Week 16 Preview: Dallas Cowboys Vs. Washington Redskins

The Cowboys travel to Washington to complete the season series against the lowly Redskins on Sunday night.

The Redskins were dismantled by the New York Giants on Monday night and will want to show their new GM that they can bounce back and have a good showing at home.

It'll be hard for the Redskins to generate some offense against the Cowboys. In the first matchup they managed just 324 yards of offense.

Jason Campbell was sacked five times against the Giants and suffered a shoulder stinger but coach Jim Zorn has said he will start Sunday night.

In his last game against the Cowboys, Campbell was 24 of 37 for 256 yards and one interception. This week he'll try to get the ball into the end zone.

Part of Campbell's ineffectiveness this season is because his receivers aren't that good.

Santana Moss (56 catches, 755 yards and three TDs) is the only receiver with over 500 yards and tight end Fred Davis is the only player on the entire team with more than five TDs. Malcolm Kelly has just four catches in the last three games and less than 15 yards receiving in each game.

The Redskins will try to have more success this time around in the running game than they did in the first game, where they had just 78 yards as a team.

However, it will be hard since Quinton Gather (43 carries, 159 yards, three TDs) and backup Marcus Mason both have less than three years experience and haven't played much this season.

The Redskins' defense will play their base cover two but the Cowboys should expect some twists this time around. The Redskins did hold the Cowboys to just 304 yards in their last matchup, but it's hard to imagine them doing it again.

Andre Carter and Brian Orakpo have 22 sacks combined and should give Romo some problems with their pass rush. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth didn't play in the previous game against Dallas but will play this week; he should have an impact on how the Cowboys run.

The Redskins pass defense is ranked fifth in the NFL but largely because of their cover two scheme.

DeAngelo Hall and Carlos Rodgers did a pretty good job against Dallas in their last game until the Cowboys quickened their pace and used their short passing game to find holes in the Redskins zone.

The biggest key for the Redskins secondary is LaRon Landry, who will occasionally be matched up against Jason Witten. Landry has been targeted by the opposition of late and this is his chance to show teams he can cover someone.

The Cowboys have a chance to clinch a playoff berth this week with a win and a Giants loss.

Tony Romo will want to have a much better game than he did last time against the Skins where he was 15 of 27 for 158 yards and one TD. While Romo may not throw as much because of the weather conditions, expect him to be more efficient in the passing game. 

Miles Austin and Jason Witten will be targeted a lot by Romo but the dark horse receiver will be Roy Williams. Last week against the Saints, Williams had just one catch; he'll want to keep the chemistry he had with Romo when he had 10 catches for 134 yards and two TDs.

However, the Cowboys will need to convert third downs, something they didn't do last time when they 3 for 11. If they can convert on Sunday night, they won't give the Redskins defense a leg to stand on.

The biggest factor for the Cowboys is their running game.

They racked up 153 yards on 33 carries as a team in week 11, but they didn't score a touchdown and Marion Barber fumbled at the Redskins 20-yard line ending their only solid drive before their last drive of the game.

Marion Barber will get the bulk of the carries as usual, but Felix Jones will also see a lot of action as the Cowboys home run hitter.

The Cowboys' defense will be gunning for Jason Campbell this week. DeMarcus Ware has no ill effects from playing on Saturday night and practiced all week. Linebacker Anthony Spencer wants another multi-sack game.

Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff and middle linebacker Keith Brooking will be assigned to stop the Redskins running game.

Head coach Wade Phillips said earlier this week that he thinks Mike Jenkins should be in the Pro Bowl.

Jenkins is having a good year with a team leading five interceptions but if he has a good game here when the pressure is on it'll show the country that he might deserve that Pro Bowl vote.

Ken Hamlin will be starting at safety for the second game in a row and he said that he's feeling better than he did last week. He'll be assigning the coverages and playing the center fielder, giving Gerald Sensabaugh the ability to help in the running game.

This will be a low-scoring affair but expect both teams to come out firing.

The Redskins were embarrassed on Monday night and will want to show everyone they can compete with a playoff caliber team.

The Cowboys are still riding high off their win against the Saints and will want to keep their playoffs hopes in their own hands.

The Cowboys will win this game; if they come out fast and score the Redskins will fold like a cheap wallet.

If the Cowboys come out slow, their defense will hold out long enough for the offense to wake up.

Cowboys 24-13