Week 1 didn’t go according to plan for the Dallas Cowboys. A 28-20 defeat to the New York Giants leaves Dallas looking for its first win of the season, but there may not be many opponents Brian Schottenheimer’s team would rather see coming through the doors of AT&T Stadium than the Washington Commanders.
Washington is also 0-1 after losing 24-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles, meaning Sunday’s home opener already carries some extra importance. One NFC East team will leave the game 0-2.
We look at the reasons
to be positive for this week’s game.
The first reason to be positive about this game is Dak Prescott has owned Washington (we concede he also owned the Giants previously). Prescott has faced the Commanders 15 times in his career and has a remarkable 13-2 record. In those games he has thrown for 3,716 yards, 32 touchdowns against only five interceptions, with a 107.4 passer rating. That is already impressive, but his record against Washington when the game is played in Dallas is even better. Prescott is a perfect 7-0 at home against Washington.
Across those seven games he has completed 68% of his passes, thrown 20 touchdowns without a single interception, and produced a 126.4 passer rating.
Washington visited AT&T Stadium last October and Dallas hammered the Commanders 44-22. Prescott completed 21 of 30 passes for 264 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, finishing with a 130.4 passer rating. Dallas produced 409 yards of offense and scored on three of its four trips inside the red zone.
And it wasn’t just Prescott who enjoyed that matchup. Javonte Williams rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, averaging a whopping 6.1 yards per carry. CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, while George Pickens added 82 receiving yards.
Then there was Jake Ferguson. Ferguson caught all seven passes thrown his way and scored two touchdowns. Washington simply couldn’t stop all of Dallas’ weapons at the same time. That becomes especially interesting after what happened to Washington against Philadelphia on Sunday as tight ends seem to be the Commanders kryptonite.
Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert caught four passes for a team leading 77 yards and scored two touchdowns against the Commanders. One of those went for 43 yards. Jalen Hurts finished the game with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Ferguson therefore enters this game knowing both that he has already hurt Washington around the goal line and that Philadelphia just found success attacking the same defense with its tight end.
There are also positives Dallas can take from the Giants loss despite the final score. The biggest one came after halftime. Dallas only had two offensive possessions in the entire second half because New York controlled the clock for so long. The Cowboys scored a touchdown on both of them.
One was a 12-play, 75-yard drive finished by a Williams touchdown run. The next time Dallas got the football, Prescott quickly drove the offense down the field again and found Williams for a 17-yard touchdown reception. In other words, Dallas’ offense finished the game by scoring touchdowns every time it touched the ball in the second half.
Williams also finished Week 1 with two total touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. CeeDee Lamb scored Dallas’ other touchdown, while Prescott threw two touchdown passes.
The final offensive numbers were disappointing because Dallas simply didn’t have the football enough, but there were signs late in the game that the unit was beginning to find a rhythm. If that continues into the home opener, Washington could have a difficult afternoon.
There were also flashes from the Cowboys’ rebuilt defense that deserve attention.
Rookie safety Caleb Downs recorded his first NFL sack, blasting Jaxson Dart and forcing a fumble that New York recovered. Quinnen Williams then created Dallas’ first takeaway of the season when he forced another fumble that Shavon Revel recovered. Those individual plays matter this week because Washington’s offensive line is already missing its most accomplished blocker.
Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil is on injured reserve after suffering a torn triceps. Washington has moved Brandon Coleman back outside to replace him. Defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton is also on injured reserve, as is cornerback Trey Amos. Tunsil’s absence in particular gives Dallas’ defensive front an opportunity.
The Cowboys didn’t produce consistent enough pressure against New York, but Quinnen Williams showed that he can wreck a play, Downs showed Christian Parker is willing to send pressure from the secondary, and Dallas now gets to attack a Washington offensive line without its star left tackle.
Jayden Daniels also didn’t exactly explode out of the blocks in Week 1. Against Philadelphia, Daniels completed only 18 of 34 passes, a completion rate of 52%, for just 164 passing yards. He did throw two touchdowns without an interception, but much of Washington’s passing production arrived during its late comeback attempt. Dallas has also shown before that it can make Daniels uncomfortable.
The Cowboys don’t need their rebuilt defense to suddenly become perfect. They simply need more of those disruptive plays and, most importantly, need to get off the field so Prescott and the offense have more opportunities.
Washington also came out of Week 1 with some new injury concerns.
Tight end Chig Okonkwo left the Philadelphia game with a hamstring injury, while linebacker Frankie Luvu and special teams standout Tyler Owens also suffered injuries. Their availability for Dallas will become clearer later this week.
Luvu’s situation is particularly worth monitoring. He is one of Washington’s most important defensive players and part of a pass rush that Dallas will need to account for with Tyler Smith still on injured reserve.
The final reason to be positive is that Dallas had to open its season on the road in a primetime divisional game. Now the Cowboys return to AT&T Stadium for their home opener, against an opponent Prescott has never lost to at home.
Washington, meanwhile, has to play its second consecutive divisional road game after beginning the season in Philadelphia. The Commanders go from Lincoln Financial Field straight into another difficult NFC East environment while Dallas gets its first home game of the year. That’s an extremely tough condition for the Commanders to be in.
