att.) / 8 (rushing yards) / 6 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 387 |
| Yards per game | 425.8 |
| Passing | 564 att (9th); 365 comp; 64.7% comp per. (12th); 8.2 Y/A; 4457 net yds; 26 TDs; 11 Int |
| Passing leader | Prescott (563 att, 4599 yds (2nd), 64.8% comp per., 26 TDs / 11 Int, 97.4 QB rating (12th)) |
| Reception leader | Cooper (1097 yds (11th), 114 targets (21st), 75 rec (23rd), 8 TD, 14.6 Y/C) |
| Rushing | 413 att (10th); 1930 yds; 4.7 Y/A; 128.7 Y/G (8th); 13 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Elliott (283 att, 1235 yds (4th), 11 TDs, 4.4 Y/A (26th), long 31 yds) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 20 / 1 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 29:13 / 22 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 46.56% / 3 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 56.86% / 17 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 11 (points) / 11 (total yards) / 11 (yards per game surrendered) / 10 (yards per play) / 11 (passing yards) / 11 (passing yards per att.) / 13 (rushing yards) / 13 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 305 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 330.7 |
| Opponent’s passing | 532 att (21st); 352 comp; 66.2% comp per. (27th); 6.9 Y/A; 3933 net yds; 20 TD; QB Rating 93.8 (20th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 387 att (14th); 1568 yds; 4.1 Y/A; 14 TD |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 37 / 20 / Quinn (10.5) |
| Tackles leader | Smith (133) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 6 / 32 / Lewis, Woods (2) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 34.92% / 5 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 52.83% / 10 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 14.9 Y/R (32nd), 18 returns, long 28 yards (32nd), 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 6.3 Y/R (24th), 20 returns, long 15 yards (32nd), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 23.7 Y/R (21st), 33 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 8.6 Y/R (22nd), 18 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 41.2 Y/P (32nd) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 17 / 15 / -2 / 18
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 99 / 13
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com