Tag: Dak Presott

Watch: Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle opens Thanksgiving scoring

The Cowboys opened up the Thanksgiving scoring with a screen pass that went for six.

The Dallas Cowboys have slowly been working their running game into shape over the last several weeks. Run-game coordinator Jeff Blasko returned from a six-game absence at the end of November, and there’s been a steady improvement from the running game. Dak Prescott is taking off more, Tony Pollard is looking more and more like his old self and backup Rico Dowdle is finally getting a decent amount of touches.

And when the referees aren’t calling phantom holds to bring back his big runs, Dowdle is really effective. Just like he was opening up the Week 12 scoring with this screen to the right side inside a downfield block from Zack Martin and Tyler Biadasz.

Dallas leads 7-0 through the opening stanza.

49ers defeat Cowboys to advance to NFC championship

The Philadelphia Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game.

And then there was one.

The NFC East entered the weekend with three teams remaining in the divisional round. In the first game on Saturday, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants to advance to the NFC championship.

On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys had a chance to give the NFL an all-NFC East title game next week, but the San Francisco 49ers had other plans. San Francisco’s defense dominated Dallas in the second half to walk away with a 19-12 win and advance to the NFC championship game next week in Philadelphia.

49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy won his seventh consecutive game as a starting quarterback, completing 19 of 29 passes for 214 yards. While Purdy didn’t throw a touchdown pass, he avoided the big mistakes, something Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t do.

Prescott completed 23 of 37 attempts for 206 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Prescott should have been intercepted on Dallas’ next-to-last drive, but 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw dropped a would-be interception that would’ve easily been a pick-six.

Dallas finished the game with 282 yards of total offense, rushing the ball 22 times for 76 yards. The Cowboys lost running back Tony Pollard in the second quarter, and after the game, he was on crutches with what was deemed an ankle injury.

Now, the NFC championship will feature the top two teams from the regular season. The Eagles looked dominant again on Saturday, while the red-hot 49ers had to battle to come away the victory.

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Final score predictions for Washington vs. Cowboys

Staff predictions for Washington vs. Cowboys in Week 16.

The Washington Football Team faces the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in a rematch from Week 14. The Cowboys won the first meeting, 27-20, after jumping out to a 24-0 lead at halftime.

What happens in the rematch?

Here are Washington Wire’s staff projections for Week 16.

Bryan Manning

Washington enters Sunday night without Landon Collins, Brandon Scherff, Cole Holcomb and William Jackson III, in addition to the others already on injured reserve. Against a team as talented as the Cowboys, that’s just too much to overcome.

While I don’t believe Washington starts as slowly as it did in Week 14, the Cowboys have a lot to play for, such as the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.

Cowboys 30, Washington 20

Ivan Lambert

In the last meeting of these two teams two weeks ago, the Dallas defensive front seven exhibited they are much more athletic and quicker than Washington could endure.

To be direct, it was ugly.

Washington must generate some sort of running game between the tackles.

Perhaps they should also attempt more first down safe, quick passes, seeking to avoid 3rd and longs they experienced two weeks ago.

Yet, injuries along the offensive line won’t help.

Dallas 20 Washington 10

5 Cowboys to watch vs. Washington in Week 16

Here are five Cowboys to watch Sunday in rematch vs. Washington.

The Dallas Cowboys present quite the challenge for the Washington Football Team in 2021. The Cowboys have a top-10 quarterback, a top-five offensive line and arguably the top trio of wide receivers in the NFL.

Then, there is Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory.

For Washington to win to upset the heavily-favored Cowboys in Week 16, it will need to limit some of the Cowboys’ top playmakers. That can be difficult for a Washington team entering this weekend extremely shorthanded. Not only have COVID-19 issues created havoc on Washington’s roster recently, but injuries also continue to pile up.

Here are five Cowboys to watch in Sunday’s Week 16 rematch.

PFF ranks the NFC East as the worst division in the NFL for 2021

The NFC East should be much better in 2021. However, questions remain with all four teams.

The Washington Football Team won the NFC East in 2020 with a record of 7-9. Not good. Throughout the first two months of the 2020 season, each of the four NFC East teams took turns being considered the favorite.

It was a nightmare until Washington took control of the division in November and went on to host the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card game.

Despite winning the NFC East, Washington set out this offseason to improve an offense that was one of the worst in the league. Washington also added firepower to a top-five defense, including first-round pick Jamin Davis and free-agent corner William Jackson III.

Washington wasn’t the only NFC East team getting better this offseason. The New York Giants made significant moves in the offseason, while the Dallas Cowboys get quarterback Dak Prescott back in 2021. The Philadelphia Eagles should be somewhat improved, too.

So, will the NFC East be better in 2021?

Well, according to Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus, who ranked all eight NFL divisions, the NFC East will be the worst division in the NFL again this season.

PFF ranks Washington dead last, offering the following explanation:

The NFC East should be better than it was in 2020. The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t suffer significant injuries again to Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith and La’el Collins. The Philadelphia Eagles shouldn’t be forced to ask 11 different offensive linemen to play 50 or more snaps on offense. The Washington Football Team and New York Giants should have more dynamic offenses with the additions of players such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries, Dyami Brown, Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney this offseason.

In an ideal world, a healthy Cowboys offense is able to get back to 2019 form (second in the league in EPA per play), and Dan Quinn’s defense is mediocre rather than porous. Fitzpatrick adds a downfield passing game that was missing in Washington with Alex Smith at quarterback, complemented by one of the league’s best defenses. And Daniel Jones and Jalen Hurts put questions about their future to rest with respectable 2021 performances.

That’s still just an idealized version of the NFC East, fueled by the hope that the offseason provides. NFL teams don’t simply improve the negatives in the offseason while the positives remain in place, and the NFC East still has a very good chance of being the worst division in the NFL. The simulation results and power rankings support that notion.

Linsey is correct. The NFC East should be better in 2021. However, there are no guarantees.

How do you feel? Is the NFC East the worst division again in 2021?