Five positives and negatives for Washington Football Team vs. Cowboys.
The Washington Football Team won for the fourth time this season and second time in a row. On Thanksgiving Day, Washington put themselves into first place in the NFC East divisional championship race.
Guess what? Washington is in first place, but they would lose the division in a tiebreaker with the Giants for now. The WFT was able to rout the Dallas Cowboys for the second time this season and establish themselves as a contender for the NFC East division championship.
Washington played well throughout the game and put it away with a very strong fourth quarter. Can you believe it? The last time Washington won on Thanksgiving Day came in 2012 as they surged to an impressive NFC East title. And 2020 is the first seasonal sweep of the Cowboys since, you guessed it, 2012. Draw your own conclusions.
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On Thursday against the Cowboys, Washington was able to control the game for most of the afternoon, but the contest wasn’t decided until later in the fourth quarter. If the first meeting earlier this season against the Cowboys was total domination, then this game was nothing short of annihilation for the home team. It sure would be nice to have a third Cowboys game on the schedule this season!
Can the WFT maintain first place through the end of the season and line up a playoff game at home? It’s not out of the question, but the entire NFC East is facing tough schedules over the final five games of the season. It’s possible that the eventual NFC East champion could enter the playoff with a 6-10 or 5-11 record.
We still need to understand that the WFT is in a rebuild, but the experience of a playoff game can be a huge boost to a young team that is starting to believe in themselves, the coaches, and the system.
Obviously, there are many positives to talk about after the Cowboys game, but we will keep the focus to five good moments – we think. Reluctantly, there are some negatives, but they number far fewer than the positives.
Let’s get right to the positives and negatives for this mid-week contest and see if we can make any sense of what is going on.
Positive 1
How about that offensive line? Morgan Moses has done remarkably well at left tackle after having to move there out of necessity. Wes Schweitzer has righted the ship at left guard following the replacement of Wes Martin.
Chase Roullier continues to hold down the center position effectively. The return of Brandon Scherff at right guard a few games ago turned out to be a needed boost for a line that needed it. David Sharpe at right tackle raised the biggest question marks of all, but his solid play the last two games (two victories) has been nothing short of impressive.
The reason this offense has been so explosive over the last two games begins and ends with the effective play of the offensive line. They have opened huge holes in the running game and while the pass protection could use a bit of improvement, it hasn’t been a negative. For their efforts on Thursday, we recognize the offensive line as a definite positive.
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Negative 1
It needs to be said. Ronald Darby had a poor first half, but he was much better in the second half. Darby has been a superb cornerback this season, but even the best players have a poor game or two on occasion. This is not to forgive Darby, but it’s simply admitting that lapses can happen.
Darby had the monumental task of guarding talented Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper on Thursday and it proved to be a difficult endeavor. Ultimately, it had little effect on the game and Darby did a better job down the stretch.
There is nothing wrong with being on the Darby bandwagon. Any good cornerback will have difficult games and going against elite receivers will always be a challenge. Darby was a negative on Thursday, but it seems like we are nit-picking here.
Positive 2
Here is what we said after the previous game. “Terry McLaurin will be a permanent resident on this weekly list until further notice”. Welcome back!
At 69 receptions and 963 yards so far this season, McLaurin is simply a force that defensive coordinators can’t ignore any longer. When you look at those stats and realize that five games still remain in the season, it definitely boggles the mind.
Don’t take our word for it. Look at what retired receiver extraordinaire Chad Johnson thinks.
https://twitter.com/ochocinco/status/1332367125470699524
A short time after this post on social media, Johnson tipped a waiter $963 on a $41 bill. That’s one dollar for every yard from McLaurin this season. That is mighty fine praise from an all-time great and we’ll leave it at that for now.
Negative 2
The second negative for this week is not directed at a player or particular unit. It’s not directed at the offense or defense. It’s not directed at the coaches.
Confused? The second negative for this week is directed at yours truly. The second negative last week was directed at Ryan Anderson and that was a huge mistake. Thinking it was a coach’s decision to bench Anderson last week was 100 percent incorrect. Anderson is currently hobbled with an injured knee and someone is consuming some humble pie with all of the Thanksgiving leftovers.
Apologies to Mr. Anderson for the horrible mistake. He was sidelined again on Thursday as the injury lingers and his status going forward is unknown. Negative number two is aimed in my direction and I take full responsibility for the error. Let’s hope we see Ryan Anderson back on the field very soon.
Positive 3
The entire running back corps is the recipient of our third positive this week. Antonio Gibson, Peyton Barber, and J.D. McKissic turned Dallas’ defense into Thanksgiving mincemeat pie and they feasted extensively against the Cowboys. Here are the stats for each player.
- Gibson: 20 carries for 115 yards, five catches for 21 yards, three touchdowns.
- Barber: 11 carries for 57 yards.
- McKissic: One carry for six yards, two catches for 21 yards.
Gibson is the obvious star here, but look at the production from Barber. He provided several key rushes for first downs and did a great job of giving Gibson some rest along the way.
McKissic didn’t produce a great deal, but two catches kept the chains moving. The rushing attack was potent against the Cowboys and they are the third positive for this week.
Negative 3
Shaun Dion Hamilton has produced some solid games for the WFT in recent years, but 2020 has been a struggle for the former Alabama star. His role on the defense and special teams continues to diminish.
While he had no bad mistakes on Thursday, Hamilton’s impact this season has been minimal. Is he playing his way out of Washington in the coming months?
Hamilton had one tackle against the Cowboys. He has 14 tackles in 11 games. The linebackers have struggled at times this season and Hamilton’s decline has stood out the most. At the risk of sounding impertinent here, please realize that raw statistics don’t lie. SDH needs to produce over the next five games or he will be searching for a new home during the upcoming offseason.
Positive 4
Tress Way unleashed two punts on Sunday in what seemed like very limited work. Ok, it was limited. Admittedly, it was very limited. So why should he be a positive this week? Two punts and nothing more? Not even one successful fake punt? No trick plays? Yes, it was just two punts – nothing more, nothing less.
Oh, did we fail to mention that one punt sailed for 60 yards and another punt traveled 57 yards? That is a 58.5 yard average on the day. The 57-yard punt was downed just inside the 10-yard line. That is why Tress Way is recognized as a positive this week.
Negative 4
Here is another negative directed at yours truly. Last week’s prediction in the “Grades” article was clearly wrong. Yes, the prediction had the Cowboys winning, 38-28. How pathetic was that call? Yes, yours truly missed it by a wide margin, but the final results were much better. It’s nice to be talking about a huge victory over a division rival and watching the fourth quarter explosion was a lot of fun.
Yes, I am a double negative for the week. By mathematical standards, that makes it a positive, right? Just wait until the “Grades” article comes out very soon and a prediction for the Steelers game!
Positive 5
There were so many positives from the Cowboys game and narrowing it down to just one more is extremely difficult this week. With that in mind, we have a unique problem and we address it in the next negative segment.
Kam Curl is a fantastic positive for this week. What an amazing find in the seventh round of the 2020 draft. Curl put in another solid day on Thursday and he is proving that a seventh-rounder could start next season over a perceived superstar in Landon Collins. At the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, let’s just say that Curl is playing like a seasoned veteran.
The former Arkansas standout had several key plays throughout the game and contributed eight tackles total. One key play came late in the game when Montez Sweat intercepted a screen pass and ran it in for a touchdown. Curl quickly positioned his body between Sweat and the quarterback. Any thoughts of the Cowboys quarterback making a tackle there was blocked by Curl.
Washington Commanders
Is this the first of many positives for Kam Curl? He could be a star in the making.
Negative 5, Make it Positive 6
Here is a negative. Once again, Washington didn’t score a touchdown on the first drive. That’s it – that is your fifth negative.
And now for the bonus – a sixth positive. Logan Thomas is becoming an intriguing option in the WFT offense. The coaches used his skillsets in trick plays once again on Thursday. He can gain the two or three yards needed in a quarterback sneak. As a former quarterback, he can throw an accurate pass for short yardage or a thirty-yard gain. He did that and caught a touchdown pass against the Cowboys.
Logan Thomas is a much bigger, stronger, and younger version Taysom Hill. Yes, Thomas is the recipient of the extra positive for this week.
Final Thoughts
Here is an interesting, but lighthearted thought about the WFT-Dallas game. Only one team in NFL history has been swept in a single season by a team with no name. Funny, but true.
The Thanksgiving Day game was fun for the players, coaches, and fans. It certainly made the holiday feast taste a lot better. For fans outside of the United States, no one would blame you for joining in the feast with some good tasting food and drink as well.
Here is what we said last week. It still holds true.
"A victory is a victory and the fans will gladly take it. As recently as last week, the “Five and Five” told everyone to forget the playoffs and embrace the rebuild. Honestly, the rebuild should be the main focus, but the experience of a playoff game is valuable as well. Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks."
Shortly before this article was posted, Washington was in a first-place tie in the NFC East once again, but the Giants have the tiebreaker for now. The race for a division championship could come down to the last week and all four teams are still very much alive with five games remaining in the regular season. Strap in tight. It is going to be a crazy ride.
Watching the WFT enjoy the fourth quarter with a lot of smiles, high fives, hugs, and good cheer was what this team needed. We watched them become a close-knit organization on Thursday and each player is buying into the system. Even if they come up short in the playoff race, look for this young team to make a positive impression on the league in 2021.
We’ll return following the Steelers game for five more positives and negatives. We could be talking about the division-leading Washington Football Team this time next week.