NFL
By: Ryan Cooley
The Washington Football Team will face the Dallas Cowboys Sunday in what will be their biggest game of the season. Dallas is currently two games ahead of Washington in the NFC East and a win from the WFT would make this division much more interesting.
Here are three keys to victory:
(All statistics are via Pro Football Focus)
Get McLaurin Involved Early and Often
Last season Terry McLaurin had 14 receptions for 182 yards and a touchdown in his two matchups against the Cowboys. Everyone remembers McLaurin’s touchdown against Trevon Diggs in week seven. He will undoubtedly get more chances to go against Diggs this year.
McLaurin has failed to reach 60 receiving yards in three out of his last four games. He only had five targets last week against the Raiders. If Washington wants to keep up with Dallas’ offense, I would suggest targeting Terry 10+ times.
While Diggs has nine interceptions, he has also given up 47 receptions for 826 yards (17.6 yds/rec.) and four touchdowns. His 59.6 coverage grade ranks 72nd among CBs who have played 150+ coverage snaps. Diggs leads the league in yards given up, but their other CB Anthony Brown has also given up the 4th most yards (687).
Continue to Generate Interior Pressure
With the injuries sustained to Young and Sweat, Payne has stepped up on the defensive line. In the last two weeks, Payne has had the second-highest grade among interior defensive linemen (90.5) with only Aaron Donald grading higher. He has recorded eight pressures and six hurries in that time as well.
Not much to say about Jonathan Allen, other than he’s been an all-pro player in 2021. His 90.4 grade ranks third in the league. His 37 pressures also rank third with only Aaron Donald (50) and Javon Hargrave (38) having more.
It is unlikely Smith-Williams and Toohill will be gamechanger so it will be up to the interior. Dak’s passing grade drops from 90.3 when kept clean to 69.9 when under pressure. While this is not a bad grade when under pressure, it highlights how dangerous he is when kept clean.
Dominant Time of Possession
With the Cowboys getting healthy and the Washington defense still somewhat banged up, the offense will need to do their part and not by just putting up points. Heinicke and the offense will need to dominate time of possession as they have the past four games. Here is a breakdown of their time of possession the last four weeks:
Tampa Bay: 39-21
Carolina: 36-24
Seattle: 41½ –18½
Las Vegas: 34-26
They haven’t just won the time of possession, but dominated it in most of those games. Scott Turner hasn’t received enough credit for his playcalling in recent weeks. While they will need to start putting up more points, they have controlled the pace of most games.
Prediction: 24-21 Washington
Since Rivera took over, Washington has been at its best when their backs are against the wall. Last year they started the year 1-5 and ended 7-9. This year they started 2-6 and are now 6-6. There is no doubt in my mind Rivera has preached the significance of this game. A loss will all but seal the division for Dallas, but a win would make things much more interesting. [pickup_prop id=”16599″]
If Washington’s defense can maintain its level of dominance and the offense can once again control time of possession, there is no reason to believe Washington doesn’t at least stand a chance.
