Week 11 NFL Picks: Predicting Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins
Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys meet the rival Washington Redskins for the second time this season. Since Romo, Dan Bailey and the Cowboys crept up and beat the Redskins in Week 3 18-16 to hand the Redskins their first loss of the season, the Cowboys and Redskins have gone in different directions.
The Cowboys have split their six games since then. While Dallas has struggled against winning teams, they've gone 3-1 against teams with losing records.
On Sunday, the Cowboys earned back-to-back wins for the second time this season—and the first time since beating the Redskins. They played terrific in almost every facet against the Buffalo Bills. Romo had three touchdown passes by the second quarter and DeMarco Murray ran for 135 yards and a score. Feeling healthy again, Mat McBriar boomed a 52-yard punt inside the Bills' 20-yard line.
Meanwhile, the only thing the Redskins have managed to hang onto is a prayer. Since winning their first two games, the Redskins have lost six of their last seven, including their last five. John Beck replaced Rex Grossman as quarterback a few weeks ago, but that didn't changed their fortunes.
After three straight losses with Beck starting, Grossman is back at the helm. Perhaps, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan fitted Grossman, who is fourth in the NFL with 11 interceptions, with a laser guide for his throwing arm.
Graham Gano is kicking like the same old former UFL kicker that he is. Gano has only hit 71 percent of his kicks this season.
One can safely say that he's no Dan Bailey.
Anyway, the Cowboys can sweep the season series between the two teams by answering the following questions.
Can the meager rushing attack of the Redskins allow the Cowboys run defense to regain form? Will Romo be nearly as accurate as his 23-of-26 day against the Bills? Which Cowboys defensive player will grab the low-hanging fruit that is the Grossman pass for an interception? Can Dan Bailey continue his streak? Will the road struggles of the Cowboys (1-3 on the road) change against the Redskins? How well will DeMarcus Ware do rushing Grossman?
Tony Romo
1 of 925-of-32, 322 yards, 3 TD, 1 rush, 3 yards
Romo should have an easy time passing once again. Romo will find easy passing lanes and make strong intermediate and deep throws. The deep throws will come early.
If the game becomes a blowout, he'll shorten up and focus on check-downs as he did against the Bills.
The Redskins only have seven interceptions this season, and no one has more than two. Thus, Romo may not have to worry much about throwing a pick.
However, one wouldn't want to hold him to that.
DeMarco Murray
2 of 918 rushes, 111 yards, TD, 4 receptions, 25 yards
Murray will see a fair amount of touches again. Even though Felix Jones has returned from an ankle injury, Murray will remain the primary running back.
Talking to KRLD-FM, Jerry Jones said, "One thing that comes to mind is that Murray looks like the more carries he gets, the better he gets."
If Jones wants to see Murray get the bulk of the carries, then Murray will have the call most of the time. That's how Jones runs the team.
Murray will have his best stuff against the Redskins, which has the 18th-ranked run defense. Murray will break a couple of big runs. Also, he'll push the outside to reach some crucial first downs.
He may reach 20 carries for the fourth time in five games, but that might depend on how close the game is.
Dez Bryant
3 of 95 receptions, 80 yards, TD
Bryant is back in business. Against the Bills, he had six catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. It was his first five-reception game of the season.
Look for him to reach five catches again. Bryant will have Romo's attention a fair amount of the time. He'll make good catches and break for yards after the catch. At least once, Bryant will break into the end zone.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Laurent Robinson
4 of 92 receptions, 54 yards, TD
Laurent Robinson has been in Romo's sights a fair amount in the last few weeks. In each of the last three games, Robinson caught a touchdown pass. Against the Bills, Robinson hauled in two of Romo's three touchdown passes.
Now, Robinson's all the rage in fantasy football.
He shouldn't disappoint now that he's on the radar. Romo will target Robinson a few times. He'll hit Robinson on a short pass. Later, he'll take aim at Robinson on deep balls. One will fly ahead of him, and Robinson will snatch the football and bring it into the end zone.
Jason Witten
5 of 95 receptions, 46 yards
While Bryant and Miles Austin have struggled with injuries, Witten has been a banner of consistency. Witten continued his methodical march against the Bills, catching five passes.
He'll continue to be a popular target for Romo, who will hit him on the hot reads. Witten will break open up the seam, and Romo will find the lane in which to throw to him.
DeMarcus Ware
6 of 93 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass deflection
The Redskins' offensive line hasn't protected Beck well. In the last four games, Beck was sacked 15 times. That's once every 10 drop backs.
While Grossman is better than Beck at getting out of the pocket, the offensive line won't help him much.
Ware will have a beautiful day against the Redskins. He'll break through easily up the edge and bring Grossman down a couple of times. He'll also force Grossman to lose the ball.
Frank Walker
7 of 91 INT, 1 pass deflection
Frank Walker loomed monstrously against the Bills. He jumped routes to knock down a couple of passes and grabbed an interception.
Walker will be on the prowl again on Sunday. He'll have his eyes on Grossman's passes and will bat a ball down at least once. Grossman will have a play where he underthrows a receiver and Walker pounces on it.
Dan Bailey
8 of 92/2 FG, 4/4 XP
The Redskins certainly don't want to think about Dan Bailey. In the Week 3 meeting, Bailey punched in six field goals, scoring all 18 Cowboys points. That includes the game-winning three-pointer.
This game won't call Bailey for much labor. Bailey won't have to bail Romo and the offense out every time on Sunday like he did in Week 3. He'll step in twice to complete short drives with his leg. However, it won't be the intense work he saw in late September.
Prediction
9 of 9Prediction: Cowboys 34, Redskins 16
The Cowboys will succeed to claim a third straight win. Romo will have another beautiful game and Murray will continue his torrid run. Bailey will continue to be the best rookie kicker since Mason Crosby, who led the NFL in kicking points with 141 in 2007.
A win would give the Cowboys their sixth win in the last seven meetings with their bitter rivals.
Defensively, the game won't be too bad for the Cowboys. Grossman will manage to rattle off a fair amount of yards, but he'll also squirt a couple of turnovers.
Defending the run won't be hard since Ryan Torain averages less than four yards per carry. He won't reach that mark against the Cowboys—especially with three offensive lineman (Jammal Brown, Maurice Hurt and Sean Locklear) injured.
The win would at least keep the Cowboys on pace in the wild-card race. Furthermore, it keeps Cowboys fans assured that their team can keep its balance for a few weeks at a time.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
