Sunday, 8:20 p.m.; TV » NBC
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Three Keys to Victory
1. Control the middle » That means center Casey Rabach and nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu. Rabach has a tough assignment in Dallas’ Jay Ratliff. He’s smaller and faster than the typical nose tackle and disrupts plays with his penetration. That can impact Washington’s stretch runs. Meanwhile, if the Cowboys can run up the middle they’ll be tough to stop. That means Kemoeatu must anchor down better than he has at times this summer.
2. Capitalize on the backups » Dallas’ starting offensive line, shaky to begin with, likely will have two starters sidelined by injuries: right tackle Marc Colombo and left guard Kyle Kosier. The Cowboys have experienced backups in Alex Barron at tackle and Montrae Holland at guard, but neither was brought there to start. Linebacker Andre Carter will face Barron while the Redskins can use Albert Haynesworth over Holland on occasion, which should be a mismatch.
3. Beware the rush » Donovan McNabb has been sacked 23 times in his last seven games vs. Dallas — of course that was with Philadelphia. But he does hold the ball a bit longer than most because he’s trying to make plays downfield. That means more sack opportunities. However, the Redskins will help him with a lot of rollouts and bootlegs. This will be a good chance to gauge their new pass protection schemes, too. They’re designed to stop blitzes.
Key matchups
Trent Williams • Redskins • LT » The rookie gets quite a test in his first start. He must limit his bad plays.
vs.
DeMarcus Ware • Cowboys • LB » He’s recorded 45 sacks the past three seasons, but can dominate games without getting one.
Jammal Brown • Redskins • RT » Two-time Pro Bowl LT is making his first start at RT since 2005 and first start since 2008.
vs.
Anthony Spencer • Cowboys • LB » Known as a run-stopper, he’s an improved rusher. He played well vs. Washington last season.
Reed Doughty • Redskins • FS » Better suited for strong safety, injuries forced him here. Will range be an issue?
vs.
Tony Romo • Cowboys • QB » He’ll attack the middle with TE Jason Witten and WR Miles Austin to test Doughty.
State of the teams
COWBOYS » Dallas enters banged up, but with heavy expectations for a Super Bowl run. Considering its offensive line, that’s asking a lot. But the Cowboys’ defense, one of the game’s best, is healthy.
REDSKINS » Washington begins the Mike Shanahan era with a lot of confidence. The Redskins have talked about the new atmosphere and how much they like playing for Shanahan. But will all these changes make for a bumpy start?
Examiner predicts
Shanahan was 10-4 in season openers in Denver, but he has a tough task here. The Redskins have questions all over the place. But Dallas potentially being down two starting offensive linemen makes a huge difference. Emotion wins out.
Redskins 14, Cowboys 13
