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| The Cowboys/Redskins rivalry began before Dallas even got the expansion team and is one of the best in the NFL. Photo credit to Dallas Observer Blogs. |
The Redskins’ playoff hopes hang in the balance, but not as
much as the Dallas Cowboys, at least not currently – by game time, they may be
on equal ground.
The Cowboys will win the NFC East with a victory. A loss knocks
them out of the playoffs.
Likewise, the NFC East goes to Washington with a win, but
they will need Minnesota and Chicago to both lose their matchups in order to
get in with a loss to Dallas.
This is the first time Washington and Dallas will meet for a
Week 17 matchup in which the winner clinches the division title, but they are
no strangers to meeting in intense circumstances.
The Redskins/Cowboys rivalry is one of the most intense in
all of sports. Some even go so far as to say it is the most intense in the NFL. They have met twice in the NFC
Championship Game, and the Redskins won both meetings, going on to lose to the
’72 Dolphins and beat the ’82 Dolphins in those Super Bowl appearances.
NFL.com counted down the Top 10 games in their rivalry. Both
NFC Championship meetings made the list, and you can see the other eight games
here.
But those games are history. All that matters now is
tomorrow’s game and the matchups within it.
Washington’s secondary has overachieved the past few weeks,
but in the Thanksgiving matchup, Dez Bryant torched the Redskins with 8 catches
for 145 yards and two scores. His thumb isn’t 100% but I expect him to be a
major part of Dallas’ game plan Sunday.
On the Cowboys’ side, their defense has had to patch up a
lot of holes with half of their defensive starters missing the past several
games. So far they’ve done a good job of doing so, and their performance
against New Orleans, up until the final few minutes, is why I give them a
chance to shut down a Washington passing attack in which RG3 may or may not be
at full strength.
The problem is that Washington also has an excellent run
game – tops in the league, or near the top at least. If RG3 is healthy, that
adds a lot to it, but Alfred Morris seemed to do all right for himself last
week despite Philadelphia’s linebackers not having to worry about which rookie
would be carrying the ball on any given play.
Washington’s offensive line has been one of the best in the
NFL, for the first time in decades. Usually, that would not be enough for me to
give them the edge over Dallas’ defensive line, mostly because of DeMarcus Ware.
But Ware has been battling injury all season. He has still put up impressive
numbers, but he has not been quite as intimidating a force as in past seasons.
I give Washington the edge in this one, but I expect it to
go down the wire, which is the way it should be for a game like this between
these two teams. This one ought to have Redskins and Cowboys fan alike on the
edge of their seats until the clock reads 0:00. Anything less would be a
disappointment.
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