Riggo's Rag
FanSided

Redskins vs. Cowboys: Keys to victory in Week 2 of the NFL season

By Kyle Hundley

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 22: Da'Ron Payne #95 of Washington sacks Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter of a football game at AT&T Stadium on November 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 22: Da'Ron Payne #95 of Washington sacks Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter of a football game at AT&T Stadium on November 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 12: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after scoring a 1 yard touchdown in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 12: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after scoring a 1 yard touchdown in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

4. Redskins must bottle up Ezekiel Elliott

After a lengthy contract holdout, Ezekiel Elliott signed in time to play Week 1 and had a modest game by his standards, 53 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. While this may be a quarterback-driven league, the Cowboys’ offense goes through Elliott. Since coming into the league, Elliott has averaged 100 yards a game in 41 games. He has had some monster games against the Redskins.

With Jonathan Allen likely out this week and Caleb Brantley being placed on IR, it is going to be critical that Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle step up in his place. Daron Payne must have a big game as well in the interior. The defensive line is supposed to be the strength of this team so they must contain Elliott. He had his worst game of 2018 against Washington in their first matchup. The defense must have an encore performance similar to last years.

Elliott has arguably the most talented line in the league to run behind (a great way to test the defensive line by facing two of the leagues’ best offensive lines right away). The trenches are where games are won and lost.

The Eagles ran for 123 yards on 31 attempts against the Redskins as they controlled the clock during the second half. If Elliott gets going and allows Prescott to work play-action off of the running game, Washington is going to have a tough time winning this game.

Home/Commanders News