Game Preview, Week 4: Washington at Dallas

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September 30, 2022

by Steve Thomas

Here we are again, folks – Washington embarrassed themselves once again and Dallas is coming off of a win in spite of an injury to their star quarterback.  In other words, welcome to another NFL season.  After last week, the Redskins the Washington Football Team the Commanders the Washington Steelers Washington certainly has some significant work to do in order to rise up into the levels of the non—pathetic.  It’s possible.  Not likely, but possible.  Washington doesn’t have a great history against the Cowboys, but sometimes these NFC East games have a way of becoming hard-fought battles.  Realistically, that’s probably the best Washington can ask for this coming Sunday.  This is a pretty important game for the NFL’s newest expansion franchise.  In spite of all the controversy, if Washington can end the first quarter of the season at 2 – 2, whereas a 1 – 3 record with 2 division losses is a bad position to be in.  We’ll see what happens.  Read on for the preview.

 

Game time & location:         Sunday, October 2, 2022, 1:00 p.m. ET, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas; Gates open at                                                          10:00 a.m. CT

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:                          SiriusXM: 225 (Cowboys broad.); 383 (Washington broad.) internet: 831

 

Washington roster:                 click here

Washington depth chart:       click here

Cowboys roster:                     click here

Cowboys depth chart:           click here

 

All-time head-to-head record vs Cowboys: 45 – 75 – 2 (last 10: 3 – 7; streak: 0 – 2)

Last meeting: L, December 26, 2021, 14 – 56

Early odds: Dallas, -3

3 KEYS TO THE GAME

The offensive line needs to look better than hot garbage in pass protection

It’s not news to suggest that the offensive line looked awful in pass protection last week.  Yes, Carson Wentz held the ball too long, but still: NFL teams don’t win if they have a bad offensive line, with the rare exception of the presence of a hall of fame quarterback.  Washington doesn’t have that.  Yes, this unit is banged up right now, and they lack talent even at full strength.  Regardless, though, it simply isn’t going to work with another performance like last week.  Watch for whether the offensive line looks overwhelmed against Dallas, or whether they are at least competitive.

Scott Turner needs to situationally adapt his playcalling

Turner did an extremely poor job of adapting to the situation last week, and has never been great at that particular talent.  Washington certainly lacks player talent, but Turner’s job is to recognize situations in which his gameplan simply isn’t working.  Watch for whether Turner can transition the passing attack to a short game – in the flats, screens, and dump offs – or whether he continues to stubbornly stick to the script.

The secondary needs to find a way to not be terrible

Not that William Jackson III is the next coming of Darrell Green, and he’s way too expensive, but he is a legitimate starting NFL corner.  Washington needs him back, and they need to start him and Benjamin St-Juste on the outside, with Kendall Fuller transitioning to slot.  This group must limit the big plays against an offense that has the receiver corps to make those sort of gains.  Wathc out for more obvious busted coverages this week against Dallas.

3 KEY MATCHUPS

Sam Cosmi / Cornelius Lucas vs Demarcus Lawrence

As I said above, the offensive line is key – probably the most critical piece if Washington is to have any chance at victory.  In that spirit, the idea of an elite rusher like Lawrence going up against either a hobbled Cosmi or backup Cornelius Lucas isn’t awe-inspiring for Washington fans.  Cosmi and/or Lucas must have a decent game and not allow Lawrence to run wild in the Washington backfield.

Terry McLaurin vs Trevon Diggs

This is a big-time matchup of two elite players.  Diggs has done pretty well against McLaurin at times, so as much as Washington fans love McLaurin, this won’t be a cakewalk for him.  Of all the matchups on the field, this one is probably the battle that will get the most attention from the media and in-game announcers.  I look forward to seeing how this one turns out – can Scary Terry have another 100 yard game?  We’ll see.

CeeDee Lamb vs. William Jackson III and Kendall Fuller

The point of this matchup is to once again highlight the importance of not letting Dallas’ passing game get rolling, whether it’s Cooper Rush or Dak Prescott under center.  When he’s playing well and not dropping passes, Lamb has the ability to light up a substandard secondary.  Jackson and Fuller will have the principal task or making sure this doesn’t happen.  Keep an eye out on how wide-open or well covered Lamb is throughout the game.

OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)

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
OL W. Schweitzer, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O QB D. Prescott, right thumb; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O
LB M. Eifler, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP S J. Kearse, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q
T C. Leno, shoulder; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q DE D. Lawrence, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP
DE J. Smith-Williams, abdomen; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP G C. McGovern, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q
OL S. Charles, shoulder; Wed: LP, Thurs: FP; Fri: FP TE D. Schultz, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q
T S. Cosmi, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP WR S. Fehoko, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
CB W. Jackson, back; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP WR M. Gallup, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
LB D. Mayo, ankle; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP LB L. Gifford, hamstring; Wed: FP, Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
CB B. St-Juste, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
DE C. Toohill, concussion; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP
DT D. Wise, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP