Dallas Cowboys: What needs to be done to win on Sunday?

After a dominant win against the New York Giants, what must the Dallas Cowboys do to beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday?

Coming off of a dominant win, as the Dallas Cowboys did, can be a very good thing. The momentum favors the Cowboys as they square up against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Just because the New York Giants got blown out, that doesn’t mean all is looking good for the Cowboys. Below I am going to go over some things that the Cowboys must do to ensure their record becomes 2-0.

Run Defense

The Cowboys just came off a game where Giants running back Saquon Barkley averaged 10.9 yards per rush. Yes, Saquon is an amazing talent, but that is simply unacceptable. The Giants blockers dominated the Cowboys defenders all game when running the ball.

Washington is activating future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson. The 34-year-old eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards last season, and should not be taken lightly at all.

The Redskins line consists of Morgan Moses, Donald Penn, and Brandon Scherff. Those three linemen are all established linemen that have proven themselves as more than capable of getting the job done.

I can’t see defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli not pushing to fix this problem leading up to Sunday. This is going to have to start with the interior lineman staying put and not allowing the offensive line to move them out of the way. Basically, don’t let what happened all game last Sunday to happen again.

Pass Rush

Against the Giants, Dallas was only able to sack quarterback Eli Manning once. This is a very rare occasion for Dallas.

Against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the Redskins gave up only one sack. If the Cowboys can put pressure on quarterback Case Keenum and get some hits on him, they will need to rely on their run game more.

Keenum had a good game against the Eagles despite losing the game. He had 380 yards, three touchdowns, and a 68 percent completion percentage. He is going to need to be pressured into making bad throws, and hopefully, an improved run defense will force him to continue throwing.

Ezekiel Elliott

After missing all of preseason and training camp due to a holdout, star running back Ezekiel Elliott is easing into the speed and routine of the NFL again. That is why he only had 13 rushes, tied with rookie Tony Pollard against the Giants.

Zeke did well running for 53 yards and one touchdown, so he does look good; however, Elliott claims he felt “a little rusty” against the Giants. I would expect him to be back to his usual snaps come Sunday.

With a normal workload, we should see Zeke put up at least 80 yards and likely a touchdown. This will then open up the play-action for quarterback Dak Prescott and keep the Redskins’ front seven on their heels.

Game Predictions

I would expect a similar result to the Giants game. I can’t see Washington scoring more than two touchdowns, and I can see the Cowboys showing off their explosiveness on offense again. Another dominating win should be on the way for the Cowboys.