FRISCO, Texas — The matchup will mark the 10th time the Cowboys and Washington have faced one another on the holiday. The tradition continues with Dallas holding a 31-20-1 record on Thanksgiving.
A win for the Cowboys would put them in first place of the NFC East with the Eagles on a bye. A victory would provide the team a division-best four wins.
The Cowboys have bitter memories from the last time they squared off in week seven. Andy Dalton suffered a concussion in the third quarter after a dirty helmet-to-helmet hit by Jon Bostic. Dallas was outscored 25-3 and Amari Cooper was the only receiver to catch a pass. Washington’s running back Antonio Gibson finished with 128 rushing yards and Dallas’ secondary had no answers for receiver Terry McLaurin, who tallied a 12.9-yard average after the catch. Both McLaurin (ankle) and Gibson (ankle) were listed as not practicing on Monday, indicating that had the organization been able to practice, they would not have taken the field. Both of the team’s key offensive weapons will have a short window this week to heal from injuries.
Dallas has had more continuity in recent weeks and put together the most complete performance this season against the Vikings in week 11, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Once again, the Cowboys face the talented Washington front consisting of Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Chase Young, and company. The Football Team’s defense has prevented a first down on 40-of-113 opponent drives in 2020, the fourth-best three-and-out percentage in the NFL (35.4%), largely due to the pass pressure by the squad’s front four. Kerrigan (5.5) and Sweat (6.0) lead the unit in sacks and Washington has the second-best sack-per-pass percentage in the league (10.39%) trailing Pittsburgh. Back in October, their front consistently collapsed the pocket and harassed Andy Dalton and Ben DiNucci, totaling six sacks against the pair including 2.0 by Sweat.
The Cowboys’ offensive line improved in week 11 against Minnesota with Zack Martin moving to right tackle replacing Terence Steele, and Connor McGovern coming in at right guard. Ezekiel Elliott had his first 100-yard game of the season and Dalton was only pressured four times in the ballgame, including none allowed by Martin, McGovern, or center Joe Looney per PFF. Granted Minnesota’s D-Line is not nearly as talented as Washington’s and the Cowboys’ O-Line faces a unique challenge on Thanksgiving. They will have to win the battle at the line of scrimmage to provide Dalton enough time to make throws/go through reads, while staying on defenders with efficient run blocking to open up holes for Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.
Dallas’ defense will also face a tougher challenge with Alex Smith under center. Making one of the most incredible comeback stories in NFL history following the gruesome leg injury, he has been an influential inspiration to many people around the world that watched in awe as he led Washington in his first win since the injury, that kept him off the field for two years. Washington has had somewhat of a revolving door at quarterback as well with Dwayne Haskins starting out the season and then the staff passing the positional duties to Kyle Allen, who played the Cowboys in week seven. Smith has started back-to-back games the last two weeks and their offense will likely dial up some new wrinkles for the Cowboys on Thursday.
