On Sunday September 12th at 8:20 pm, Eastern Standard Time, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys will meet at FedExField to open their regular NFL season. Today marks the one hundred and first game between these two NFC Eastern Conference rivals.
National Football League teams, as far back as 1978, which win the first game of the NFL season, are twice as likely to reach the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys have a three game winning streak against the Washington Redskins.
Dallas Cowboys will notice something is quite different today at FedExField. The Redskins have a new Head Coach, Mike Shanahan, and a new Quarterback, Donovan McNabb. The Redskins also have a rookie Defensive Tackle, Trent Williams, for Outside Linebacker DeMarcus Ware (#94) to experiment on.
This should be an interesting game. Donovan McNabb has met the Dallas Cowboys 18 times during his Career. He has a record of 11 wins and 7 losses against the Cowboys as a Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback. McNabb has also thrown 13 interceptions during these meetings.
Mike Shanahan accumulated 146 regular season NFL victories during his career as Head Coach of the Denver Broncos in the AFC Western Division; that’s second only to Bill Belichick. Shanahan has met the Cowboys four times and he’s won three of those games. So what’s his secret? It’s the running game. Shanahan has had at least six Running Backs who’ve rushed for over a thousand yards during his career with the Broncos; from 1995 through 2008. He definitely understands the winning formula for success in the NFL.
The Cowboys Quarterback, Antonio Ramiro Romo has struggled in the Red Zone, unable to capitalize after moving the football down the field. Here’s an interesting note, Tony Romo was undrafted in 2003, but he was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys as a rookie free agent. Mike Shanahan offered Jerry Jones a third round draft pick for Tony Romo. Jerry Jones wanted a second round draft pick, so they were unable to close the deal. Three years later in October of 2006, after Drew Bledsoe was unable to pick up the mantle, Tony Romo became the starting Quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. He was handpicked by Bill Parcells.
I do not believe the Washington Redskins have had enough time to marinate under Mike Shanahan; though I do expect them to become a team to contend with in the very near future. The Cowboys have too many weapons and, with the bickering over whose playing Nose Tackle for the Redskins, I suspect there’s going to be an opportunity for a Jerry Jones team.
The Cowboys must get their running game established early in order to protect Tony Romo and the Cowboys passing attack. The Dallas offensive linemen must respond. They must score in the Red Zone. The Cowboys Wide Receivers must get open. The Cowboys defense has to stop Mike Shanahan’s running game. If the Washington Redskins win the toss the Cowboys must keep them from scoring on the opening drive. I don't believe the Cowboys can accomplish these tasks; therefore I pick the Redskins to win today. Looks like Dallas Cowboys 10 and Washington Redskins 17.
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