It’s fair to say we expected more from the Dallas Cowboys wide receivers in their week one loss to the New York Giants. The Cowboys big three wideouts combined for 94 yards and a touchdown against a Giants secondary that was supposed to be one of the biggest weaknesses on their roster to start the season.
Whether it was the week one jitters or a sign of what’s to come is still to be determined, but after multiple drops and zero explosive plays in week one, they have a prime matchup against Washington
to bounce back. The Washington secondary struggled mightily in week one against the Philadelphia passing game.
Cornerback Mike Sainristil was heavily targeted and gave up multiple big plays throughout the game. After week one, Sainristil ranks dead last (72/72) in Pro Football Focus cornerback grades. Opposite of Sainristil, Amik Robertson was much better, but the Cowboys receivers should be able to take advantage of Robertson’s lack of size on the boundary (5’8” 183-lbs). Both Robertson and Sainristil are listed under 6-foot, giving George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb, and Ryan Flournoy a clear advantage on the boundary.
While we should expect the Cowboys wide receivers to improve on their week one performance, a lot of attention needs to be put on the lack of explosive plays from the Cowboys offense. Against the Giants, the Cowboys had only one explosive play on offense (one Javonte Williams run), which ranked dead last in the NFL from week one. In week one, the Philadelphia Eagles had six explosive plays against the Washington defense (three runs and three receptions), hinting towards the Cowboys ability to get back on track in their home opener.
With the weapons the Cowboys possess on offense, the Cowboys should easily fit into the top ten rankings of explosive play rate in the NFL, but the slow start and lack of possessions killed any momentum the offense could build up against the Giants defense.
Along with the massive advantage the Cowboys have at wide receiver over the Commanders cornerbacks, the Cowboys should be able to tick up their explosive play-rate due to the Commanders not having the pass rushing unit that the Giants had last week. Despite some nice additions to the defensive line this offseason, the Commanders pass rush unit of K’Lavon Chaisson, Odafe Oweh, and Joshua Josephs struggled to generate consistent pressure on Jalen Hurts, allowing them to take some shots down the field quite often.
The Cowboys passing game dominates this matchup on paper and if there’s ever a week for a massive game from the Cowboys receivers, this one feels like it’s it.
