It would be an understatement to say the Washington Commanders are massive underdogs in their Week 12 Thanksgiving Day showdown against the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas opened as 11-point favorites on Sunday, and that point spread increased to 13.5 points as of Thursday morning. With the Commanders coming off a six-turnover performance against the New York Giants, it’s understandable why the Cowboys are such big favorites.
And according to NFL Pickwatch, the experts agree with the sportsbooks. Over 98% of the experts have made their picks for Washington’s game vs. Dallas, and they don’t give the Commanders a chance. Just three experts favor Washington on Thursday.
As we all know, in the NFL, nothing is impossible. We’ve seen the Commanders play up to their competition. There is also a history of Washington pulling off the upset over Dallas as a huge underdog. It happened on Monday Night Football in 2014 when Colt McCoy led the then-Redskins to an upset over the Cowboys.
Go all the way back to 1995. The Cowboys would win Super Bowl XXX and finished the regular season with a 12-4 record.
Does anyone remember that 1995 team? It was Norv Turner’s second season as head coach after coming over from the Cowboys. Washington would finish 6-10 that season — with two of its six wins coming against Dallas.
Gus Frerotte would lead Washington to a win over Dallas in Week 5, while Heath Shuler was under center in Week 14 for the Redskins as they upset the Cowboys.
According to Kevin Sheehan of “The Kevin Sheehan Show” on Team 980, Washington, 3-9 at the time, was a 17.5-point underdog in Week 14, which, to this day, remains the biggest NFL underdog in the regular season to win outright.
That’s an excellent nugget from Sheehan if you’re looking for hope.
It’s the NFL, and it’s called “Any Given Sunday” for a reason.