Cowboys Vs. Redskins: Five Things To Watch For Sunday Night

With the Cowboys set to kick off the season against their rival Washington Redskins on Sunday night, here are five things to watch for.

1) Offensive Line Play

It's no secret that with Kyle Kosier and Mark Colombo out for tonight's game, and following a preseason where the OL looked horrid, the pressure will be on Alex Barron and Montrae Holland to hold the fort.  

The OL needs to improve on their run-blocking so that the three-headed monster of Felix Jones, Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice can get the running game going, as well as giving Tony Romo some time to throw.

2) Roy Williams

All eyes will be on Dez Bryant, but Williams will get more snaps than Bryant. And Miles Austin, and Jason Witten cannot do it alone.  Besides, rookie WR tend to be inconsistent, and Bryant missed the entire preseason after he hurt his ankle.  

If Roy can gain some confidence and regain the pass-catching ability that got him shipped to Big D, things will open up for Austin and Witten.

3) Donovan McNabb

McNabb has had some monumental success against the Cowboys, especially on prime time.  McNabb could assemble a nice highlight reel off standout games that he has had against the Cowboys.  Anyone remember that TD pass where he scrambled for what seemed like forever before he unleashed a TD bomb on Dallas a few years back?  

Even if McNabb struggled against Dallas in 2009, you have to be on your toes when playing against him.

4) Coaches

The heat is on Wade Phillips.  

The fan base has not embraced Phillips as their head coach, and with loads of talk about a Super Bowl run, starting the season with a thud will do nothing but fire up all those Phillips doubters.  

On the other end Mike Shanahan and Albert Haynesworth have been going at it since day one, and no matter what the players say, all the chatter cannot be good for team morale.  

Add to it that Haynesworth has been shopped around the league, and a bad showing will not help things get settled in the Redskins locker room.

5) Rivalry Game

For those of you that are old enough to remember that horrid 1989 1-15 season, this goes without saying. Yes, that lone win was against a Redskins team that ended up 10-6.  

The rivalry has mellowed as of late, somewhat due to both teams hitting hard times after the dynasty years in the early 90's.  Even so, expect craziness tonight.