Game Preview, Week 12: Washington at Dallas Cowboys
November 23, 2023
by Steve Thomas
On its surface, this game doesn’t look promising for our boys in all-black Steelers uniforms burgundy and gold. Washington is coming off of probably their worst performance of the season, losing to the moribund New York Giants at home by a score of 31 – 19 in a game in which they had 6 turnovers, whereas the Cowboys did what good teams are supposed to, easily pulverizing the Carolina Panthers on the road. On top of that, Washington’s record on Thursday is less than stellar: 10 – 15 overall, for a .400 winning percentage. The competitive portion of the season is effectively now over for Washington, so this has become a test of character. How well can this team play when they know that they probably aren’t playing for the postseason anymore? Do they have enough pride to put forth a top-quality effort against a division rival? We’ll all find out together on Thanksgiving Day. Our game preview starts below.
Game time & location: Thursday, November 23, 2023, 4:30 p.m. ET, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas; Gates open at 1:30 p.m. CT
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Jim Nance, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: click here
Dallas radio network: click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 225 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: click here
Washington depth chart: click here
Dallas roster: click here
Dallas depth chart: click here
Records: Washington 4 –7 (away 3 – 3); Dallas 7 – 3 (home 4 – 0)
All-time head-to-head record vs Dallas: 46 – 76 – 2 (last 10: 4 – 6; streak: 1 – 0)
Last meeting: W, January 8, 2023, 26 – 6
Early odds: Cowboys, -11
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Play solid, mistake-free football
This one comes with the risk of being abundantly obvious, but given that Washington played its worst game of the season this past Sunday, it needs to be said. Clearly, Washington can’t afford to give away 6 turnovers again, or even anything close to that. Washington’s defense also needs to eliminate the big plays, because Dallas has the talent to make those happen in abundance. How Washington can accomplish that is the tough part, of course, but it starts with things like eliminating coverage mistakes and not letting CeeDee Lamb stay in single coverage on a regular basis. Washington doesn’t have much of a chance in this game anything, but they’ll have no chance whatsoever if they kill themselves with mistakes.
Keep the Cowboys’ offense off the field
Dallas has a talented and dangerous offense. The best way to defend an offense like that is to not give them the ball. For Washington, this needs to start with former running back turned running back hater, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, running the ball, alot, and making it work. Washington needs to burn up plenty of clock in this game, and the only real way to do that is to establish a consistent and productive running game. Bieniemy probably won’t do that, of course, because he seems to be incapable of such a plan. The fact of the matter is, though, that Washington can’t compete with Dallas’s offense, so they need to go old school.
Quality secondary play
Washington’s secondary is critically important this week. CeeDee Lamb is a nightmare, and Dallas has other talent, such as Jake Ferguson and Brandin Cooks. This week, Washington needs to focus on coverage schemes and not getting fooled. No Dallas receiver can be the beneficiary of busted coverages. Yes, Washington needs a pass rush, but this week, limiting the Cowboys’ ability to get cheap, bit shots is more important.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Benjamin St-Juste vs CeeDee Lamb
Washington is going to need St-Juste to have his best game of the season this week, because Lamb is no joke – he has size, speed, and ability. I don’t think that Washington’s coaches will actually put St-Juste in press man, cover zero coverage on Lamb, certainly no very much. Nevertheless, this is a key matchup in this game. St-Juste has to play tight, physical coverage in order to keep Lamb from putting up the massive numbers that he’s posted for most of the year.
Charles Leno vs. DeMarcus Lawrence
Last week, Leno had to face Kayvon Thibodeaux, and it goes downhill from there in this contest. Lawrence is a big-time threat, and Washington needs Leno to keep Lawrence from terrorizing quarterback Sam Howell during his 45,664 pass attempts. This might be the most high-profile matchup in the game, so keep an eye out on how much impact Lawrence has on Washington’s offense. If it’s quite a bit, then odds are that Leno is principally at fault.
Terry McLaurin vs. Stephon Gilmore
This is the other big-time matchup in this game. McLaurin is a Pro Bowler and probably Washington’s best player, whereas Gilmore has two First Team All-Pro selections and five Pro Bowls on his resume. McLaurin hasn’t had a big, game-changing performance yet this season, and now’s the perfect time for it. Expect significant attention to be paid by the television broadcast on these two. Let’s hope McLaurin can make his mark in this nationally-broadcast 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 |
| FB A. Armah, hamstring; Mon: DNP; Tues: DNP; Wed: DNP; game: O | RB R. Dowdle, ankle; Mon: DNP; Tues: DNP; Wed: LP; game: Q |
| CB E. Forbes, elbow; Mon: DNP; Tues: DNP; Wed: DNP; game: O | S J. Kearse, back; Mon: DNP; Tues: DNP; Wed: DNP; game: D |
| LB D. Harris, quad; Mon: DNP; Tues: DNP; Wed: to IR | WR C. Lamb, ankle; Mon: LP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP |
| DL E. Obada, tibia/fibula; Mon: DNP; Tues: to IR | T T. Steele, ankle; Mon: LP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP |
| DE J. Smith- Williams, hamstring; Mon: DNP; Tues: DNP; Wed: DNP; game: O | TE P. Hendershot, ankle; Mon: FP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP |
| G S. Cosmi, chest; Mon: LP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP | DT O. Odighizuwa, hamstring; Mon: FP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP |
| RB A. Gibson, toe; Mon: LP; Tues: LP; Wed: LP; game: Q | WR K. Turpin, shoulder; Mon: FP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP |
| DB J. Martin, shoulder; Mon: LP; Tues: LP; Wed: FP | DT J. Hankins, NIR-personal; Mon: NL; Tues: NL; Wed: DNP |
| LB C. Barton, ankle; Mon: FP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP | |
| WR C. Samuel, toe; Mon: FP; Tues: FP; Wed: FP | |
| LB K. Hudson, back; Mon: NL; Tues: DNP; Wed: LP; game: Q |
Steve’s Prediction
Logic dictates a big Cowboys victory, although I think Washington will play better than they did last week against the Giants. Cowboys win, 33 – 17.