Game Preview, Week 14: Dallas at Washington
December 10, 2021
by Steve Thomas
Incredibly, the Redskins Washington is now in the midst of a four game winning streak, with the hated Dallas Cowboys on tap at Jack Kent Cooke Memorial Stadium this coming Sunday. This particular game is more important than some Dallas games have been in recent years because Washington is now just two games behind the Cowboys, who have lost 3 of their last 5 games to put the NFC East title back in play. Last week’s game against the Raiders perhaps wasn’t Washington’s proudest moment, but at the end of the day, they beat the team that beat Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. A fifth win in a row would be the team’s longest winning streak since the team won their final seven games of the season in Robert Griffin III’s rookie year under Mike Shanahan in 2012. Can Washington get the job done? Read our game preview below to find out.
Game time & location: Sunday, December 12, 2021, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fed Ex Field, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.
Television: Fox
Television announcers: Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: The Team 980
Washington radio network: click here
Cowboys radio network: click here
Satellite radio: Sirius XM: 225 (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 – 73 – 2 (last 10: 3 – 7; streak: 2 – 0)
Last meeting: W, November 26, 2020, 41 – 16
Early odds: Dallas, -4
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Ignore history and continue to play well
Everybody knows Washington’s recent history against Dallas – prior to last season, Dallas had won 14 of 20 against the Redskins, which is a .700 winning percentage. However, this is a new day, new coach, and mostly new players who are in the midst of trying to get rid of all of the negativity. Washington has been playing well for the past month and are on a winning streak, with the Cowboys struggling. The first and most important key to this game is simply to continue to do what they’ve been doing – play tough defense and be productive on offense. No huge mistakes, no acting like the moment is too big for them. If Washington can simply continue to do what they’ve been doing, they’ll most likely be in this game at the end.
Limit the effectiveness of Dallas’ two-headed monster at running back
It may not be the most obvious aspect of the Cowboys’ offense but the biggest key to their success are their two running backs, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Elliott is the big name, but the truth is that this is mostly a split-carry system, with Elliott at 173 carries on the year as compared to 107 for Pollard. Dallas is tough to beat when both of them are consistently gaining yards. Washington’s defense is third in the NFL as measured by total rushing yards surrendered; however, that number is deceiving, as they have only had 267 rushing attempts against them, which is third-least in the league. Further, Washington has played a number of bad rushing teams. The point is that this isn’t necessarily a “strength on strength” situation. If both Elliott and Pollard are rolling early, Washington could be in for a long day. A major key to this game for Washington is to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Win the turnover battle
Dallas’ turnover margin so far this season is +7, with a league-leading 19 interceptions. Trevon Diggs has 9, which is 3 more than Washington’s entire defense. Dallas has won multiple games thanks to interceptions. Taylor Heinicke isn’t necessarily predisposed to a large number of interceptions, with 11 on the year, and he needs to avoid multiple turnovers in this game. Winning the turnover battle against a team like Dallas is the other major key to a Washington victory.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
William Jackson III vs CeeDee Lamb
Jackson versus Lamb is probably the most high profile battle in this game. Lamb is Dallas’ leading receiver, with 829 yards in 57 receptions. Jackson was brought to Washington to be the #1 corner and a press-man specialist, and it’s matchups like this one that the team expects him to win. Taking Lamb out of the game would be big benefit to Washington’s chances of getting a victory on Sunday.
Charles Leno and Cornelius Lucas vs Micah Parsons
Micah Parsons has been a monster in his rookie year, with 10.5 sacks and counting. As my colleague Alex Zeese said on our Hog Sty Podcast game preview, in some ways, he’s what Washington fans expected Chase Young to be, but mostly hasn’t been. The job of stopping Parsons falls mostly to Washington’s two tackles, Leno and Lucas. Parsons being able to freely terrorize Taylor Heinicke is not a recipe for success. Keep an eye out for how often Parsons is in the backfield during this game.
Terry McLaurin vs Trevon Diggs
McLaurin had a quiet game last week, with the Raiders rolling coverage towards him. Diggs is a high profile defensive back, so this is likely a matchup that will be a primary focus on the television broadcast. Washington needs McLaurin to be productive in this game, so watch out for how many receptions McLaurin can muster during this contest while facing off with Diggs.
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: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | WR N. Brown, groin; Wed: DNP; Thurs: to IR |
| LB J. Davis, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP; game: Q | RB T. Pollard, foot; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
| RB J.D. McKissic, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | WR C. Wilson, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| G W. Schweitzer, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | RB E. Elliott, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: PF |
| DT J. Allen, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | TE S. McKeon, neck; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| LB J. Kunaszyk, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | LB M. Parson, hip; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP |
| C T. Larsen, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| WR C. Samuel, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | |
| G B. Scherff, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | |
| TE R. Seals-Jones, hip; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
TEAM STATISTICS
Washington:
Washington is 21st in points scored, 19th in total yards, 21st in passing yards, 10th in rushing yards, and 19th in rushing yards per attempt. Taylor Heinicke now has a 67.9% completion percentage and a 92.1 quarterback rating, which are ranked 9th and 18th, respectively. Washington remains miserable in the red zone, ranked 31st in touchdowns scored in the red zone.
On defense, Washington is 24th in points surrendered, 16th in total yards, 29th in passing yards, 3rd in rushing yards, and 13th in rushing yards per attempt. Washington remains the worst team in the NFL in third down defense.
Record: 6 – 6 (2nd) (Home: 3 – 3; NFC: 5 – 2; NFC East 1 – 0)
All-time franchise record: 616 – 618 – 28
Offense
| Offensive rankings | 21 (points) / 19 (total yards) / 19 (yards per game) / 21 (yards per play) / 21 (passing yards) / 19 (passing yards per att.) / 10 (rushing yards) / 19 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 246 |
| Yards per game | 345.6 |
| Passing
|
399 att (21st); 170 comp; 67.7% comp per. (8th); 7.1 Y/A; 2654 net yds; 18 TD; 11 Int |
| Passing leader | Heinicke (393 att (14th), 2809 yds (15th), 67.9% comp perc (9th), 18 TDs / 11 Int, 92.1 QB rating (18th) |
| Receiving leader | McLaurin (808 yds (20th), 103 tgts (12th), 61 rec (20th), 5 TDs, 13.2 YPC (44th)) |
| Rushing | 354 att (8th); 1493 yds; 4.2 Y/A; 124.4 Y/G (9th); 8 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Gibson (206 att (5th), 800 yds (5th), 5 TDs (22nd), 3.9 Y/A (38th), long 27) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 25 / 16 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 31:57 / 4 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 40.38% / 15 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 50.00% / 31 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 24 (points) / 16 (total yards) / 18 (yards per game surrendered) / 29 (yards per play) / 29 (passing yards) / 25 (passing yards per att.) / 3 (rushing yards) / 13 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 297 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 355.2 |
| Opponent’s passing | 433 att (21st); 296 comp; 68.4% comp perc. (27th); 7.6 Y/A; 3167 net yds; 26 TDs; QB Rating 105.0 (31st) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 267 att (3rd); 1095 yds; 4.1 Y/A; 9 TDs; 91.3 Y/G (3rd) |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 24 / 24 / Allen (6.5) |
| Tackles leader | Holcomb (102) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 6 / 27 / Jackson, McCain (2) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 50.0% / 32 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 60.53% / 16 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 25.0 Y/R (5th), 28 returns, long 101 yards (2nd), 1 TD |
| Punt returns | 9.7 Y/R (8th), 10 returns, long 16 yards (31st), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 23.4 Y/R (21st), 17 returns (6th), 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 9.6 Y/R (26th), 18 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 48.7 Y/P (5th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank): 17 / 12 / -5 / 25
Penalties (total accepted # / rank: 68 / 8
Dallas:
Dallas is ranked third in the NFL in points scored, 1st in total yards, 4th in passing yards, 7th in rushing yards, and 5th in rushing yards per attempt. Dallas is 7th in sacks surrendered, with 21.
On defense, Dallas is ranked 12th in points surrendered, 26th in total yards surrendered, 27th in passing yards, 12th in rushing yards, and 26th in rushing yards per attempt. They are 2nd in the NFL in third down defense.
Record: 8 – 4 (1st); (Away: 4 – 2; NFC: 6 – 1; NFC East 2 – 0)
All-time franchise record: 534 – 402 – 6
Offense
| Offensive rankings
|
3 (points) / 1 (total yards) / 1 (yards per game) / 3 (yards per play) / 4 (passing yards) / 8 (passing yards per att.) / 7 (rushing yards) / 5 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points for | 353 |
| Yards per game | 416.3 |
| Passing | 462 att (7th); 317 comp; 68.6% comp per. (3rd); 7.7 Y/A; 3447 net yds; 25 TDs; 9 Int |
| Passing leader | Prescott (416 att (11th), 3170 yds (8th)), 69.0% comp per. (4th), 23 TDs / 8 Int, 101.7 QB rating (7th)) |
| Reception leader | Lamb (829 yds (17th), 90 targets (26th), 57 rec (27th), 6 TDs (19th), 14.5 Y/C (23rd)) |
| Rushing | 331 att (13th); 1548 yds; 4.7 Y/A; 129.0 Y/G (6th); 11 TDs |
| Rushing leader | Elliott (173 att (6th), 765 yds (8th), 8 TDs (8th), 4.4 Y/A, long 47 yds); Pollard (107 att, 602 yds, 2 TDs, 5.6 Y/A (7th), 58 yds (12th)) |
| Sacks surrendered / rank | 21 / 7 |
| Ave time of possession / rank | 30:19 / 16 |
| 3rd down conversion rate / rank | 40.13% / 17 |
| TD percentage in red zone / rank | 60.98% / 12 |
Defense
| Defensive rankings | 12 (points) / 26 (total yards) / 27 (yards per game surrendered) / 29 (yards per play) / 27 (passing yards) / 25 (passing yards per att.) / 12 (rushing yards) / 26 (rushing yards per att.) |
| Points against | 267 |
| Yards per game surrendered | 372.5 |
| Opponent’s passing | 437 att (22nd); 268 comp; 61.3% comp per. (6th); 7.6 Y/A; 3137 net yds; 17 TDs; QB rating 79.8 (3rd) |
| Opponent’s rushing | 297 att (10th); 1333 yds; 4.5 Y/A; 11 TDs |
| Sacks / rank / Sack leader | 26 / 23 / Parsons (10) |
| Tackles leader | Kearse (85) |
| Int / rank / Int leader | 19 / 1 / Diggs (9) |
| Opponent 3rd down conv rate / rank | 31.76% / 2 |
| Opponent TD percentage in red zone / rank | 61.76% / 18 |
Special Teams
| Kick returns | 28.8 Y/R (2nd), 17 returns (28th), long 100 yards (3rd), 0 TDs |
| Punt returns | 6.3 Y/R (31st), 21 returns, long 17 yards (29th), 0 TDs |
| Kick return defense | 26.8 Y/R (29th), 12 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punt return defense | 7.3 Y/R (10th), 21 returns, 0 TDs |
| Punting | 49.2 Y/P (4th) |
Turnovers (lost by O / recv’d by D / net / rank) : 16 / 23 / +7 / 7
Penalties (total accepted # / rank): 96 / 32
* Statistics courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, www.nflpenalties.com, www.nfl.com, www.teamrankings.com, www.espn.com, www.sportingcharts.com