The second spot for the NFC East is truly a dog fight. As both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins have a lot of work to do if they hope to take down the Philadelphia Eagles. It started tonight, at FedEx Field. Here are your Four Downs.
The Cowboys were able to take down the Redskins, but not without concern. You did not need to be a coach to see these two teams were closer in talent than most believed. But Dallas pulled off the 33-19 win.
Four Downs
Dan Bailey, Where Art Thou?
We all know kicker Dan Bailey. The most accurate kicker in the NFL, Mr. Reliable, The Leg. Whatever you call him, the feeling was always the same if the Cowboys were within range. Bailey could come in and hit from just about anywhere on the field. With him out for a few weeks, the Cowboys picked up Mike Nugent. Nugent, a career 80.8 percent kicker, is no where near Bailey (89.9 percent), but it’s not a terrible replacement.
However, if you replace Whataburger with Burger King, you won’t be hungry, but you’ll still be missing out on some quality food. Nugent missed his first kick and did hit rom 48 yards at one point, yet there was something missing. The confidence in a teams special teams is important, if a team doesn’t believe in those guys, it’s obvious in the game plan. Lucky for the Cowboys, they should have Bailey back before too long. For now, Dallas will have to pray it doesn’t have too many close games.
Feed Zeke
Photo via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Since Ezekiel Elliot came into the league, this has been the Cowboy fan mantra. With a suspension looming (or not, who knows), Dallas was able to do just that. Elliot finished with 150 yards and ran with a passion on 33 carries – a career high.
Zeke had a stretch of three weeks that had some Cowboy fans questioning what happened. After the last three weeks, it seems the Cowboys have gotten their guy back. His 100-yard game streak is now a streak at three games. Dallas will have a tough time keeping it alive next week against a stingy Chief defense, but it seems the Cowboys can once again, Feed Zeke.
It’s A Battle For Second
Philadelphia has one loss and has looked dominate against in each game this season. When it played Washington, the game was not in question for long, if at all. When Dallas played Washington, it looked as if the Cowboys were in control for the second half. But, for the majority of the first half, Dallas was not playing well at all.
Up into the a blocked field goal, the Redskins were in control. In fact, that kick would have put Washington up 16-7, giving it the momentum at half. Instead, Orlando Scandrick returned it down to the goal line, allowing for Zeke to punch it in. The play before the kick, Kirk Cousins was sacked, but Washington could easily be up 20-6. Instead, it went into half down 14-13.
At 4-3 and 2-0 in the division, Dallas can certainly win the East. But it’s going to need to play better against lesser competition.
“Big D”
Aaron Doster- USA Today Sports
For all the talk the Cowboys offense gets, it did not look that good. Take away a dominate performance from Elliot and the Dak Prescott threw for less than 150 yards and no touchdowns. Granted, the rain at FedEx Field probably contributed to the offense only scoring 14 points, but it’s also something to keep in mind. Without the Scandrick return, Dallas may have only put up one touchdown.
Defense on the other hand, forced two fumbles, sacked Cousins four times and allowed only one passing touchdown and grabbed an interception. All while allowing two total touchdowns and two field goals. The Cousins touchdown came in the last few minutes.
Washington hasn’t had the most prolific offense in 2017, but it’s not the Browns or Vikings. Keeping a top 15 quarterback from scoring more than once is a big accomplishment. Dallas will need its defense to continue to play it has the last two weeks. The only times the unit allowed more than 20 was against the Rams and Packers. It’s not the best defense, but it will need this kind of showing the rest of the year as they face the Kansas City Chiefs next week.
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