RIVALRY RENEWED in the RAIN: COWBOYS vs REDSKINS
Brett Hundley. Photo courtesy of USA Today.Fall is officially in full-swing and while snow flurries are actually expected in some corners of the country, rain is once again east coast bound with the Redskins and Cowboys anticipating the worst of it at FedEx Field Sunday night.
According to NFLWeather.com, the Chesapeake forecast calls for heavy rains all day Sunday with swirling winds raging deep into the night. As the evening goes on, the precipitation will decrease but so will the temperatures. The temp at game time will be in the high-40s but it will feel more like mid-to-low 40s once the sun sets since it’s a 4:25p kickoff.
It’s been over five years since Dallas last won a rain game and Washington has snagged only one win in its last four previous rainy outings. Those subpar numbers are pretty astonishing given the NFC East features some nasty weather during the last two or three months of the regular season.
Washington (3-3) last won a rain game in 2015 when Kirk Cousins stormed into Chicago and stunned the Bears, 24-21. But even factoring in the win over the Bears, the ’Skins offense is stuck in the mud when weather is a factor, given the team averages less than 14 points per rain game. According to NFLWeather.com Historical Analytics, Washington is 3-5 in the rain since 2009 with an 0-2 record at home.
Cousins will need to carry the Washington offense thru the mud given the team doesn’t have the effective running game that Dallas does. In his lone rain game start, Cousins completed 10 of his first 11 passes against Chicago and while battling the damp conditions, he ended the afternoon 24-of-31 with over 300 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Chris Thompson and Robert Kelley will split the workload with Thompsons likely to snag a few receptions but don’t expect big numbers from either rusher.
The Cowboys (3-3) lean heavily on their second year back Ezekiel Elliot and with this Sunday’s game featuring heavy wind and torrential rain, why change anything for Week Eight? USA Today’s Steve Gardner gave Elliot his Broad Shoulders Award following last week’s stellar performance. Elliott “single handedly carried his fantasy owners to victory,” Gardner wrote this week, noting the bruising back racked up 219 total yards and three touchdowns which amass to 36.5 fantasy points in a standard scoring league.
The top fantasy play from this matchup could end up being Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. An elusive runner in college, even tho Prescott has matched his interception total from a year ago, his mobility in Sunday’s mud bowl could be the x-factor Dallas needs for a crucial road win within the division. Even if Prescott turns the ball over once or twice, as long as he doesn’t let that get to him then the young gunslinger shouldn’t have a problem putting up solid numbers against the ‘Skins D.
Since Josh Norman will be blanketing Dez Bryant, the likelihood for punches to be thrown is equally as high as hail in the forecast! Well, hail might not be happening, nor should punches be thrown, but bank on a mud bowl Sunday night. In fact, the only thing that may be dirtier than the players’ jerseys by the end of the game could be the trash talk between Bryant and Norman.
Brett Hundley. Photo courtesy of USA Today.Fall is officially in full-swing and while snow flurries are actually expected in some corners of the country, rain is once again east coast bound with the Redskins and Cowboys anticipating the worst of it at FedEx Field Sunday night.
According to NFLWeather.com, the Chesapeake forecast calls for heavy rains all day Sunday with swirling winds raging deep into the night. As the evening goes on, the precipitation will decrease but so will the temperatures. The temp at game time will be in the high-40s but it will feel more like mid-to-low 40s once the sun sets since it’s a 4:25p kickoff.
It’s been over five years since Dallas last won a rain game and Washington has snagged only one win in its last four previous rainy outings. Those subpar numbers are pretty astonishing given the NFC East features some nasty weather during the last two or three months of the regular season.
Washington (3-3) last won a rain game in 2015 when Kirk Cousins stormed into Chicago and stunned the Bears, 24-21. But even factoring in the win over the Bears, the ’Skins offense is stuck in the mud when weather is a factor, given the team averages less than 14 points per rain game. According to NFLWeather.com Historical Analytics, Washington is 3-5 in the rain since 2009 with an 0-2 record at home.
Cousins will need to carry the Washington offense thru the mud given the team doesn’t have the effective running game that Dallas does. In his lone rain game start, Cousins completed 10 of his first 11 passes against Chicago and while battling the damp conditions, he ended the afternoon 24-of-31 with over 300 yards and two touchdowns. Running backs Chris Thompson and Robert Kelley will split the workload with Thompsons likely to snag a few receptions but don’t expect big numbers from either rusher.
The Cowboys (3-3) lean heavily on their second year back Ezekiel Elliot and with this Sunday’s game featuring heavy wind and torrential rain, why change anything for Week Eight? USA Today’s Steve Gardner gave Elliot his Broad Shoulders Award following last week’s stellar performance. Elliott “single handedly carried his fantasy owners to victory,” Gardner wrote this week, noting the bruising back racked up 219 total yards and three touchdowns which amass to 36.5 fantasy points in a standard scoring league.
The top fantasy play from this matchup could end up being Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. An elusive runner in college, even tho Prescott has matched his interception total from a year ago, his mobility in Sunday’s mud bowl could be the x-factor Dallas needs for a crucial road win within the division. Even if Prescott turns the ball over once or twice, as long as he doesn’t let that get to him then the young gunslinger shouldn’t have a problem putting up solid numbers against the ‘Skins D.
Since Josh Norman will be blanketing Dez Bryant, the likelihood for punches to be thrown is equally as high as hail in the forecast! Well, hail might not be happening, nor should punches be thrown, but bank on a mud bowl Sunday night. In fact, the only thing that may be dirtier than the players’ jerseys by the end of the game could be the trash talk between Bryant and Norman.
