All eyes will be on Arlington, Texas and AT&T Stadium on Monday night when the NFL best 6-1 Dallas Cowboys take on their historic rival, the Washington Redskins. Washington comes into this game at 2-5, but with a new starting quarterback in Colt McCoy. McCoy took over last week against Tennessee and helped the Skins to a 19-17 win over the Titans, going 11 for 12 for 128 yards and a touchdown including the game winning drive in the fourth quarter. Let’s take a look at what it’s going to take for each team to come away with the win on Monday night.
For the Dallas Cowboys its simple, just keep giving the ball to DeMarco Murray like you have been for the last six weeks. There has been a lot of talk about people worrying that Murray’s career will take a plunge after this historic year he is currently on, but in reality if the Cowboys want to continue to have success this year they are going to have to continue to run Murray behind what this writer believes is the best offensive line in the entire NFL. On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys cannot look at McCoy as a 3rd string quarterback. McCoy is a very serious threat to throw the ball deep on the Cowboys secondary, which is probably the Achilles’ heel for this defense. Guys up front like Anthony Spencer and Rolando McClain are going to have to put pressure on McCoy and force him to make mistakes in order for the Cowboys to have a chance to win.
For the Washington Redskins they need to keep their defense off the field as much as possible. If the Redskins’ time of possession is strongly in their favor in this game, it means DeMarco Murray isn’t running the ball or Tony Romo is throwing passes to the likes of Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, or Terrance Williams. If the Redskins have to rely on their defense to make a big stop late in the game, the Cowboys will win this football game.
With all that said, you can completely throw out everything because this is a rivalry that goes back to the beginning of each team. They don’t like each other, never have and never will. Guys will be playing harder, wanting those bragging rights. For the Cowboys, they are looking to put up their 7th straight win and extend their NFC East lead in the division. For the Redskins, they are looking at this game as a potential to turn their season around. Cowboys - Redskins on Monday Night Football. Buckle your chin straps. We all are in for a fight on Monday night.