Washington Football Team vs Dallas Cowboys Matchup Preview (12/26/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Washington Football Team vs Dallas Cowboys Matchup Preview (12/26/21)

The Washington Football team travels to Arlington, TX this weekend to take on the Dallas Cowboys in a marquee Sunday Night Football matchup between two NFC East foes. Dallas can clinch the division this weekend with a win or tie against the Football Team or with a Philadelphia loss or tie to the Giants. The Football Team, meanwhile, effectively needs to win this game to keep playoff hopes alive. A loss this weekend lowers their odds of making the playoffs from 10 percent to 3 percent, while a win bumps their odds to 20 percent (all other things held constant), according to the New York Times playoff probability simulator. The Cowboys are coming off a 15 point win against Mike Glennon and the Giants, while the Football Team enters the weekend coming off a loss to the Eagles in a weird Tuesday night COVID game.

Washington Football Team vs Dallas Cowboys Betting Odds

Betting Trends

The Football Team is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall
The Football Team is 8-20-1 ATS in their last 29 games following a straight up loss
The Football Team is 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog
Cowboys are 11-1 ATS in their last 12 vs. NFC
Cowboys are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 vs. NFC East
Cowboys are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 games after allowing less than 15 points in their previous game

The Pick

The Washington Football Team’s biggest weakness this season has been their secondary, while the Dallas Cowboys biggest strength has arguably been their receiving core. Between CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Amari Cooper, and Cedrick Wilson, someone is going to eat in this game and I love the Cowboys to put up some points early at home. Outside of Terry McLaurin, the Football Team doesn’t have the offensive playmakers to counter, and Taylor Heinicke is coming off a full week of no practice after being placed in COVID-19 protocols early last week. Dak hasn’t looked himself as of late, which does cause me to hesitate for a moment, though overall I do think this is still a favorable matchup for the Cowboys regardless of whether or not Dak looks like a perennial pro-bowler.

My Prediction: Dallas wins 31-23, Washington covers (+10.5) and the over hits (o47)

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, December, 26
Time: 8:20 PM ET
Location: AT&T Stadium — Arlington, TX
TV Coverage: NBC

Washington Football Team vs Dallas Cowboys Live Stream

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Injuries

Washington Football Team: CB Kendall Fuller (COVID-19) O, G Brandon Scherff (Ankle) O, DE Chase Young (Knee (ACL)) O, C Chase Roullier (Leg) O, TE Logan Thomas (Knee (ACL)(MCL)), S Cameron Kurll (COVID-19) O, WR Curtis Samuel (Groin) O, NT Tim Settle (Gameday Inactive) O, RB JD McKissic (Concussion) O, OT Cornelius (COVID-19) O, K Joey Slye (Hamstring) O
Dallas Cowboys: OT Tyron Smith (Ankle) Q, S Donovan Wilson (Shoulder) Q, TE Blake Jarwin (Hip) O, DT Trysten Hill (COVID-19) O, DE Brent Urban (Triceps) O, DT Osa Odighizuwa (COVID-19) O

Washington Football Team Analysis

Washing-ton or Washing-done? After winning 4 straight games from weeks 10-13, the Football Team has lost back-to-back games against divisional opponents in the Cowboys and Eagles, struggling to score at times in both games, and effectively eliminating themselves from any easy path to the postseason. While the expectation for this team was never the Super Bowl, a losing season in year 2 puts serious pressure on Martin Mayhew and the rest of this front office to get some more pieces on offense, especially at the quarterback and wide receiver position.

Outside of Terry McLaurin, there is not a single Football Team receiver over 375 yards on the season. For reference, the Cowboys have 4 players over this mark. Antonio Gibson has emerged as a number one running back in the league, rushing for 862 yards on 3.7 yards a carry. JD Mckissic has also had a good year, though he only has 48 carries to Gibson’s 231. Overall, the Football Team rushing attack ranks 14th in the NFL in yards per game.

All things considered, Taylor Heinicke has been somewhat productive, putting up nearly 3,000 passing yards on just 418 attempts this season. After receiving a negative COVID test on Tuesday, he’s been cleared to practice and is set to play Sunday Night. Whether or not he’ll look like the same quarterback after missing a week of practice remains to be seen. Several OBs this year have struggled in their first week back from COVID-19.

Washington Football Team Depth Chart

QB: Taylor Heinicke
RB1: Antonio Gibson
RB2: Wendell Smallwood
WR1: Terry McLaurin
WR2: Adam Humphries
TE1: Ricky Seals-Jones

Dallas Cowboys Analysis

Though the Cowboys have won four straight games, they haven’t played a team with a winning record since they lost to the Chiefs in week 11. Their remaining schedule consists of three winnable games against the Washington Football Team, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Eagles. While the Cardinals look like a tough team on paper, they haven’t seemed right since Kyler Murray injured his ankle in week 9, and it’s not all that uncommon for Kilff Kingsbury’s teams to fall apart in December. If the Cowboys can win their next three games, it’s entirely possible they emerge from the NFC as a number 1 playoff seed despite having not played a single top tier team since early November. Though this doesn’t diminish anything the Cowboys have done this season, it can make them a difficult team to evaluate at times.

Currently, the Cowboys have the number one yards per game offense in the NFL, averaging over 403 YPG. They’re the only team in the NFL to rank in the top 6 in both rushing and passing YPG and have the best first quarter offense in the NFL, averaging 7.1 points per first quarter. They’re tied for fourth in the league in yards per play at 5.9 and have the eighth best third down offense, converting 5.6 third downs a game. This Dallas team has, however, struggled in the red zone at times, turning just 53.8 percent of red zone drives into touchdowns, and, over the last three games, they’re only scoring touchdowns on 30.8 percent of their red zone drives — worst in the NFL.

On defense, the Cowboys rank 21st in yards allowed per game and seventh in points allowed. They have the second best turnover differential at +12 and the 17th best red zone defense — allowing touchdowns on just 59.3 percent of opponent red zone drives.

Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart

QB: Dak Prescott
RB1: Ezekiel Ellit
RB2: Tony Pollard
RB3: Corey Clement
WR1: Michael Gallup
WR2: Amari Cooper
WR3: CeeDee Lamb
TE1: Dalton Schultz

Washington Football Team vs Dallas Cowboys Daily Fantasy Pick

Going against a secondary that ranks third to last in yards allowed, I like Cowboys receiver Cedrick Wilson to have his best game of the month. Wilson is averaging 33.7 yards on 2.46 catches a game, and is the Cowboys fourth leading receiver. Dak has proven he’s not afraid to go to Wilson in big spots, and he certainly won’t hesitate to look his way in a high stakes divisional matchup on Sunday Night. The WR is currently listed at $3,600 on DraftKings and $4,800 on FanDuel.