The Dallas Cowboys meet up with the Washington Redskins on Sunday to kick off the 2010 season. According to the latest NFL odds, you will find Dallas -3.5 over Washington with a total set of 40 points. 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones built a $1.2 billion stadium, what many feel is the best in the world. Super Bowl XLV will be played in Cowboys Stadium, and Jones would love nothing more than to see his team win it on their home turf.

With 20-of-22 starters back from a team that went 10-6 last year, Dallas has as good a shot as any to get the job done.

Certainly, Dallas will not want to have to win on the road in the playoffs to reach their goal, because we all saw how well that worked out last year when they were throttled at Minnesota.

The Vikings, Packers, and Saints are the other three consensus Super Bowl contenders, and it would be tough to win at any of them. But to get home-field advantage, they’ll first have to win a very stacked NFC East that features the Redskins, Giants, and Eagles, along with having to play the NFC North and the AFC South this season.

The Cowboys offense ranked No. 2 in the league last year, and now they’ve added another weapon in Dez Bryant, who many are comparing to Michael Irvin and Randy Moss when they came into the league.

Bryant will team up with Miles Austin, Jason Witten, and Roy Williams to catch passes from Tony Romo. Receivers coach Ray Sherman has stated that this is potentially the best group of wide receivers he has ever had. And you can’t take that lightly considering he has coached with Jerry Rice in San Francisco, Javon Walker and Donald Driver in Green Bay, and Randy Moss, Chris Carter, and Jake Reed in Minnesota.

Dallas will need to wreak more havoc on defense if they are going to take the next step.

They can’t waste the talent they have rushing the passer in DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer. This is a unit that didn’t allow many points last year, but one that also didn’t get enough deflections in the secondary. More interceptions and more sacks are a necessity, so look for the Cowboys to unleash the hounds a little more this year.

Washington would love nothing more than to hand Dallas a loss in their opener. Certainly, Donovan McNabb struggled against this team last year but he also has had his fair share of wins over “America’s Team.”

New head coach Mike Shanahan brings this team a veteran leader that knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl. New offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has implemented the west coast system, and new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett brings his 3-4 scheme to the table.

The team has appeared to put the Albert Haynesworth issue behind them, and he should be ready to lead a defense that was certainly underrated last season.

The biggest concerns are on offense, where McNabb sprained an ankle in the preseason which forced him to miss the final two games. It hurt his chemistry with Santana Moss, Joey Galloway, Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, and Chris Cooley, who figure to be the ones catching balls from McNabb this year.

The No. 1 running back is Clinton Portis for a seventh straight year, but Larry Johnson should see his fair share of carries after a solid preseason.

Dallas is 24-12 against Washington since 1992, and they are 22-14 against the spread during that time. The under is 19-15 in those 34 games as well. But Washington does own a .500 record in 18 home meetings with the Cowboys since 1992, though Dallas has won their last two trips to the Redskins.

 

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