FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys will play their sixth ever Christmas Day game on Thursday against the Washington Commanders, the first of two NFC East opponents they'll face to close out the season.
In their previous five games on December 25, the Cowboys are 2-3. Thursday would serve as an opportunity to get to .500 on Christmas, and also get Dallas to within a game of finishing at .500 for the season, which they'd accomplish by beating the Giants in Week 18.
For now, let's dive into some keys to the game for Dallas against the Commanders:
Utilize the short passing game
In a year that's been effective all across the board for the Cowboys offense, one area they've executed at a high level in is the short passing game, with attempts that are between the line of scrimmage and 10 yards down field.
For the year, the Cowboys have the third most passing yards in the short passing game (1,716) with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions to go alongside it.
In their first meeting with the Commanders earlier this season, Dak Prescott completed 15 of his 20 passing attempts within 10 yards for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Dallas has multiple different ways that they can get to those types of plays. George Pickens' quick slant routes were one of them. We've seen quick throws from Prescott to his tight ends on curls routes too. Or, Prescott can get into his groove in the play action game and hit someone on a crosser as well.
Ultimately, the Cowboys will have their choice for how they can use the short passing game to move downfield. The good news is, the Commanders have struggled recently to get pressure on the quarterback since their first meeting with Dallas, when they lost DE and former Cowboy Dorance Armstrong for the season to a knee injury. Since Armstrong's injury, Washington has gone from a 40.7% pressure rate (third-highest in the NFL) to 25.9% (second-lowest).
Chance to try new things on defense
We saw a little bit of experimentation from the Cowboys in a few ways last week, most notably with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus moving from the sideline to the coaches booth in order to try and gain a better perspective of the defense.
Another moment that stood out was a specific formation where the Cowboys had three down linemen, and Donovan Ezeiruaku lined up like a linebacker and rushed against the interior of the offensive line as opposed to the outside like he usually does. He was trying to spring open Kenny Clark on a stunt, but the Cowboys couldn't get home.
While that specific instance didn't work, this week's game and next week's serve as an opportunity to continue to try different things and see if there's anything that you can find success with that could carry over into next season.
For example, and I'm not saying this is the sole option that could be experimented with nor am I hinting it'll happen, what about trying some more six-man blitzes? The Cowboys have sent six rushes 5.8% of the time this year, the tenth-lowest mark in the league. Could that be a way where they can finally turn pressure into sacks?
Believe it or not, the Cowboys have recorded the 15th highest pressure rate in the NFL this season at 34.7%. Pressure is well and good, but getting the quarterback to the ground and forcing them into bad decisions is what makes that number look better. The Cowboys have struggled to do the latter half of that equation, but could try some new things against Washington considering the quarterback situation they are in.
Secondary needs a confidence boost
Speaking of the Commanders' quarterback situation, regardless of who plays on Thursday, Dallas' secondary could really use a confidence boost to close out their season. They could get that from Washington's offense.
Whether it's Marcus Mariota, who did not practice on Monday or Tuesday leading into Thursday's game, or Josh Johnson, who is just 1-8 as a starting quarterback in his 10-year NFL career and has 17 career interceptions compared to 13 touchdowns, the Cowboys have a shot to find their footing after a few weeks of struggling defending the pass.
For starters, the Cowboys' first game against the Commanders earlier this season was one of their best. Jayden Daniels completed 12 of his 22 attempts for 156 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game with an injury, and Dallas held Mariota to four of 10 passing for 63 yards and an interception.
Now, remember that in that game, the Commanders did not have both Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel, their two best receivers. That changes things for the offense, but it's also a good opportunity for Dallas' secondary pieces, especially the younger ones like Shavon Revel, to get valuable reps underneath their belts. If they can put together a good performance against Washington and carry it over into the following week against the Giants, it at least gives some positive momentum heading into the offseason.
