***THANKSGIVING FEAST IN THE SWAMP - BACK FOR SECONDS - WASH @ DAL***
***WASHINGTON REDSKINS @ DALLAS COWBOYS***
Man oh man what a Thanksgiving treat smack in the middle of this glorious holiday when two surging teams in the NFC East face-off in a rivalry rematch as the red hot Redskins head into Dallas to take on the best team in the NFC, the Cowboys! The Redskins are currently 6-3-1 and in the hunt for a Wild Card spot while looking up at this 9-1 Dallas team. The Cowboys have been nothing short of spectacular thus far behind their Rookie duo of QB Dak Prescott and RB Ezekial Elliot. Behind the best offensive line in football, the two rooks have taken the league by storm this season but I believe are in for their toughest battle yet against Washington. The Skins are peaking right now and are oozing confidence after a huge win at home against the Packers on SNF a couple days ago. That being said, this is definitely a much tougher spot for Washington on a extra shortened week having played the late game Sunday, and having to travel to take on the NFC's best. However I truly believe they are looking forward to the challenge and will be ready to roll in this one. They have all the momentum and while I know many think it is a BS angle, in my opinion the Cowboys are due for some regression. The Skins match up fairly well with Dallas and have the pieces to go toe to toe with them. The first time around in week 2, the Skins held Elliot to under 100 yards rushing. Since then Elliot has exploded and dominated defenses but last week against the Ravens, the Cowboys run game was successfully bottled up for the most part. I feel as though Washington has the tools to try and do the same here and will have confidence in doing so based on their previous matchup. It was Dak who eventually beat the Ravens through the air and took over with WR Dez Bryant. Luckily the Skins have CB Josh Norman to matchup with Dez to help limit his production. I expect Head Coach Jay Gruden and his staff to have an effective gameplan for slowing down this Cowboys offense and like the Ravens, make Dak be the one to beat them. With edge rushers like LB Ryan Kerrigan, and a secondary with some playmakers like Su'a Cravens, Dak may struggle like we have seen at times throughout the season. Even though so far, he has overcome any early struggles in games I think in a game like this that will have a playoff like atmosphere, he won't be able to do so.
Last week Ravens QB Joe Flacco was unable to take advantage of a banged up Dallas secondary. Washington QB Kirk Cousins is playing the best football of his short career at the moment and has a ton of weapons at his disposal to do what Flacco couldn't. His success has come behind the resurgence of the "Hogs" AKA the Washington offensive line, and a spark of a newly found rushing attack led by Rob Kelley AKA "Fat Rob" as he likes to be called. Fat Rob will surely be hungry on Thanksgiving and I believe he will be fed all he can eat here to try and limit Dallas time of possession with the rock. Cousins will have time to throw against a limited Dallas pass rush, and I believe will rise to the occasion once again. Cousins has bet on himself this season with a one year contract, and as of now he is winning that bet, improving every game. He even went as far as oddly screaming "HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?!" in his GM's face after throwing 3 touchdowns in the win against the Packers. He knows this organization has doubts in him and he is out to prove them wrong. Against an average secondary with injuries and time in the pocket, I believe he will have another solid outing and do enough to keep this one close if not upset the mighty Dallas Cowboys outright. The Redskins need to continue riding their current emotional high to get the win here to even the series between the two. On Thanksgiving day, as big underdogs and against a team due to stumble a bit, I love this spot for them to do so. With the Dallas winning streak beginning on the road in Washington in week 2, I think it is only fitting for it to come to an end against Washington today! Cowboys and Indians on Thanksgiving Day, what better?! AMIRIGHT?! This one should be an awesome rivalry battle for the ages. REDSKINS+6
