Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys: Full Report Card Grades for Dallas
The Dallas Cowboys were at their absolute worst against the Redskins in their 20-17 loss. The Cowboys were outschemed and outmatched for much of the game Monday night.
Tony Romo was injured in the third quarter with an apparent back injury. In his absence, Brandon Weeden looked very good in his absence. He marched the Cowboys down the field for the only touchdown of the second half.
The defense's biggest weakness this season has been its lack of a pass rush. It finally came back to haunt the team against the Redskins. The Cowboys failed to put much pressure on Washington quarterback Colt McCoy, as he made easy throw after easy throw.
Also, the Cowboys had been exceptional on third down coming into this game; against Washington, they went 5-of-12 on third down and was unable to convert on third and fourth down in overtime.
The secondary, particularly the safeties, had its worst outing of the season. Barry Church was not good in run support or coverage throughout the game.
Rolando McClain had his worst game as a Cowboy, as he took bad angles and missed a number of tackles. He didn't look like the same player that he had in prior games.
Now, the Cowboys look forward to a huge matchup against the NFC-leading Arizona Cardinals Sunday.
Let’s take a look at how each position graded out in this Week 8 matchup.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Even if you take the back injury out of the equation, Romo didn't look himself against the Redskins. He had numerous errant throws that put the Cowboys in poor situations.
On the bright side, Romo showed that he is one of the toughest players in the NFL when he returned from his back injury.
Altogether, Romo went 17-of-28 for 209 yards and a touchdown; however, he couldn't make the plays the Cowboys needed when it mattered.
This was only the second time this season when Romo looked like an average quarterback; hopefully the Cowboys don't see that Romo again this season.
Brandon Weeden did a great job in his short playing time as he went 4-of-6 for 69 yards and a touchdown. He did a great job of making the easy pass and not taking unnecessary risks.
The Cowboys will now cross their fingers that Romo's back doesn't get worse as the adrenaline wears off.
Grade: C-
Running Back
2 of 10
DeMarco Murray wasn't the only Cowboys running back to fumble in this game, as Joseph Randle joined the fray and coughed one up himself.
The Cowboys cannot afford to have their running backs to be so careless with the ball, because it is going to come back and bite them in a much bigger game.
Despite the fumbles, Murray had his eighth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance as he rushed for 141 yards on 19 carries. He did a great job hitting cutback lanes and making the most each time he got the ball. Murray was also the leading receiver for the Cowboys as he had four catches for 80 yards.
Joseph Randle did a great job, outside of the fumble, in the few plays he was in the game as he carried the ball three times for 23 yards.
The Cowboys got away from the run late and that appeared to do them in.
Grade: C+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The Cowboys receivers and tight ends just didn't get the job done against the Redskins. They failed to get open on several important occasions or make the most of the opportunities that did present themselves.
Dez Bryant had a great touchdown grab, but he also dropped another would be touchdown and failed to get open when the Cowboys really needed him most.
Jason Witten probably had the best game out of the receivers and tight ends, but even he had a couple of drops during the game.
The one thing the tight ends did do well was in the blocking game. They repeatedly gave Murray great lanes to run through and did an incredible job of sealing the edge. The tight ends have been the backbone of the Cowboys rushing offense.
In a game where the Cowboys had a ton of one-on-one coverage, the receivers and tight ends didn't do a good enough job of winning those matchups.
Grade: D+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Cowboys offensive line was dominant at times in the run game but really struggled in pass protection for much of the evening.
The offensive line seemed confused by the variety of blitzes and stunts that the Redskins threw at them. All too often, there was a free rusher that ruined any chance Romo had at making a positive play.
Zack Martin appeared to have another great game as a run-blocker, as he had several great blocks that sprang Murray for big gains.
The Dallas offensive lineman who appeared to have the worst game was Travis Frederick. The center is usually responsible for making line calls at the line of scrimmage, and that is a place where the Cowboys really struggled Monday night.
The offensive line was up and down against the Redskins, but since the Cowboys ran the ball only 25 times and threw 34 passes, the offensive line did more harm than good.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
5 of 10
The defensive line didn't get the job done against the Redskins. It didn't get nearly enough pressure on Colt McCoy and appeared to get overpowered on running plays late in the game.
Henry Melton had his best game as a Cowboy as he recorded two sacks, which was the first multiple-sack game by a Cowboys player this season.
On the other end of the spectrum, George Selvie and Lavar Edwards appeared to really struggle throughout the game. They didn't keep containment on McCoy, allowing him to make some big plays with his feet and arm outside of the pocket.
The Cowboys sorely need to get more pressure for their edge-rushers; however, it appears help is on its way as second-round pick DeMarcus Lawrence should return against the Arizona Cardinals.
While the Cowboys defensive line had its most sacks in any game so far this season, they didn't get the kind of constant pressure you were hoping for against an inexperienced quarterback like McCoy.
Grade: C
Linebacker
6 of 10
Rolando McClain had his worse game of the season against the Redskins. He routinely took poor angles to the ball and missed several tackles. McClain had been one the surest tacklers in the league, but against Washington he wasn't very good.
Justin Durant looked to have a very active and impactful game before he went out with a torn biceps, which should keep him out for the year. Durant led the Cowboys with 10 tackles, two of them for loss.
Bruce Carter didn't make much of an impact in his first game back from his quadriceps strain. He took a couple of bad angles and got beat once by a spectacular catch from Washington tight end Jordan Reed.
The Cowboys linebackers appeared to really struggle with taking good angles and making technically sound tackles, which is something they had been great at before this game.
Grade: D+
Secondary
7 of 10
The Cowboys secondary really struggled with the variety of weapons on the Redskins offense. The safeties particularly struggled in pass coverage throughout the game.
J.J. Wilcox had a spectacular interception, but he undermined that great play by taking poor angles in coverage and against the run. He let DeSean Jackson get behind him on one play that resulted in a long catch.
While Wilcox had occasional issues, Church struggled throughout the game. He let Jackson get behind him and missed several tackles in run support. Church appeared to be making strides with his coverage abilities, but he still took a couple steps back in this contest.
Orlando Scandrick was the lone player in the secondary who appeared to have a good game. He constantly blanketed his receiver and did his job.
The secondary had been very good up until this game; hopefully, this was just one off game.
Grade: C
Special Teams
8 of 10
Dan Bailey and Chris Jones may have been the Cowboys' two best players against the Redskins, and that is never a good thing.
Bailey made his only field-goal attempt, while Jones 51.5 yards on his four punts to go along with a nice tackle on one of the returns.
Dwayne Harris continued his struggles in the return game against the Redskins. He failed to fair catch a punt that got him lit up, and he didn't do much on either of his punt or kick returns.
The special teams were the best unit on the team, and that usually isn't a good thing.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
The biggest difference in this game was that the Cowboys were simply outcoached on both sides of the ball.
Dallas offensive coordinator Scott Linehan got too cute, which led to him getting away from the run against the Redskins. DeMarco Murray had a season-high average of 7.4 yards per carry but also a season low of 19 carries. If the Cowboys stuck to the run more they may have won this game.
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli refused to blitz Colt McCoy, and it led to the Washington quarterback having a lot of time to make plays against the Cowboys defense.
Jason Garrett didn't make any time-management mistakes, but he didn't make the necessary changes at halftime to help the Cowboys defend against what the Redskins were doing.
They didn't have any answers for the Redskins constant blitzes, and that falls on Garrett and Linehan's shoulders.
Grade: F
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | C- |
| RB | C+ |
| WR | D+ |
| OL | C |
| DL | C |
| LB | D+ |
| Secondary | C |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | F |
| Cumulative Grade | C- |
The Cowboys had their worst performance of the season, and it is reflected in their cumulative grade. They didn't dominate the trenches on either side of the ball like they had done in most of their six wins, and it led to a bad performance by the team as a whole. The linebackers were particularly poor against the Redskins as were the wide receivers and tight ends.
The Cowboys look forward to a monumental game against the one-loss Arizona Cardinals.
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