The stakes are obvious for the Cowboys as they enter the final week of the regular season.
Dallas is still alive in the race for the NFC East and the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but they need some help. It starts with the Cowboys handling business against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. If they’re able to do that, they’ll need the Giants to dispose of the Eagles to clinch the NFC East, and then the Cardinals will need to beat the 49ers for the Cowboys to gain the No. 1 seed.
It’s not a favorable set of circumstances, but by no means is it an impossible one either.
But what if things don’t fall into place? What if the Cowboys handle their part, but the Giants and Cardinals don’t do you any favors against the Eagles and 49ers? Does that mean the game was a waste, and you missed an opportunity at valuable rest for ultimately no benefit? Not necessarily.
Here are three valuable things the Cowboys can gain from this weekend’s game, even if it doesn’t end in improved playoff seeding.
1) A Better Understanding of Nahshon Wright
Cornerback has been a bit of a problem for the Cowboys this season.
Anthony Brown struggled for much of the year before suffering a season-ending injury.
That injury occurred in the aftermath of losing Jourdan Lewis for the season as well. Since that time the Cowboys have found stability in rookie DaRon Bland, but the outside corner spot opposite Diggs in nickel defense remains unfilled.
The Cowboys hoped their 2021 2nd round pick Kelvin Joseph would step up, but that has led to disastrous results. The last two weeks have given their 3rd round pick from last season, Nahshon Wright, a chance to take hold of the job.
This game against Washington gives Wright another opportunity to find consistency, and do it against a pretty solid receiving corps.
Related
2) The T.Y. Hilton Connection
In his first two games with the Cowboys, T.Y. Hilton has been everything the team hoped Odell Beckham Jr. could have been.
Hilton has made big plays on 3rd down against both the Eagles and Titans, and the connection with Dak Prescott appears strong. With a likely increase in reps for Hilton as the team proceeds into January, the extra reps and opportunities to build game chemistry with Prescott will be valuable.
3) Offensive Line Cohesion
The Cowboys hope to get Tyler Biadasz back in time if they’re playing Wild Card weekend, but the truth is that his recovery timeline might be a little tight.
That would mean Connor McGovern, Matt Farniok, or one of the team’s practice squad centers having to hold things down.
It’s a positive that the team gets and entire game before the playoffs to figure out combinations if Biadasz is unable to recover in time for the first playoff game.
It’s also a good opportunity for Zack Martin and Tyron Smith to continue building their chemistry on the right side of the line. It’s easy to think that playing two Hall of Famers next to each other should yield immediate dominance, but the reality is that line cohesion takes time, even for really good football players like Martin and Smith.
Related
