5 Storylines for Monday Night Football: Cowboys vs. Redskins

While expectations for the Redskins have changed over the last two weeks, the Cowboys continue their rollercoaster September with a home opener against the Redskins on Monday Night Football this week. Here are five storylines heading into this Monday's showdown between NFC East teams.

1. DeAngelo Hall: Compliments of Terrell Owens, the Cowboys and DeAngelo Hall already have some history together. In December 2006, TO spat in Hall’s face during a trash-talking session. Regardless of those shenanigans, Hall re-stirred the pot this week by proclaiming that he was going to specifically target Romo’s ribs. Hey DeAngelo, you have one career sack—.5 in 2004 and another .5 in 2008—neither of which has been during your Redskins tenure. Keep that in mind before you start talking trash.

2. Santana Moss: The last time the Cowboys and Redskins played on Monday Night Football, Santana Moss caught two huge touchdowns in the fourth quarter to stun the Dallas faithful and mar the Triplets induction into the Ring of Honor. Santana Moss has always been a Cowboy killer, expect no difference during this matchup.

3. Injuries: Tony Romo, Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Felix Jones, Jason Witten. The five best offensive players are injured for the Cowboys going into this game. It is fully expected that Romo will play with a fractured rib now that his pneumothorax is basically healed. The other four are entirely questionable, and this is not referring to the flip-flopping nature of injury reports.

Nobody truly knows what the prognosis is on Miles and Dez. Likely, Miles is out 3-4 weeks while Dez will see some action this Monday night. There is no reason for Felix to play this game because Choice (as usual) and Murray did enough against the 49ers to carry the load.

And finally, although the emphasis has been on Romo all week with his fractured rib, the focus should also be on Jason Witten’s bruised ribs. Ribs are peculiar – they simply reduce mobility and are very prone to re-injury. Regardless of the quarterback taking the snaps, Jason Witten is the best receiver and blocker the Cowboys have – it is vital that he is able to play this game because he can block Fletcher and/or Orakpo when needed, but can also keep the defense honest with his go-to curl or slant routes.

4. Dallas Secondary: Opposing teams are having a field day with the rotating carousel otherwise known as the Cowboys' secondary. Will the addition of Terence Newman reverse those fortunes? Can Elam and Sensabaugh hold their own against the speedy Redskins receivers? Will Santana Moss continue to demolish the Cowboys (ala 2005 Monday Night Football)? Regardless, the front seven with Ware, Ratliff and the recent emergence of Lee has allowed the secondary to be shakier than desired. Expect the Redskins to capitalize.

5. Restoration of an old rivalry: Tony Romo has never played the Redskins while his Cowboys have had a small number of wins going into the game. On Monday, the Redskins bring their 2-0 record to a 1-1 Dallas team that has had a rollercoaster season of late. In the past few years, this game was mostly about old fashioned rivalry that really did not have any late season implications.

If anything, the Redskins have taken the role of spoiler and have occasionally beaten other NFC East teams in November or December. This game has a different feel — the Redskins are trying to become legitimate contenders in the NFC East and another early season divisional game victory would go a long way for them. That being said, the Cowboys are a mentally and physically resilient bunch ready for any opponent. This game might restart a classic rivalry between two storied franchises.

Prediction: The Dallas Cowboys finally win a home opener at their new stadium with a close win against the Redskins, 28-24. Romo throws three TDs and the defense stymies the Redskins' passing attack.