WASHINGTON (vs. Dallas):
Washington has been remarkably bad, but it has a good chance to put up top-10 offensive numbers this week. This is a home game against a division rival, so there will be no shortage of motivation, and Dallas is historically bad on defense right now. The Cowboys defense has given up 45 touchdowns (over 3 per game); the only defense that's given up more is Washington itself. ... We expect big things out of Alfred Morris. He comes off a disappointing game; he fumbled twice at Atlanta. But Morris generally has played well this year; he's averaging 80 yards per game. And this defense is unspeakably bad against the run right now. Dallas has allowed over 140 rushing yards in six of its last seven games, with 12 TD runs in that seven-game span. Washington ran for 216 yards and a touchdown when it lost 31-16 at Dallas earlier this year. Morris had 81 yards and a touchdown in that game. But now this defense is playing a lot worse. Morris ran for 200 yards and 3 TDs when Washington beat Dallas 28-18 in Week 17 last year to claim the NFC East title. Love Morris. Only downgrade is in the passing game; he's caught passes in only 2 of his last 12 games. ... Kirk Cousins is also in the mix for big numbers. He has limitations; he might be better suited for a backup role. But this is a hopelessly broken defense right now. The Cowboys are allowing a league-high 313 passing yards per game. Two weeks in a row they've faced backup quarterbacks (Josh McCown, Matt Flynn), and both of those guys threw 4 TDs. Drew Brees and both of the Manning brothers also threw 4 TDs against Dallas. Cousins played
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reasonably well at Atlanta last week, finishing with 381 yards and 3 TDs; another game with 300-plus yards and 3 TDs is certainly possible. ... With it being a great situation for the passing game, we're going higher than usual on the pass catchers. Pierre Garcon is the go-to guy. He caught 7 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown at Atlanta. For the year, he's averaging 82 yards per game. Just 4 TDs, but at least he caught one from Cousins last week. If Washington wants to get into trying to help Garcon lead the league in receptions, that will really help him. Entering Week 15, he's at 96 catches -- 3 behind Andre Johnson. Santana Moss and Aldrick Robinson seem to be next in line. Robinson is a deep threat; the hope with him is that he sneaks deep for a 50-yard touchdown. Moss led the team with 8 catches last week; they went for 64 yards and a touchdown. Joshua Morgan "starts" at wide receiver, but he's not a factor. He's averaged only 26 yards in the games he's started, and he hasn't caught a touchdown all year. ... It's a long shot at best that Jordan Reed will play. He's missed the last four games with concussion symptoms. A report last week suggested he will be placed on injured reserve. Reed averaged 76 yards in the five games prior to his concussion, with 2 TDs. They don't have a tight end they can plug into that kind of a role. Logan Paulsen will be their main tight end (he's scored in two of his last three games), and Fred Davis will also play. ... Washington has scored a league-low 79 kicking points, but Kai Forbath should outscore at least a half-dozen other kickers. Dallas is historically bad on defense right now. The only worry is that this defense is so bad that it tends to allow touchdowns rather than field goals. The Cowboys have allowed multiple field goals in only two of their last eight games. In the earlier game between these teams, Forbath scored a season-high 10 points. ... It's a poor situation for the Washington Defense. Tony Romo just threw a pair of interceptions (and tossed a crucial interception in his last game at this stadium) but he's well above-average overall in terms of avoiding mistakes. For the year, he's thrown only 9 picks and taken only 33 sacks. Washington has a lesser defense anyway (below-average in both of those categories). Washington has scored 5 TDs defensively, but all of those came in the first seven weeks of the season.
