Arguably the fiercest rivalry in the history of the NFL reconvenes tonight in the nation's capital, as the Dallas Cowboys meet the Washington Redskins in a matchup of teams that are headed in two very different directions. Last weekend, the Cowboys exercised some major demons as they physically dominated the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints in the Superdome scoring a major victory in the month of December.
Going into that game the Cowboys were in the midst of their annual December swoon, losing close back-to-back games to the Giants and Chargers. In danger of falling out of the playoff picture, Dallas put together what was their finest performance of the season. With that win, Dallas is currently occupying one of the two remaining Wild Card spots. Meanwhile the Washington redskins are on the opposite end of the fortune spectrum, in the midst of an utterly disappointing season that recently saw them get blasted by the Giants at home on Monday Night Football.
It was the worst home loss in the history of the franchise, as new General Manager Bruce Allen watched his new team look as lifeless as possible. Washington's season is over, but they do have the opportunity to play the role of spoiler to their hated foes. Dallas needs the game too, so expect a tough game, as was evidenced by their previous meeting this season where the Cowboys came back to win a grueling 6-3 affair.
What the Dallas Cowboys achieved last weekend against the Saints was nothing short of a miracle. They were chastised all week about their habit of fading down the stretch of season, particularly in the month of December, and got was pretty much their most significant victory of the season. The Cowboys manhandled the Saints in a 24-17 win that was only close in the fourth quarter. Now one could argue that all that win did was keep them in the running for a Wild Card spot, but the significance of what that win meant to them on a psychological level was monumental. It injected confidence into this group, which last time we checked, is a very talented one.
Particularly quarterback Tony Romo, who has quite simply played his ass off over the last three games, if not the season as a whole. In 2009, Romo has thrown for 3,886 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions, while driving the leagues third most prolific offense, producing an average of 394.5 yards per game. The pair of Marion Barber and Felix Jones has been very productive thus far, and was on center stage against in New Orleans, as the combined for 120 yards and two scores on the ground. The offensive line remains one of the most massive in the league, and is capable of creating gaping holes for either back to explode through. In the receiving game receiver Miles Austin and tight end Jason Witten have been the top targets, as the former leads the team with 1,138 yards while the latter has posted a team-best 82 catches.
Defensively, Dallas got a huge lift from their star pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, who made life hell for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees all night, despite spraining his neck the previous week. Ware has eleven sacks on the season, and got two of them against New Orleans, while his opposite number Anthony Spencer added a pair as well. Wade Phillips' crew held a Saints' offense that has been a machine all year to season lows of 17 points and 336 yards. It should be noted that the majority of those yards came in the fourth quarter when they were already down 24-3. Dallas' run defense ranks sixth overall, as they are holding teams to a paltry 97.7 yards per game. Washington will try to run the ball tonight to keep that pass-rush off quarterback Jason Campbell, but Dallas has proved that they can take it away from just about any team, making their opposition one dimensional, which will be the gameplan tonight.
In the midst of a very forgettable season that has seen the Washington Redskins amass only four wins, the loss to the New York Giants last week on Monday Night Football must have felt like rock bottom. At least that is what it looked like. Washington appeared uninspired throughout the contest, as the Giants quickly jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the half. At one point the 'skins had only accounted for three plays over halfway through the second quarter, as the Giants went on to a 45-12 beatdown. Nevertheless, what exactly do the Redskins have to play for? Their head coach has been a lame duck since the third week of the season, their quarterback has struggled to play behind a decimated offensive line, while productive players like Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley have been out for over half of the campaign.
The playoffs haven't been a possibility as another lost season is almost over, with a myriad of changes surely on the horizon. However, hey, they still have a rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, and they still get to play the role of spoiler that could just be enough to get these guys up for a Sunday, for a change. As we said earlier, the aforementioned Campbell has struggled, throwing for 3,138 yards, 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, but has had had to play without the benefit of a cohesive offensive line, which has started ten different player this season, two of which are undrafted rookies. Help in the backfield has been hard to come by, as head coach Jim Zorn is on his third starting tailback, while the receiving corps has once again underachieved (like that is a surprise.).
The defense on the hand, has been one of the best in the NFL, despite being on the field far too often. Defensive ends Andre Carter and rookie Brian Orakpo have been tenacious, each registering eleven sacks, while massive nose tackle Albert Haynesworth has performed very well, despite playing through a nagging ankle injury. The problem here is that this unit simply hasn't taken the ball away, forcing just 15 turnovers thus far, which is tied for last in the league. For as much heat as they put on the quarterback they don't make many plays on the back end. In order to successfully spoil the playoff push of their nemesis they have to find a way to make plays on defense, because lord knows they haven't been able to do it on the other side of the ball.
Joe Martin is the President and Owner of Oracle Sports Handicapping. He has been in the sports handicappers business for over 19 years. With a staff of sports handicappers on board sports picks are weighed by statistical, mathematical and human choice. Emotions are never a factor here at Oracle Sports and should never be part of a sports handicappers decisions. Joe Martin and the staff of Oracle Sports Handicapping can be reached at 1-866-553-1901 or http://www.oraclesports.net.
