DALLAS — Washington and the Dallas Cowboys meet up this Sunday for their first matchup of the 2018 season. These bitter division rivals have played each other going back to the 1960 season, that game resulted in a 26-14 Washington win. Since then, it's mostly been all Dallas.
The Cowboys have won eight of the previous 10 matchups including four straight since the team drafted Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. The longest winning streak in the history of the rivalry was the 10 straight wins for Dallas that happened between the 1997 and 2002. The Cowboys lead the overall series 70-44-2.
Washington injury issues at wide receiver
As many issues as the Cowboys have had lately with injuries among their pass catchers, Washington has had just as many issues. Three of their primary receivers (Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson Jr, Jamison Crowder) have all shown up on the injury report this week.
Richardson is listed as doubtful after not participating all week and Crowder has been ruled out. It is likely that the Cowboys' defense will see plenty of two and three tight end sets and plenty of attempts to establish the running game from Washington.
Dak Prescott protecting the ball
In four games since 2016, Prescott hasn’t turned the ball over to Washington in route to four straight wins. This type of performance will need to continue for the Cowboys to continue their dominance over their division rival.
This season, in games where Prescott throws an interceptions, the team is winless. Prescott has five touchdowns against Washington in his career, including two on the ground.
Get Zeke involved
In his only two trips to Washington, Ezekiel Elliott has rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Elliott is coming off a 100-yard performance against the vaunted Jacksonville defense in a 40-7 drubbing of the Jaguars.
Should Dallas get another lead, they can drain the clock with long drives and keeping the Washington offense spectating from the sidelines. This is the main plan for every game for the Cowboys and nothing should change in a game that could determine first place in the division come Monday.
Put pressure on Alex Smith
The big name to watch on defense for Dallas is DeMarcus Lawrence, having recorded 5.5 sacks in six games. The Redskins are dealing with injuries to their top two offensive linemen in Brandon Scherff and Trent Williams. They will need to focus a lot of their effort on stopping Tank.
While Lawrence is expected to beat anyone, this is where Taco Charlton, Tyrone Crawford and Dorance Armstrong can all take advantage if Washington is still feeling the effects of their injuries. David Irving also came back last week and made an immediate impact by creating disruption from inside. This could be the week he gets his first sack of the young season.
See if Michael Gallup is part of the solution
Rookie Gallup was expected to be a big part of the passing game with Terrance Williams on injured reserve and currently suspended. With no Dez Bryant, and no receiver stepping up with the exception of the chain mover Cole Beasley, the Cowboys are still looking for a consistent outside threat.
Last week, Gallup hauled in a long pass for 27 yards and came close to his first professional touchdown a few plays later. This week, Gallup will go up against a very poor Washington secondary. If the Cowboys can keep Dak upright, look for Gallup to make his presence felt.
This has all the makings of a low-scoring 16-13 slugfest kind of game with how both teams are built and dealing with injuries. The Cowboys are looking for their first road win of the season. The surprising part of that is how this team has performed on the road in the last two seasons with wins in 12 of 16 games.
The last time it looked like the Cowboys were in for a low-scoring slugfest, they scored 40 points and won by 33. With that in mind, look for Dallas to head into the bye week on a two-game streak: Dallas 27-13.
Do you think the Cowboys can finally take one on the road or will they continue their Jekyll and Hyde routine in D.C.? Share your predictions on the game with Patrick on Twitter @DraftCowboys.
