Back in June and early July, HH veteran writer Bill-in-Bangkok, offered a week-by-week preview via the 5 O’Clock Club of the Washington Commanders regular season schedule for 2026. As we roll into the actual games during the regular season, Hogs Haven will revisit each of these previews with John Portis adding additional thoughts and updates as we go inside the matchup to get you ready for every opponent the Commanders face in 2026.
From John Portis:
The Washington Commanders are coming off a tough 22-24 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday that was a golden opportunity to start a tough early schedule well. Unfortunately, head coach Dan Quinn and his team came up just short. The Commanders now head to Arlington, Texas, trying to avoid going 0-2 in the NFC East (and overall) to start the season. The Cowboys will look to do the same after a loss to John Harbaugh’s Giants, who got out to an early lead and never gave it back on the way to a 28-20 victory over Dallas Sunday night. The matchup between the NFC East rivals features two rookie coordinators on opposite sides of the ball in David Blough and Christian Parker, both of whom are looking to get things on track after a rough outing in Week 1.
The Commanders’ offense looked out-of-sync and ineffective for the first three quarters versus a tough Eagles defense that was able to generate pressure with only a four-man rush while bracketing Washington’s wide receivers downfield. Blough finally switched to an up-tempo, shotgun-style approach late in the game, and Jayden Daniels will look to build off his 9-of-11, 100-yard, two-touchdown fourth-quarter performance in Sunday afternoon’s game.
Dallas would appear to offer the perfect opportunity to do so.
The Cowboys’ defensive overhaul was a complete disaster in Parker’s debut, which ranked 571 among 574 total defensive performances since Week 1 of 2025 based on EPA/drive and, at one point, the Giants successfully ran the same play four times in a row.
Parker’s defense showed more finesse than physicality, and New York’s offense dominated the Cowboys D to the tune of 394 yards of total offense, converting 9-of-11 third downs, which let the Giants maintain a chokehold on time of possession. Dallas failed to get much pressure on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart and, unlike the Philadelphia Eagles, only generated two pressures on four-man rushes during the evening.
Blough should have plenty of opportunities to get his offense on the right track, as the Cowboys’ defense also lost safety Malik Hooker and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to injuries this week.
Conversely, Washington’s defense looked vastly improved under Daronte Jones’ direction, but failed to limit the Philadelphia’s explosive playmaking ability, giving up 171 of the Eagles’ 318 total yards on just four plays. The secondary in particular struggled. Dallas’ two big wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb will be going against last week’s starters, Amik Robertson and Mike Sainristil, making this a matchup to watch.
As Bill noted in June, Brian Schottenheimer’s 2025 offense was one of the most prolific in the NFL, finishing second in the league in both total yards (6,663) and passing yards, but Dallas’ offense got off to a slow start in Week 1. Entering his 11th season, Dak Prescott completed 22 of 34 attempts for just 175 yards. The Cowboys, who had the fewest three-and-outs in 2025, opened Sunday with a three-and-out and Dallas failed to generate a play of more than 17 yards all game, with both George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb having opportunities go through their hands. Running back Javonte Williams also had a poor game, rushing for 41 yards on 12 attempts and drawing a momentum-stealing taunting penalty on his rushing touchdown. If Jones can dial up the pressure early, the Commanders’ defense should be able to set the tone versus the Cowboys.
One of the bright spots for Dallas last week was first-round selection Caleb Downs. The safety was popularly mocked to the Commanders before the draft and played 61 total defensive snaps, with eight total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and just two receptions allowed for seven yards. Washington’s offense will need to the keep their heads on swivels to avoid a play like this one happening to Jayden Daniels.
Downs recorded the fastest sack across all of Week 1, taking down Dart in 2.49 seconds.
Betting Lines
- Point Spread: Dallas -3.5
- Game Total (Over/Under): 50.5 points
Bill-in-Bangkok’s original preview published June 24th:
Week 2 Preview: Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys
Date: September 20, 2026, 4:25 p.m. ET
Location: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
(The two teams close the season when they play again at Northwest Stadium in Landover in Week 18)
The Dallas Cowboys host the Washington Commanders in Week 2, on September 20, 2026, bringing a fierce and longstanding NFC East rivalry back to AT&T Stadium. Dallas enters the divisional game as a preseason 4.5-point home favorite, but both teams look different than they did last season due to changes in personnel and coaching staff.
The All-Time Series Numbers
Dallas holds a clear lead in the historic series between the two franchises. Entering this game, the Cowboys have an 81-49-2 all-time record against Washington. Recent history also favors Dallas, as the Cowboys have won 12 of the last 16 matchups.
Washington has historically struggled when traveling to Texas. The Commanders are 17-43-2 all-time on the road against the Cowboys, though four of those Washington wins have come since 2014.
Dallas Coaching Changes
The Cowboys overhauled their defensive coaching staff during the offseason. After finishing with the worst defense in 2025 as measured by points surrendered, team owner Jerry Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer replaced the previous defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, with a new hire from another division rival.
Christian Parker is the new defensive play-caller. He previously worked as the passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. A former defensive backs coach under Fangio in Denver (2021) and passing game coordinator in Philadelphia (2024–2025), Parker will likely use foundational Fangio concepts to build his modern defensive schemes that rely on pre-snap 2-high safety alignments to obscure coverage intentions and limit big plays.
Similar to Fangio, Parker’s defense is expected to focus on manipulating offenses by shifting coverages after the snap to confuse quarterbacks. He will probably utilize lighter boxes against the run in favor of coverage strength in the secondary, deploying both 3-4 and 4-2-5 alignments with versatile players, and favor rush efficiency (getting to the quarterback with a standard 4-man rush) rather than relying on heavy, exotic blitz packages.
His background as a defensive backs coach should heavily influence his packages, expecting cornerbacks and safeties to take on dynamic responsibilities on third downs. Parker is also expected to mix up his front structures and introduce five-man fronts to create pressure and confuse blocking
Offensively, Klayton Adams returns to serve as the offensive coordinator under head coach Brian Schottenheimer. The Cowboys kept their offensive coaching staff largely intact, making only a couple of minor tweaks to assistant roles, unlike their complete overhaul on the defensive side of the ball.
The 2025 Dallas Cowboys offense was one of the most prolific in the NFL, finishing second in the league in both total yards (6,663) and passing yards. Despite this offensive success, the team finished with a 7-9-1 record because of its historically poor defensive play.
Key statistical offensive rankings
- Total Offense: Finished 2nd in the NFL with 391.9 average yards per game.
- Passing Attack: Ranked 2nd in passing yards (4,527).
- Scoring: Scored 471 total points, good for 7th in the league (27.7 points per game)
- Rushing: Tallied 2,136 rushing yards, ranking 9th overall
Roster Moves: Trades, Free Agency, and the Draft
The Cowboys front office added several players through multiple avenues during the 2026 offseason.
Trades and Free Agency
Dallas traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers to acquire edge rusher Rashan Gary. He will line up on one side, with 2025 second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku lined up on the other side. The Cowboys traded away Osa Odigizuwa to the 49ers in March on the same day that they sent Solomon Thomas to the Titans.
In free agency, the Cowboys signed safety Jalen Thompson to a 3-year contract. The team also added safety P.J. Locke on a one-year deal. Wide receiver George Pickens was kept in-house with the franchise tag, while RB Javonte Williams and edge rusher Sam Williams were signed to normal extensions.
The 2026 NFL Draft
Round 1, No. 11: Caleb Downs (Safety, Ohio State) – An instinctive defensive back expected to play significant rookie snaps as a physical nickel/slot defender. Dallas traded two 5th-round picks to trade up one spot to draft him.
Round 1, No. 23: Malachi Lawrence (Edge Rusher, UCF) – A speed pass rusher with strong get-off quickness who will look to earn a role outside of just situational downs.
Round 3, No. 92: Jaishawn Barham (Linebacker, Michigan) – A versatile defender who has experience both off-ball and rushing the passer; he will start at inside linebacker.
Round 4, No. 112: Drew Shelton (Offensive Tackle, Penn State) – A tackle who made 34 starts on the left side in college, brought in for depth and competition.
Round 4, No. 114: Devin Moore (Cornerback, Florida) – A tall cornerback (6-3, 198 lbs) with zero penalties over his last two college seasons, adding size to the secondary rotation.
Round 4, No. 137: LT Overton (Edge Rusher, Alabama) – A heavy edge player (274 lbs) with inside/outside versatility who can help set the edge against the run.
Round 7, No. 218: Anthony Smith (Wide Receiver, East Carolina) – A deep-threat receiver with 4.40 speed who will compete for a roster spot via special teams.
