WASHINGTON — This is one of the most highly anticipated Redskins-Cowboys match up in quite some time — let’s hope it lives up to the hype.
The last time these two teams met back in week two, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott secured his first NFL win on a late touchdown to beat the Redskins 27-23. Since then, the Cowboys have reeled off nine straight and sit at 9-1 and in first place in the NFC East. The Redskins have only lost one game since September and are on a roll as well at 6-3-1 heading into Dallas on Thursday.
The talk this short week has been about how the Redskins will get ready for a game after playing Sunday night and, of course, about Kirk Cousins. Coming off the field Sunday night, he ran up to his General Manager Scot McCloughan and shouted “How you like me now?” Cousins then ruffled McCloughan’s hair and ran off the field.
Cousins, who is under the franchise tag and will be a free agent at season’s end, said on Tuesday that there was no hidden message to his GM.
“No, there’s nothing,” he said Tuesday. “I was just excited coming off the field with emotion. I would prefer for that to happen with no cameras and no microphones. But I ran into him on the field where there were cameras and microphones. We’re both competitors who want to win desperately and both feeling great in that moment.”
Cousins went on to praise McCloughan.
“Scot has done a phenomenal job bringing in the right people. A big reason we are where we are and part of the reason we enjoy being here is because of the team Scot assembled.”
The questions surrounding Kirk Cousins and his contract will not go away until the offseason, once McCloughan and the Redskins decide what to do about the future for their quarterback.
Sunday’s performance in the win over the Packers earned Cousins NFC Offensive Player of the Week as the offense amassed over 500 yards for the second time this season. Cousins threw three touchdowns in the win and his teammates are noticing the play of their quarterback.
“We need him to play like that a lot more,” DeSean Jackson said after the game. “I think if we can get our guy back there playing like that, we’re pretty much unstoppable like we were out there today. Everybody’s eating — [Jamison] Crowder, [Jordan] Reed. I did a little something here and there. Pierre [Garçon] had some big catches and things of the nature. So we have to be excited about it, but we put this one behind us and keep moving forward.”
The confidence of the quarterback has trickled down throughout the team and you can tell the team feels as if it can beat anyone. They will need that heading into Dallas on Thursday, where we will see two of the top five offenses in the NFL. Get ready for a possible shootout.
The emergence of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliot — who leads the league in rushing with 1,102 yards — behind an excellent offensive line, has given the Cowboys a glimpse into a bright-looking future. Prescott has thrown 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Redskins defenders already can see a change in the quarterback and the Cowboys since facing them back in Week 2.
“He grew up,” Ricky Jean Francois said of Prescott. “He got more mature. I think Tony Romo’s helping him learn that offense a lot better. Then you have the running game and a great offensive line the Dallas Cowboys have. They can move that ball anytime they want to, they can throw it and run it. We have to make them one dimensional. It’s going to be one hell of a game. This is a game that I know everyone in this locker room and that locker room is waiting on.”
A big key in this game could be which offense can sustain drives and keep the opposing offenses off the field. The Redskins’ defense comes in ranked 23rd in overall defense this week while the Cowboys are locked in at 13th.
If the Redskins can pull off the upset on Thursday (they are seven-point underdogs, as of Wednesday afternoon), then they will be right back in the conversation in the race for the NFC East crown. If the Cowboys win, then the Redskins must turn their attention to the Wild Card.
The Cowboys own a 6-1 record on Thanksgiving against the Redskins, with the lone ‘Skins win coming in 2012. Washington has won two straight and three of its last four in Dallas.
Get comfortable around 4 p.m. Thursday. This is going to be fun.
