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Dallas Cowboys Vs. Washington Redskins: 5 Bold Predictions For Week 2 Of 2016 NFL Season

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 09:03 PST, Sep 14, 2016

The Dallas Cowboys will travel to Landover, Maryland, on Sunday to take on the Washington Redskins in a matchup that will feature two winless teams. The Cowboys are coming off of a 20-19 home loss to the New York Giants in Week 1 while the Redskins are trying to recover from a 38-16 thrashing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

This matchup carries a lot of weight for both teams as it’s a division game, features the nastiest rivalry in pro football, and neither team wants to open the season at 0-2, especially considering the Giants and Philadelphia Eagles both won their games on opening weekend. Going into a two-game hole in the division after two weeks is tough to recover from.

Here are five bold predictions for this colossal NFC East matchup.

1. Kirk Cousins Will Throw For 300 Yards And Multiple Touchdowns

The Cowboys’ defense did a solid job against the Giants as they held Eli Manning to 207 yards passing in Week 1. That being said, the Redskins are a more pass-heavy offense as evidenced by their 43 pass attempts against the Pittsburgh Steelers compared to just 12 rushing attempts. The Cowboys are thin across the defensive line which should give Cousins plenty of time to get the ball out to his receivers.

2. Ezekiel Elliott Will Rush For 100 Yards

Elliott struggled against the new-look Giants defense with defensive tackles Damon Harrison and Johnathan Hankins clogging up running lanes. The rookie only rushed for 51 yards on 20 carries in his debut, but should find more room to run against a Redskins defense that just allowed 33-year-old DeAngelo Williams to rush for 143 yards on 26 carries on Monday night.

3. Rob Kelley Will Have More Rushing Yards Than Matt Jones

Against the Steelers, Jones ended up with seven of the Redskins’ 12 rushing attempts but only racked up 24 yards. To the naked eye, Jones didn’t look as explosive or elusive and had a real problem with running too upright, which results in a lot of big hits. I expect Washington to put more of an emphasis on the running game against Dallas, but I also expect Kelley to get an opportunity after impressing during the preseason.

4. Dez Bryant Has A Big Day

Last week, quarterback Dak Prescott struggled to throw the ball down the field against the Giants which resulted in tight end Jason Witten and slot receiver Cole Beasley leading the team in receptions. Prescott did target Bryant five times in the game, but the Cowboys star receiver only brought in one pass for eight yards.

The Redskins’ defense struggled against Antonio Brown on Monday night as the All-Pro caught eight balls for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Washington defensive coordinator Joe Barry chose not to have star corner Josh Norman shadow Brown which led to Bashaud Breeland getting torched repeatedly. Expect the Cowboys to use the same sort of gameplan with Bryant.

5. Redskins Emerge Victorious

As mentioned above, this game carries extreme importance for both teams. The Cowboys need a victory to keep Tony Romo’s potential return relevant. If Dallas is 0-6 or 1-5 entering Week 7 when Romo is expected to return, there’s a very real possibility that the team just shuts him down for the rest of the season. Currently, the Cowboys feel like if Prescott can keep them afloat, then Romo will give them a real shot at the playoffs.

As for the Redskins, this is as close to a must-win as a team can get in Week 2. Not only is it a crucial divisional game, but a loss would put the Redskins at 0-2 at home in 2016 and leave them in a massive hole to dig out of. I think that Washington shows up with a sense of urgency and finds a way to come away with a victory.

[Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images]

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nfl Dallas Cowboys Washington Redskins Dez Bryant Kirk Cousins Josh Norman
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