Cowboys' season on the line against Redskins
Season, meet the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys, meet the season.
That's what is on the line Thursday night when the Cowboys host the Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys have lost three straight games to fall to 5-6, the same record as the Redskins. If the Cowboys lose Thursday, then their reign as NFC East champs will officially come to an end with the Philadelphia Eagles clinching the division.
A win would likely just delay the inevitable, but it would at least keep the Cowboys alive in the wild-card chase, with their next two games coming against the New York Giants without Eli Manning as the starter and the similarly disappointing Oakland Raiders.
Win Thursday, then the following two games, and the Cowboys will stand at 8-6 with Ezekiel Elliott returning.
"Hopefully we can kind of keep ourselves in the race," center Travis Frederick said, "and that starts with a win Thursday."
Different look: When these teams met a month ago at FedEx Field, Samaje Perine was active but did not get a carry for Washington.
Now, the rookie from Oklahoma is their lead running back.
In the last two games, Perine has carried 23 times for 117 yards and a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints and 24 times for 100 yards against the Giants. In the last three games, the Cowboys have not allowed a 100-yard rusher (Philadelphia's Jay Ajayi had 91) but they have not exactly stopped the run, either, giving up 132, 215 and 81 yards (72 in the second half) to the Atlanta Falcons, Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers.
"He's just been productive," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said of Perine. "They've handed him the ball. He's a good downhill runner. He's physical and he's been productive for them, very efficient in the running game and a hard guy to tackle."
Same look: Since arriving in 2011 as a first-round pick, it just seems like Ryan Kerrigan always has success against the Cowboys. In 13 games he has 8.5 sacks, which are the second most he has against one team. Philadelphia fans might argue Kerrigan has hurt them more, as he has 10.5 sacks against the Eagles.
Kerrigan leads the Redskins with nine sacks this season, and he had two when these teams met in October. His 67.5 career sacks are third-most in team history and he is one of five players to record at least 7.5 in each of the first seven seasons of his career, since sacks became an official stat in 1982. Jared Allen, Derrick Thomas, DeMarcus Ware and Reggie White are the others.
"Just makes a lot of plays for them in the running game, affecting the quarterback," Garrett said. "He's one of those guys that just plays through the echo of the whistle. He gets a lot of production just because he hustles and has a relentless spirit and he comes back the next play and does it again."
The ref: Following their first loss of the season, the Cowboys were looking to rebound against the Arizona Cardinals. Craig Wrolstad was the ref in that game, which the Cowboys won. In fact, they have won three straight games with Wrolstad as the ref, so maybe that's a good sign for them. In five games with him as the ref, the Cowboys have been penalized 27 times for 233 yards and their opponents have been flagged 29 times for 248 yards. Here is a breakdown of Wrolstad's work in last week's game between the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.