(Arlington) For the third straight time, the Dallas Cowboys are favored by more than 10 points to extend their longest home winning streak since the franchise was in the midst of a 20-game winning streak at home, an NFL record, about forty years ago.
There’s one more thing to keep the team motivated before their schedule gets tough: their most usual Thanksgiving opponent, with an 11th visit by Washington, now the Commanders, on Thursday.
The timing of this match helps too.
“A lot of people feel like the season is winding down,” said six-time Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin. But the most important football is played starting around Thanksgiving. »
The Cowboys (7-3) have won 12 straight games at the AT
They easily beat their top two underdog opponents the past two weeks, giving them six wins by at least 20 points this season, one shy of the team mark.
The Commanders (4-7) committed six turnovers in last week’s 31-19 loss to the New York Giants. They are only one game away from last place in the East of the National and discussions about the future of coach Ron Rivera are going well.
“I can only control each day at a time,” Rivera said Monday. That’s all. After that, the future, I cannot predict. But I can tell you that this morning we had a good meeting and we are preparing for the future. »
The Cowboys have been good in games where they were favorites, except in Week 3, a loss at Arizona, one of only two wins for the Cardinals this season.
The Texas team is preparing to begin a difficult portion of their schedule after Thanksgiving, with back-to-back games against opponents with a winning record.
But they only have their eyes turned towards the Commanders.
“This is a sectional game,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. There is history, traditions that are part of this meeting. It’s Thanksgiving. All of these things give players more energy. This is what we are preparing for. »
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott saw his three-game streak with 300-plus yards come to an end, just as wide receiver CeeDee Lamb saw his record three-game streak with 10 catches and 150 yards come to an end.
Their numbers weren’t like their previous games, but they were enough to lead the Cowboys to a 33-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Lamb still scored a touchdown for the third time in four games and nine players caught at least two passes.
Prescott could, however, extend his streak of games with at least two touchdown passes to five, which would be one shy of his career best streak.