Dallas Cowboys: Looking at the division competition
Washington Redskins
Another young team is on the rise in the NFC East. The Washington Redskins have a good amount of young players that they are hoping will blossom into great players.
The most notable of them is wide receiver, Terry McLaurin. He was sensational in his rookie season, catching 58 passes for 919 yards and seven touchdowns in only 14 games.
The problem with Washington is that McLaurin is the only receiving threat on the team. It’s not as if their quarterback situation is all that much better either.
They have 2019 first-round pick, Dwayne Haskins, but he failed to impress anyone in his nine-game stint last season. It is questionable if quarterback Alex Smith will ever play football again, but new head coach Ron Rivera hopes he can compete for the starting job this season.
The Redskins also traded for quarterback Kyle Allen, who went 5-7 with the Carolina Panthers in 2019. It is a quarterback battle between Haskins and Allen. Both of them are young with have a lot to prove.
The group of running backs is impressive in America’s capital. The 22-year-old Derrius Guice is accompanied by the 35-year-old Adrian Peterson. Guice averaged 5.8 yards per carry on 42 rushes in 2019 and Peterson ran for over 1,000 yards in 2018.
Along the offensive line remains longtime Redskins starters in Morgan Moses and Brandon Scherff. They are accompanied by three good linemen. While they have been great at blocking on run plays, they allowed their quarterbacks to get sacked 50 times in 2019.
The defensive line is solid, headlined by Ryan Kerrigan and 2020 second overall pick, Chase Young. Da’Ron Payne and Jonathan Allen have also played very well, rounding up a very good defensive line in Washington.
Having Matthew Ioannidis and Montez Sweat swapping in gives them great depth options. They have players that can rush the passer as well as defend the run.
Three of the above names had 50+ tackles and four had 5.0+ sacks in 2019. In both games combined last season, this defensive line sacked quarterback Dak Prescott 4.0 times, but Dallas got 100+ rushing yards both games.
They have multiple reliable linebackers on their team. They signed Thomas Davis, who will provide great leadership and multiple 100+ tackle seasons to accompany two linebackers that had 100+ tackles with Washington in 2019 in Jonathan Bostic and Cole Holcomb.
The Redskins defensive backs are solid but have some holes. They have star safety, Landon Collins and signed Ronald Darby, but are thin past those two names. Kendall Fuller may be a decent number two corner, leaving the free safety and nickel corner positions exposed.
The offense of the Redskins leaves a lot to be desired. Until they have some good play at quarterback, the offense will be very shaky. The defense is looking very promising in Washington though.
The Dallas Cowboys should be able to win both games against Washington. The only possible way for the Cowboys to lose is if the Redskins defense plays perfect, and their offense plays the best they ever have since they lost quarterback Kirk Cousins.