Cowboys over Redskins: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Week Two
By Richard Ball
A few observations from the Dallas Cowboys win over the Redskins. There was some good, some bad and some downright ugly play.
The Dallas Cowboys were able to get their second win of the new season over the weekend, defeating the Washington Redskins at FedExField on Sunday afternoon. It marked the Cowboys’ second divisional victory after their 35-17 blowout of the New York Giants in the regular season opener.
Yet, the Week Two contest against the Redskins was far from perfect for Dallas. Below we’ll breakdown the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the Cowboys’ latest victory.
The Good
Quarterback Dak Prescott had another outstanding game leading Dallas to a 31-21 victory over Washington. His line for the game was 26 completions in 30 attempts for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
On wide receiver Devin Smith’s second quarter 51 yard touchdown, Prescott did a great job leading his speedy receiver. The score tied the game at seven and got the Cowboys offense rolling.
The Cowboys lined up in 11 personnel with one running back, Ezekiel Elliott in the back field, one tight end, Blake Jarwin to the right, and three wide receivers on the field. Smith was by himself to the left of the formation near the Cowboys sideline with Amari Cooper and Randall Cobb on the right side.
Prior to the snap, Cooper motioned from outside the numbers towards the center of the field. Prescott was under center taking the snap and faked the run to Elliott for yet another play action pass touchdown.
Cooper and Cobb ran drag routes towards the Cowboys sideline with Cooper eight-yards downfield and Cobb 16 yards downfield. Smith was lined up against Washington corner Josh Norman who played off coverage knowing he had safety help over the top.
Washington rushed four initially and eventually one of the tackles dropped off to cover Elliott sneaking out of the back field. The end result was a perfectly clean pocket for Prescott.
Prescott did a great job looking at Cobb who had beaten the zone coverage forcing the safety to bite up. Immediately after the safety made his move, Prescott moved to Smith and launched the ball 44 yards downfield to Smith who had two-yards of separation from Norman.
Smith did a great job adjusting to the bomb. At the 15-yard line, he found another gear and tracked the ball down at the six-yard line.
Prescott put the ball in a spot where his receiver could go get the ball, make the catch and then run for the touchdown. When Prescott leads his receivers, good things happen.