Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Football Team, Betting Odds, Picks

• The Dallas Cowboys are two games ahead of Washington in the NFC East
• Washington QB Taylor Heinicke has his team on a surprising four game winning streak
• Against NFC opponents, Dallas has covered the spread in their last seven games 

Cowboys vs Washington Odds

The Dallas Cowboys took care of the Saints last week, 27-17, and now they are two games ahead of Washington in the NFC East, so a win here led by QB Dak Prescott and his healthy targets – WRs Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb – back on the field, it might come down to whether the team’s 27th ranked defense can start to step up and play at a postseason level.

A win here helps the Washington Football Team big time since it keeps them close in the NFC East and keeps them alive in the wildcard playoff hunt, and now that QB Taylor Heinicke has his team on a surprising four-game winning streak, expect HC Ron Rivera to keep doing more of what he has been doing, a game plan that includes a lot of carries by RB Antonio Gibson.

These two NFC East rivals have played each other 122 prior times (including 2 postseason games), with the Washington Football Team winning 47 of those games and the Dallas Cowboys winning 73 of the games, plus there have been two ties.

Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Football Team Predictions

Can the Cowboys’ Defense Begin to Pick Up its Play?

For a team with as many playmakers as the Dallas Cowboys have on defense, it would make more sense for them to rank better in the league than 27th, but that’s where they sit after thirteen weeks of football, and they have allowed opponents to gain 373 yards against them per game.

With eight defensive players out right now including CB Nahshon Wright who is in the covid protocol, it has been a next man-up mentality in Dallas for DC Dan Quinn and his squad that has at least a half dozen rookies playing in it.

Two defensive standouts have been rookie LB Micah Parsons and CB Trevon Diggs, who have shown the ability to make big plays out of nothing, but injuries and penalties and inexperience have caused this defense too many setbacks so they must clean all that up soon.

Can Washington’s Four Game Win Streak Continue?

After losing four games in a row (and six of their first eight), the Washington Football Team had their bye in Week 9, and since then they have posted four wins in a row, a sign that HC Ron Rivera has figured out how to win with the players he has.

It’s mostly the weaker teams that Washington is beating, but they do have a surprise win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in their final five-game stretch they face the Eagles twice and the NY Giants, so they have a chance to stay in the middle of the postseason mix.

With a defense ranked 17th and an offense ranked 19th in the league it might seem like this team is nothing to worry about, but this group seems to have turned a corner with QB Taylor Heinicke under center so expect them to give even the Dallas Cowboys a tough game to the end.

Cowboys Key Player: (QB) Dak Prescott

What an amazingly tough player Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott has proven to be after returning from an ankle injury that might have ended most careers, and now he and his Dallas Cowboys are as healthy as they have been and have a chance to see the postseason once again.

Prescott is a 6’ 2” 238 pound veteran in his sixth season of NFL play, and this year he has put up great numbers despite missing some time due to injury, so far in eleven games completing 287 passes for 3,170 yards and 23 touchdowns with just 8 interceptions on the season.

Dak and his number one ranked offense work best when the team’s rushing attack is also playing well, right now the Cowboys with the 6th most productive run game in the league after posting 130 yards on the ground per game, a solid offensive partner to Prescott’s fine passing.

Washington Key Player: (RB) Antonio Gibson

It’s just Antonio Gibson’s second NFL season but he is already proving to be a huge part of Washington’s offensive game plan, the Memphis alum a 6’ 2” 220-pound slab of muscle who is tough to tackle carrying or receiving the football.

This season the dual-threat back is adding big numbers to Washington’s offensive efforts, so far with 237 total touches for 1,016 yards from scrimmage and 7 touchdowns, production fast approaching his numbers from his breakout rookie campaign last year.

Gibson averages 4.3 yards per touch so he could use some big plays to fatten that stat up a bit, but the young back is only getting started in the league, and now that Washington is on a four-game winning streak he will have the momentum to carry his solid performances forward.

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