Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys early game on Sunday feels like just another reminder of how far behind in the NFC East they really are.
When the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders meet on Sunday afternoon in Landover, Maryland, it will be the 127th all-time regular season meeting between these two teams in a series that began in 1960. The Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles have also met 127 times, with the Eagles marking the occasion in Week 10 by becoming the fourth visiting team of 2024 to win at AT&T Stadium. Followed up with a home win over the Commanders, the Eagles are now in sole possession of first place in the NFC East at 8-2. They are firmly in a two-team race with the Commanders in second place at 7-4, with the Cowboys a very distant 3-7 in third place a game ahead of the basement-dwelling 2-8 Giants. All these teams can do in their remaining matchups with Philadelphia or Washington is play spoiler, which the Cowboys will try on Sunday having yet to prove they’re even capable of doing that with backup QB Cooper Rush.
Sunday will be the Cowboys’ first game in this rivalry going up against former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as the Commanders’ head coach. Even though the Cowboys have won five of their last six against Washington, it stands as yet another reason for this game to be one of their biggest servings of humble pie all year - just in time for Thanksgiving against another division opponent four days later.
The Cowboys stagnant offseason that has made the 2024 season a colossal waste of time for everyone involved becomes even more numbing when compared to the immediate results the Commanders are getting from their offseason acquisitions and draft class. Jayden Daniels at quarterback is obviously the highlight here, anxious to show the Cowboys first hand they can no longer just rely on having the best QB in the division to win games. Daniels appears here to stay as a real dual-threat for a franchise that has not had this much excitement at the most important position in sports in over a decade. Daniels paired with first year offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury have burst onto the scene as one of the most surprising but electric QB and play-caller duos in the league.
With Quinn in charge of a completely remade defense led by veteran LB Bobby Wagner as the leading tackler and former Cowboy Dante Fowler Jr. as the team leader in sacks with 8.5, the Commanders have a lot of ways they can beat teams. When was the last time we said that about the franchise from the nation’s capital? They also have one of the most improbable wins of the season at home, where they are 4-1 with a one-point loss to the Steelers, when another former Cowboy Noah Brown caught a tipped Hail Mary on the last play of the game to beat the Bears.
It is no accident that in a division which...
