Who to watch for as the Washington commanders host the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day
The Commanders are coming off a 29-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. This week, the Commanders are hosting another division rival in the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day where they will be looking to bounce back and get back in the win column. Today, we take a look at five key players for the Cowboys that the Commanders will need to watch out for Thursday afternoon.
Dak Prescott
The Cowboy offense is a pass heavy offense that relies heavily on their quarterback. This season, Prescott has 4,175 passing yards for 28 touchdowns and ten interceptions. After dealing with a season ending injury last season, Prescott has returned to his 2023 form being one of the better passers in the league being second in the league in passing yards, just four yards behind Matt Stafford who is in first. The Commanders will have a tall task slowing down Prescott and the Cowboys offense with the depleted secondary they currently have. Look for Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr to dial up lots of different pressures to try and confuse Prescott and the Cowboys offensive line to make him uncomfortable on Thursday.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens
Along with Prescott being one of the best quarterbacks in the league this season, the Cowboys have arguably the best wide receiver combination in the league in Lamb and Pickens. Both receivers have already eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards this season even with Lamb missing three games. Both receivers are top ten in the league in receiving yards while Pickens is seventh in the league in receiving touchdowns. The Cowboys have the best passing offense in the league with 274.3 passing yards per game in large part due to defenses not being able to double both Lamb and Pickens. It is a game of pick your poison when trying to stop the Cowboys offense in choosing who to double and who to try to limit, but either way the Commanders will have their hands full on Christmas Day with the wide receiver duo.
Javontae Williams
While the Cowboys rely heavily on the passing game throwing 37.5 times per game which is the third most in the league, they also have a successful running game starting with Williams. This season, Williams has 1,147 rushing yards and ten rushing touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Williams is sixth in the league in rushing yards and tied for seventh in the league for rushing touchdowns in his first season with the team. With how well the Cowboys throw the ball, they deal with less defenders in the box and Williams has taken full advantage of that this season. Williams has also done a great job at playing clean, only coughing up the ball once this season. While he does most of his damage on the ground, Williams is also a threat in the passing game totalling 35 receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns this season. The Commanders linebackers will likely be matched up with Williams most of the night and they will have their hands full trying to stop him.
Quinnen Williams
Williams is widely regarded as one of the best defensive tackles in the game, if not the best. The Cowboys traded for Williams at the trade deadline this season and he has performed well for them since joining the team. In just five games with the Cowboys, Williams has tallied 16 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and one and a half sacks. Williams has however been dealing with a concussion and is questionable for the game against the Commanders. The Commanders are an offense that will want to run the ball. And when facing a defense like the Cowboys that are the 12th worst rushing defense in the league per game and the seventh worst rushing defense per rush, if Williams is unable to go that will be a big loss for the Cowboys defense.
James Houston
Houston is having a bit of a bounce back season in his first season with the Cowboys. Other than his rookie year with the Lions, Houston has not recorded more than a single sack in a season. This season, Houston is leading the Cowboys in sacks with 5.5. Along with leading the team in sacks, Houston is tied for second on the team in tackles for loss with six. This season, Houston has also tallied 29 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. With the Commanders down multiple offensive lineman, Houston could be a player to watch along with Williams on the Cowboys defensive line looking to cause havoc and force the Commanders to not be able to run the ball.
With just two games to go in a season that has been over for a while, the Commanders will be looking to get anything positive to end the season including possibly an upset win over a division rival. The game is set to kick-off at 1PM ET and will be airing on Netflix.