***TNF IN THE SWAMP - WASH @ DAL***

***WASHINGTON REDSKINS @ DALLAS COWBOYS***

A life or death NFC East battle takes center stage tonight as the 5-6 Washington Redskins head into Dallas to take on the 5-6 Cowboys. The loser of this game will essentially be eliminated from playoff contention being that they would then need a unlikely miracle more than they already do at the moment to make a run to the postseason. These two bitter rivals faced off back in week 8, where the Cowboys beat the Skins in Washington by a final score of 33-19. The Cowboys have now won three straight over their Redskins and five out of the last six overall. The final result of the last matchup is a bit misleading in my opinion. The Cowboys led 14-13 at halftime, and were able to pull away in the second half but the Redskins had possession in the final moments with a chance to tie the game while down a touchdown before QB Kirk Cousins threw an interception that went the other way for a score. Of course, this prior matchup was when Dallas still had RB Ezekial Elliot who is currently three games into his six game suspension, and a healthy LB in Sean Lee, their defensive leader. As we've seen recently, the Boys have been struggling without their offensive and defensive motors and have now lost three straight games. They followed up an absolute beatdown at home on SNF two weeks ago at the hands of the 1st place Eagles, with a dud on Thanksgiving last week, losing to the suddenly surging LA Chargers. I believe their morale has now been broken, if it wasn't already after the Philly game.

Cowboy's Sophomore QB Dak Prescott has really struggled during this losing stretch without his reliable RB to hand the rock off to and the book is now out on how to frustrate him. The Chargers may have laid down the blueprint to stifling Dak as their Safety Tre Boston explained earlier this week on the NFL Network while breaking down some film from the whooping on Thanksgiving. They had somebody spying on Prescott all game, mainly on the backside of the pass rush, so that when the defensive pressure pushed the pocket one way and Dak looked to fled, there was somebody there waiting for him- forcing him back into the pass rush for the sack. Of course, the Bolts were only able to do this because of the absence of Zeke as a threat and I would imagine teams will follow suit until Dak shows he can overcome it. I do believe that Dak is and will be a quality NFL QB. He doesn't need to prove that to me and I don't think that without Elliot he is worthless as some are recently saying. I've been a believer in this kid going back to his Mississippi State days and just think that this is a major learning curve and adjustment period for him as he gets welcomed into life as a QB in the NFL without the best offensive line and running game. That all being said, hosting the hungry Redskins tonight who will be looking to avenge the loss earlier this season on top of last season's sweep, things will not get any easier for him tonight. The Redskins share some of the same woes as Dallas this season as they have been forced to overcome adversity without many of their own key players this season. I won't list the ongoing injury report for Washington but I will point out how these guys have managed to battle some of the best teams in the league despite their losses and remain competitive every week. After a stunning upset in Seattle in week 9, they lost two close games to teams currently among the top of their divisions in the Vikings and Saints, before getting back on track against the lowly Giants on Thanksgiving night last week. QB Kirk Cousins has been rising to the occasion each game to help quiet his naysayers and I like what I'm seeing from the guy as of late. In my opinion he has taken full control of this offensive unit and established himself as the clear leader as a true NFL QB should and keeps improving from week to week.

The young WR Josh Doctson is starting to come into his own a bit and has established a nice repertoire with Cousins and has formed a nice duo with the speedy deep threat WR Jamison Crowder. RB Samaje Perine, another youngster, has taken full advantage of his recent opportunity to tote the rock in a starting role. Washington has found a new sense of comfort in the running game by handing it off to him a whole lot the past two weeks with success. Needless to say, the through all the injuries, the Redskins almost have an entirely new look on offense, and it's working. Up against a weak Dallas defense now without what looks like Hitchens and Durant as well in their LB core, I expect Perine to have himself a game and the Redskins to try to control the time of possession here. This will in turn help open up things through the air for Cousins and he won't need much help with that as it is against the Cowboy secondary. Defensively I expect the Redskins to be locked in with the usual CB Josh Norman facing off against one of his divisional nemesis in WR Dez Bryant. The Boys will surely try to utilize former Redskin RB Alfred Morris to establish a running game of their own, and I expect the Redskins to be ready for it and like other defenses as of late, force Dak to beat them through the air. Dak should make some plays, but overall I just believe that these two teams are trending in opposite directions. There is plenty of fight left in this Redskins team and they clearly still believe that they can make a run whereas the Cowboys have shown that they have some quit in them recently. I do see this one being close throughout but after the Redskins go up in the second half, I believe they will smell blood in the water and finish the Cowboys off as I expect Dallas to continue to lose for another week or two. Ever since the Zeke suspension was enforced and Jerry Jones challenged the NFL, things have gone haywire for Dallas. Gimme the Skinnies on the road here to pull out the W late in this one. REDSKINS-1.5