Dallas Week: Cowboys, Indians and Playoff Hopes

A Piece by Guest Writer, Kevin Cash (@theDeacon_KC)

With today being Thanksgiving , there will be a lot of throwing down and stuffing of faces and turkeys, Redskins fans hoping their team can throw down on and stuff the Cowboys as well and keep playoff hopes alive.

The Thanksgiving Day match-up was much anticipated at the beginning of the season and is thought to be a game that would have playoff implications as both teams got off to a hot start. Since both team’s hot start they have sizzled on their way to 5 losses (Dallas Cowboys) and 6 losses (Washington Redskins). However, despite the record both teams are still alive in the NFC East as the New York Giants have 4 losses which can bode well for the winner of this rivalry match-up. But this year the game doesn’t have the same build up as previous years and at the end of the game today, someone’s playoff hopes will be gone. All I have to say is let the games begin!

Robert Griffin III said it best this week in his tweet simply saying “Back in Texas on a mission,” and if the Redskins want to continue to be in the playoff hunt, the rest of the team must adopt the same mindset. They always say that when these two teams play, records and stats go out the window. Both teams would like to forget their mediocre records at this point and there is one statistical number that could really help the Redskins, that number is 0. That 0 represents the amount of times the Dallas Cowboys have faced off against RG3 and the new look Redskins offense that sports a 25-point per game average, a mark the team only attained 5 times in 16 games last year. That, plus the Redskins’ ever-changing offense this year, gives the Dallas Cowboys much to game-plan against in a shortened week. Advantage Redskins. Another advantage the Redskins have due to the short week is the injuries the Cowboys are dealing with. DeMarco Murray remains doubtful and newly added to the injury report is Cowboys’ offensive lineman, Tyron Smith. This injury could deliver a huge blow to the Cowboys whose offensive line, who has struggled to protect Romo as of late. Dallas leads in the talent battle at every position except quarterback, so the Redskins have the odds stacked against them. But with RG3 at the helms the team could pull off the upset in Jerry’s World.

In previous years when it comes to the Redskins-Cowboys match-up, the amount of trash talk on social network sites are hectic with the term Deadskins being used freely and Cowboys fans often chalking the game up as a win for their team even before the game is played. I spoke with a few close friends this week, who are die-hard Cowboys fans, one being a season ticket holder and arguably one of the true Cowboys fans I have respect for and another who just loves his team and knows the game, whom I respect as well. I’m not receiving the text that I normally would get from them in regards to the game. While both think their team will prevail, it’s more of a wait and see approach. Being cautious on both sides of this battle might be the safest and smartest move, well played Eric and Jarobi.

I decided to do something new while composing this article, so I reached out to them to see what their thoughts were concerning the game, what they predict the outcome to be and their biggest fear facing the Redskins. While both unanimously said the biggest fear would be RG3 having his official coming out party to the nation, while Eric added that Griffin could top 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. The only difference between the two ‘Boys fans was the point spread. Eric has the Cowboys topping the Redskins by 3 in a 23-20 final, while Jarobi is feeling a little more confident and predicting his team would win by 10 to the tune of 24-14. Odds in Vegas have the Cowboys as 6-point favorite and that only suggests just how tough it has been to gauge this game. I agree with them both on RG3 going off on their defense but in order for the Redskins to win, this the defense will have to continue what it did against Philly this past Sunday. Unfortunately a big part of the defense that helped for sunday’s win is now out for the season. Safety Brandon Merriweather had a big impact in his Skins debut, picking the ball of once to go along with his seven tackles. Merriweather has been plagued with injuries this season after starting off the season with a knee injury, being involved in a pregame collision with WR Aldrick Robinson before the Tampa Bay game, and then tearing his ACL in the fourth quarter sunday.

So for all you thanksgiving lunch types, enjoy your meal before the big game. For all the thanksgiving dinner types, hopefully your dinner is filled with glee after a Skin’s win, HTTR!

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Published:
11.22.12 / 12pm
Category:
DMV Sports, NFL, Washington Redskins
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