3 key matchups that will determine Washington-Cowboys showdown

The Washington Football Team has built up a ton of equity over the last month, picking up wins over Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and most recently, Derek Carr, the NFL’s then-leading passer.

The offense, meanwhile, has seemingly hit its stride with Taylor Heinicke owning the third-best passer rating in the NFL during that span and Antonio Gibson turning a corner and running like a top-tier back.

This Sunday, though, we will learn if Washington is for real, as they’ll welcome the Dallas Cowboys to FedEx Field for a game with colossal NFC East implications. Win and you’re suddenly a game back of Dallas with four games left. Lose and you’re an additional game back with little room to make up that ground.

We could go on a tangent about how little separates these squads and what the came could come down to, but let’s keep it simple and focus on three matchups that will most certainly determine the outcome.

3 matchups to watch in Washington Football Team vs Cowboys

3. Terry McLaurin vs Trevon Diggs

Anyone else been counting down the hours until the rematch between Terry McLaurin and Trevon Diggs. There was only one winner in this matchup last season, and it wasn’t the Cowboys’ opportunistic cornerback.

Washington absolutely owned Dallas in both of their meetings last season, and McLaurin was a huge reason why. The third-year superstar had a myriad of highlights in those games, but none were better than his 52-yard TD reception in Week 7, after which he trolled Diggs in savage fashion by rocking the baby.

https://twitter.com/KBHTTR91/status/1467938675149398020

Washington went on to win 25-3 and McLaurin finished the the game with seven receptions for 90 yards and that score. If he can find similar success against Diggs, who leads the NFL with nine interceptions, the Football Team should find themselves in a position to defeat their longtime rivals at home.

As outstanding as Diggs is as making plays on the ball — he might be the best CB in the league in that regard — he has severe limitations in coverage. Over 12 games, the former second-round pick owns a 59.6 coverage grade from PFF.

And have you ever seen him try to tackle against the run? We NEED Diggs to meet Antonio Gibson in the open field, because it’s despicable.

While McLaurin vs Diggs is the matchup we’re most looking forward to watching on Sunday, it wasn’t quite deserving of the top spot on this list.