Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys keys to victory vs Washington Redskins

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:27 p.m. ET

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Things that need to happen offensively and defensively to give the Dallas Cowboys the best opportunity to win in Week Two against the Washington Redskins.

Oct 27, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant (88) reaches for the end zone for a second quarter touchdown against Washington Redskins safety Ryan Clark (25) and cornerback David Amerson (39) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys (0-1) are traveling northeast to face the NFC East divisional rival Washington Redskins (0-1) for their Week 2 game of the 2016 NFL season.

With both teams trying to get to .500 and escape the fate of 0-2, this has the makings for a highly competitive game.

The Cowboys have won 66 of the 112 meetings between the two franchises, which is the most victories over any NFL team for Dallas; the Cowboys have also won three consecutive road games against the Redskins.

If Dallas wants to make it four straight road wins against Washington, coaches will need to call a better game offensively and defensively and the players need to execute- especially in key matchups.

It looks as if the Cowboys could be without top cornerback Orlando Scandrick on Sunday due to a hamstring injury. I promise you that no one around the NFL is feeling sorry for the Cowboys, injuries are a part of the game.

The first key to victory for the Cowboys will be effectively running the football.

Sep 11, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) dives in for a touchdown against New York Giants free safety Nat Berhe (29) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret that the Cowboys struggled to effectively run the football in Week 1 against the New York Giants.

New York’s monster defensive tackles Damon Harrison and Johnathon Hankins used their almost 700 combined pounds of mass to clog up inside running lanes and stopped the Dallas offensive line from dominating the line of scrimmage the way that fans and coaches have become accustomed to.

The Giants defensive ends Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul were also persistent in containing the outside lanes and were ready to meet running back Ezekiel Elliott at the line of scrimmage; and often times behind the line of scrimmage.

The good news for the Cowboys this week is that they are not facing the same defensive scheme nor the level of talent they had issues getting a consistent push against last week.

The Redskins run a 3-4 defense (3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers). Kendrick Gholston, Chris Baker, Ziggy Hood, and Ricky Jean-Francois are the defensive linemen that are most active in Washington’s defensive line rotation. They do not present the same challenge that the Giants front presented.

Having only three down defensive linemen in their scheme means an easier opportunity for the Cowboys offensive linemen to get out in space where they thrive and they will be able to attack the second level. If the Dallas blockers can get to the linebackers and clear them out, Ezekiel Elliott should have a significantly more productive game than he did in his first career start.

It is vital for the Cowboys to run the ball effectively if they want to remain balanced on offense and to make it easy for rookie quarterback Dak Prescott to utilize play action passes to attack downfield.

Aug 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) checks his position during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The first pass play of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott’s career was an eight yard pass to Dez Bryant that resulted in a first down.

It seemed to be a solid start to what could build into a consistent connection for the duration of the game.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Dez was only targeted five times throughout the game, and only successfully made that first catch for eight yards.

Five measly targets and only one completion to one of the most physically dominant wide receivers in the NFL is unacceptable.

It was clear that offensive coordinator Scott Linehan was mostly drawing up pass plays that made it easy for Dak to see a player crossing the middle of the field on a short route and Prescott was quite effective at accurately passing the ball to the open target.

Those short passes did not result in many broken tackles or big yardage gains. In fact, the longest pass completion for Prescott and the Cowboys went for 21 yards to tight end Geoff Swaim.

What I don’t understand, and what I hope Linehan and the offensive staff plan on finding a way to remedy, is why Dez was not utilized on those short crossing routes with hopes that he would break a tackle and burst into the open field- something we have seen time and time again over the course of Bryant’s career.

Put Dez in slot receiver Cole Beasley‘s role from time to time and see if he can take those seven or eight yard passes and turn them into plays of 20 yards or more.

Send him on drag routes, slants, even quick screens if Linehan and Dak are more comfortable with the short passing game. You have to give Dez 10 targets a game at the very least if you want this offense to be explosive and score enough points to protect an average at best defense.

I fully expect to see Dez getting a lot more plays drawn up for him this week against Washington.

It has been a pretty simple formula for the Cowboys in the past several years- give Dez the ball and good things will happen for your offense.

Even if cornerback Josh Norman winds up covering Dez wherever he goes on the field, a fully healthy Bryant will win that matchup more often than not. It is up to the coaches to scheme up quality route combinations to get him open and for Dak to deliver the ball on time.

Dec 7, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Sean Lee (50) sacks Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Redskins live and die by their passing game. They were very ineffective when it came to running the ball last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers (only 55 yards as a team on the ground) but quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for over 300 yards in the season opener.

Washington has a cornucopia of athletes that contribute to an explosive passing offense.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon is savvy veteran that still has deceptive speed along with good size and crisp route running.

Receiver Desean Jackson is a vertical threat that can destroy a defense if given a free release off the line of scrimmage.

Slot receiver Jamison Crowder has the lateral quickness to break across the field and gain separation along with the acceleration to turn short passes into big gains in a hurry if the defense is out of position.

Tight end Jordan Reed is arguably the most refined route running tight end in the league and has great hands along with speed to separate.

Running back Chris Thompson has proven to be a valuable asset similar to what the Cowboys have with Lance Dunbar– a small statured back that has great hands and can provide a spark to the offense.

It is going to require the Cowboys defense to be disciplined and technique-sound if they want to keep the Redskins offense from throwing the ball all over the field tomorrow.

Expect to see the Cowboys in the dime formation a lot when the Redskins are in a clear passing situation- meaning six defensive backs on the field at once.

Byron Jones has his work cut out for him when it comes to covering Jordan Reed as he will likely be assigned to do for the majority of the game.

Outside cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr had pretty solid performances against the Giants last week and can hopefully build off of that to contain Garcon and Jackson.

The defensive line can help the back end of the defense tremendously by applying some consistent pressure on Kirk Cousins and forcing him to make throws while under duress.

Without pressure from the pass rush and if the Dallas secondary has an off day coverage-wise, there will be very little hope for winning this game.