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.
Commanders must get Jayden Daniels back in the groove
Don’t look now, but there could be a race for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after all.
This has been Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels’ award to claim all season long. Make no mistake - it still is. But he is coming off the worst game of his rookie campaign against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football, and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos is getting better and better.
Daniels still maintains a commanding lead. But if the recent trends continue, this race could be a lot closer than it once appeared.
The Commanders must leave no doubt by getting Daniels back into the groove that took the league by storm earlier in the campaign.
Of course, Daniels can put this to bed if he plays as he is capable against the Dallas Cowboys. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft is coming off a much-needed mini-bye, which should help him recover both mentally and physically. This alone should improve the energy levels.
Daniels has remained upbeat throughout his recent struggles, and at least part of his problem has been due to playing against very good defenses. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin routinely has his men ready for Baltimore Ravens' superstar signal-caller Lamar Jackson. They were ready for Washington’s new iteration.
Against the Eagles, however, Daniels simply looked off. He has been dealing with a rib injury for the past several weeks and playing on short rest. That seemed to limit him in a much colder climate.
The Heisman Trophy winner out of LSU didn’t look nearly as effective running the ball. His throws were not as crisp as they have been. However, it is natural for any rookie quarterback to hit a wall at some point.
The combination of rest and a less formidable opponent should help Daniels look like the player who led the Commanders to a 7-2 record in the first half of the season.
Commanders must win the fourth quarter
If the offensive line plays well and the Washington Commanders control the football, it should go a long way to correcting one of the biggest problems they have had in recent weeks. They have not commanded the fourth quarter.
They led against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles entering the final frame but were unable to close the deal. That is in part because both teams had been beating them down across the line of scrimmage for the better part of the first three quarters.
Washington stayed with the Steelers right until the end. They were dominated by the Eagles at the business end of their primetime contest.
Both games were largely decided earlier. Washington lost the time-of-possession battles badly in both. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia held the ball 14 minutes longer than the Commanders. That showed up in the fourth quarter, during which Washington was defeated by a combined 27-8.
If Sam Cosmi and company can control the line early, Brian Robinson Jr. can grind away at the Dallas Cowboys' suspect run defense. Then the Commanders will be the fresher team in the final stanza and it should pay off on the scoreboard.
Regardless of how the first three quarters go, Dan Quinn needs to find a way to get his men playing their best when the game is likely to be on the line late.
Commanders must have a plan for KaVontae Turpin
Just for good measure, here’s a bonus issue for Washington to address.
Dallas has very few explosive players outside of CeeDee Lamb. The prolific wide receiver has been fighting off injuries over the past few weeks. With diminished quarterback play, he is not quite as scary as he typically is.
KaVontae Turpin is.
The diminutive Turpin is one of the most dangerous kick returners in the league. Last week he turned on the jets to burn the Houston Texans defense for a 64-yard touchdown catch from Cooper Rush.
Look for Dallas to get him involved against a Commanders secondary that has been playing better of late, but still struggles against good passing attacks. On both returns and receptions, Washington needs to corral Turpin.