Game Preview, Week 16: Washington at Dallas
December 24, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Coming on the heels of Washington’s loss to the hated Philadelphia Eagles, this week’s contest just five days later against the hated Dallas Cowboys is a do or die situation if the Redskins Washington has any hope of making the playoffs as a wild card. That’s a tall order, because the truth is that Dallas is a much better team than Washington – they have a much higher talent level on both sides of the ball, are playing better, and have less of an injury problem. On top of that, Washington also has a very short work week, with only two real practice days, and roster chaos, plus they have to travel to Dallas on Christmas Day for a night game. That having been said, Washington is desperate and anything can happen in an NFL game. Can Washington win? Yes. Is it likely? No. We’ll try to cover every possibility in this week’s game preview, so read on.
Game time & location: Sunday, December 26, 2021, 8:20 p.m. ET, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX; gates open at 6:20 p.m. ET; parking lots open at 14:20 p.m. ET
Television: NBC
Television announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michelle Tafoya
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Washington radio network: click here
Cowboys radio network: click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 88 (Nat’l broad.) / 226 (Wash. Broad.); internet: 831 (Washington 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 Cowboys: 45 – 74 – 2 (last 10: 3 – 7; streak: 0 – 1)
Last meeting: L, December 12, 2021, 20 – 27
Early odds: Dallas, -10.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Get healthy and get everyone out of Covid jail
Thankfully, quarterback Taylor Heinicke was released from Covid prison, so – provided he’s recovered from his injuries sustained in the last Dallas game – he’ll be Washington’s starter. As of Friday afternoon, Washington’s Covid list had dwindled down to 8, but the team is down several key players due to injury, including William Jackson, Landon Collins, and Deshazor Everett, and possibly Antonio Gibson as well. Washington needs to somehow find some semblance of roster normalcy before Sunday at 8:00 pm ET in order to have any chance against a mostly healthy and rolling Cowboys team. This doesn’t seem likely to happen.
Avoid turnovers
More than any other factor, the success 2021 Dallas Cowboys has been fueled by turnovers; specifically, interceptions. Washington lost this battle two weeks ago and it ultimately cost them a chance at a victory. It is vital that Heinicke, or, heaven help us, Garrett Gilbert or Kyle Shurmer, take away this particular part of Dallas’ victory strategy. Given the massive talent imbalance and Dallas’ heavy reliance on interceptions, it will be almost impossible for Washington to win this game if they cannot win the turnover battle.
Extend drives by converting on third downs
Dallas’ defense is leading the NFL in opponent third down conversion rate. Washington has been poor all year on third downs, so they’re going to have to change their history for this game and convert some first downs. If Washington can’t do this, they have very little chance of earning a victory.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Fuller was released from the Covid list on Friday morning. With the injury to William Jackson III still recovering from injury, Fuller automatically becomes Washington’s #1 and thus draws the task of Lamb. Considering that Darryl Roberts, Corn Elder and Danny Johnson are the other active corners, this isn’t an ideal situation, but nonetheless critical to Washington’s chances Sunday night.
Micah Parsons vs Charles Leno and Samuel Cosmi
It’s no secret that Micah Parsons is a monster, almost certainly the future defense rookie of the year and perhaps the defensive player of the year as well. The task of keeping him out of the backfield will rest mostly with the two tackles, Leno and Cosmi. Not allowing Parsons to terrorize Taylor Heinicke is an important key to this game, so keep an eye on how well Washington’s tackles are doing against one of the NFL’s best.
Terry McLaurin vs. Trevon Diggs
This is probably the highest profile matchup in the game. Two weeks ago, Diggs essentially shut down Terry McLaurin. That matchup needs to be tilted much more in Washington’s favor in order to open up the offense and give Washington much more of a chance to score points. McLaurin needs to improve his performance against Diggs this week.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (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
| Washington | Cowboys |
| S L. Collins, foot; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O / to IR | T T. Smith, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| RB A. Gibson, toe; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q | RB C. Clement, toe; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| CB W. Jackson III, calf; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | DE D. Lawrence, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| DE D. Wise, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | RB T. Pollard, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| LB J. Davis, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: DNP | RB E. Elliott, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| WR C. Samuel, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | WR S. Fehoko, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: to Reserve/Covid list |
| DE J. Smith-Williams, illness; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | S I. Mukuamu, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
| WR A. Humphries, ribs; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | S N. Wright, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP |
| S D. Everett, personal; Wed; NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: DNP; game: O |
TEAM STATISTICS
Washington:
Washington’s offense has scored 283 points, which is ranked 23rd in the NFL. They are 20th in total yards, 21st in passing yards, 14th in rushing yards, and 19th in rushing yards per attempt. The weakest part of Washington’s offense is their performance on third downs – they are ranked 31st in the NFL by that metric.
Washington’s defense has surrendered 351 points, which is ranked 25th. They are ranked 23rd in total yards, 30th in passing yards, 8th in rushing yards, and 14th in rushing yards per attempt. Opposing quarterbacks have earned a 101.7 quarterback rating against Washington’s defense, which is ranked 30th, and are ranked 31st on third downs.
Record: 6 – 8 (3rd) (Away: 3 – 3; NFC: 4 – 5; NFC East: 1 – 2)
All-time franchise record: 616 – 620 – 28
Offense
| Offensive rankings | 23 (points) / 20 (total yards) / 20 (yards per game) / 20 (yards per play) / 21 (passing yards) / 21 (passing yards per att.) / 14 (rushing yards) / 19 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 283 |
| Yards per game | 329.1 |
| Passing
|
464 att (21st); 305 comp; 65.7% comp per. (18th); 6.9 Y/A; 2952 net yds; 19 TD; 12 Int |
| Passing leader | Heinicke (418 att (19th), 2931 yds (21st), 66.5% comp perc (14th), 19 TDs / 12 Int, 89.9 QB rating (22nd) |
| Receiving leader | McLaurin (859 yds (22nd), 110 tgts (16th), 63 rec (27th), 5 TDs (44th), 13.6 YPC (33rd)) |
| Rushing | 398 att (10th); 1656 yds; 4.2 Y/A; 118.3 Y/G (14th); 11 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Gibson (231 att (4th), 862 yds (8th), 6 TDs (18th), 3.7 Y/A (40th), long 27) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 32 / 18 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 30:59 / 7 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 49.19% / 31 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 52.38% / 27 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 25 (points) / 23 (total yards) / 23 (yards per game surrendered) / 32 (yards per play) / 30 (passing yards) / 27 (passing yards per att.) / 8 (rushing yards) / 14 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 351 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 364.6 |
| Opponent’s passing | 498 att (21st); 338 comp; 67.9% comp perc. (26th); 7.6 Y/A; 3649 net yds; 28 TDs; QB Rating 101.7 (30th) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 343 att (9th); 1455 yds; 4.2 Y/A; 11 TDs; 103.9 Y/G (8th) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 31 / 19 / Allen (8.5) |
| Tackles leader | Holcomb (120) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 9 / 24 / Collins, Holcomb, Jackson, McCain (4) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 49.19% / 31 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 54.0% / 12 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 25.4 Y/R (4th), 32 returns, long 101 yards (2nd), 1 TDs |
| Punt returns | 9.7 Y/R (9th), 10 returns, long 16 yards (31st), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 22.1 Y/R (19th), 23 returns (9th), 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 8.3 Y/R (16th), 24 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 48.9 Y/P (4th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank) : 21 / 16 / -5 / 25
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 77 / 7
Dallas:
Dallas’ offense have scored 401 points, which is 2nd-most in the NFL. They are the top-ranked team in the league in total yards, 6th in both passing yards and rushing yards, and 13th in rushing yards per attempt.
Dallas’ defense has surrendered 293 points, which is ranked 7th in the league. They are 21st in total yards surrendered, 23rd in passing yards, 15th in rushing yards, and 25th in rushing yards per attempt. Dallas is the top-ranked team in the NFL in interceptions, with 23 so far this season, and is also ranked #1 in third down defense.
Record: 10 – 4 (1st); (Home: 4 – 2; NFC: 8 – 1; NFC East: 4 – 0)
All-time franchise record: 536 – 402 – 6
Offense
| Offensive rankings
|
2 (points) / 1 (total yards) / 1 (yards per game) / 7 (yards per play) / 6 (passing yards) / 11 (passing yards per att.) / 6 (rushing yards) / 13 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 401 |
| Yards per game | 403.3 |
| Passing | 538 att (4th); 367 comp; 68.2% comp per. (5th); 7.4 Y/A; 3851 net yds; 27 TDs; 11 Int |
| Passing leader | Prescott (492 att (9th), 3598 yds (9th), 68.5% comp per. (5th), 25 TDs / 10 Int, 98.1 QB rating (10th)) |
| Reception leader | Lamb (940 yds (17th), 109 targets (17th), 70 rec (17th), 6 TDs (27th), 13.4 Y/C (40th) |
| Rushing | 396 att (11th); 1795 yds; 4.5 Y/A; 128.2 Y/G (6th); 12 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Elliott (201 att (7th), 862 yds (8th), 9 TDs (8th), 4.3 Y/A (24th), long 47 yds (22nd)) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 28 / 13 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 30:50 / 9 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 41.27% / 12 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 53.85% / 25 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 7 (points) / 21 (total yards) / 21 (yards per game surrendered) / 26 (yards per play) / 23 (passing yards) / 24 (passing yards per att.) / 15 (rushing yards) / 25 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 293 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 356.9 |
| Opponent’s passing | 507 att (25th); 302 comp; 59.6% comp per. (4th); 7.3 Y/A; 3439 net yds; 18 TDs; QB rating 74.9 (3rd) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 344 att (10th); 1557 yds; 4.5 Y/A; 12 TDs |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 32 / 16 / Parsons (12.0) |
| Tackles leader | Kearse (94) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 23 / 1 / Diggs (10) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 31.82% / 1 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 59.46% / 17 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 26.3 Y/R (3rd), 22 returns, long 100 yards (3rd), 1 TDs |
| Punt returns | 5.8 Y/R (32nd), 24 returns, long 17 yards (29th), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 25.6 Y/R (26th), 15 returns (4th), 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 7.3 Y/R (10th), 21 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 48.0 Y/P (6th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 19 / 31 / +12 / 2
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 109 / 31
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com