The Dallas Cowboys travel to FedEx Field to face the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football tonight. Washington moved into the top spot in the NFC East with a win over the New York Giants last week, and will look to create some separation with a divisional win over the Cowboys on Monday. Dallas took a devastating loss to the Carolina Panthers on Thanksgiving last week, and lost franchise quarterback Tony Romo for the season with a hairline fracture in his collarbone.
Backup quarterback Matt Cassel has yet to earn a win as a starter this season, and knows he will need to step up with Romo out the remainder of the year. "I try not to think of [just holding the fort] when your are playing because you've got to show these guys that your are going to be assertive, you are going to be a leader out on the field," said Cassel, via ESPN. "At the same time, with Tony not coming back, my leadership needs to step up even more. I need to be more assertive, and hopefully that will help us."
Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett will aim for a strong ground game with Cassel back in as quarterback. Running back Darren McFadden leads the team in rushing yards this season with 634, and has two touchdowns on the year. He will likely get plenty of touches Monday night, as the running game will open up holes in the passing game for Cassel.
While the Cowboys have clearly struggled this season, the Redskins are a difficult team to read. They struggle to be consistent, and head coach Jay Gruden is most likely preaching consistency to his team this upcoming week. Gruden will need quarterback Kirk Cousins to continue to make smart decisions with the ball, as his win-loss record is heavily impacted by turnovers.
Cousins has thrown for 2,787 yards this season with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Redskins quarterback is coming of a strong performance over the Giants, in which he threw for more than 300 yards and a touchdown. He's a unrestricted free agent following this season, and if he can lead Washington to the postseason he will be due big money come the offseason.
Washington has two strong running backs in their backfield, and both Alfred Morris and Matt Jones will look to get involved on Monday. Morris leads the team with 482 rushing yards, but has yet to find the endzone this year. Rookie running back, Jones, has been an impact player for the Redskins this season and has scored four touchdowns. The third round draft pick is a dual threat out of the backfield and has caught 15 passes for 267 yards. Gruden will get the ball to the hot hand Monday night, and either one of these running backs can make a major impact.
The Cowboys are still technically alive for the playoffs, and a win over the Redskins will only put them one game behind the division lead. The game starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here.
To listen to the Cowboys' radio broadcast, click here, and for the Redskins' radio broadcast, go here.
