4 complex conundrums the Commanders must solve before Week 12 vs. Cowboys

The Washington Commanders play their most important game of the season on Sunday when they host the struggling Dallas Cowboys at Northwest Stadium. It's a big game with significant ramifications attached for Dan Quinn's men.

The Commanders have dropped two straight games to fall out of first place in the NFC East, but their playoff chances remain excellent. To keep those hopes where they are, Quinn’s crew must defeat their archrival.

The last two games were against division leaders with championship aspirations. Washington has proven they can compete with teams like that, though they still appear to be a year away from consistently winning such games. Where they have cleaned up in 2024 has been in contests against those they should be beating.

Only two of their final six games come against teams with winning records. One of them, the Atlanta Falcons, has been struggling of late. If the Commanders do what they have done all season and take care of business against lower-tier opponents, they will finish with a winning record for the first time since 2017 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

That begins with the Cowboys.

Jerry Jones’ club began with an eye on the Super Bowl. They are now firmly in free fall.

They have lost five straight games. In those losses, Dallas has been outscored by more than 100 points. They have lost their starting quarterback. They have injuries up and down the roster. The Commanders should win in a cakewalk.

However, anyone who has watched this rivalry play out over the years knows this is when the Cowboys are most dangerous.

They still have a lot of talent and would like nothing more than to steal the spotlight from the Commanders and their new star quarterback Jayden Daniels. In other words, the wounded Cowboys are a dangerous outfit despite their lowly record.

Here are three problems the Commanders must fix to get back on the winning track.

Problems the Commanders must solve before Week 12 vs. Cowboys

Offensive line cohesion

This especially applies to the interior offensive linemen, but it can be extended across the board.

When the Washington Commanders were playing at their best, center Tyler Biadasz, along with guards Sam Cosmi and Nick Allegretti, were controlling the middle of the line. That has not been true in the last two weeks.

To be fair, the Commanders have taken on two teams built around their ferocious defensive lines. They have among the best collections of defensive tackles in the NFL. Cameron Heyward and Jalen Carter gave Washington’s interior linemen fits. And they were just the headliners.

Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have plenty of depth and talent across the middle. That makes it almost impossible to give a lot of help to the individual blockers. They have to hold their own.

Fortunately, the Cowboys do not even come close to the type of physical playmakers Washington’s previous two opponents had. This position has long been a weakness for Dallas. This season, none of the interior linemen have been able to stand up to physical offenses.

The Commanders - especially Cosmi - have to be cohesive. They must take control of the game early and maintain it for 60 minutes.