Cowboys Playoff 'Spoiler Role' for Commanders? Washington 'Very Aware,' Says Ron Rivera

“The players this week well they're very much aware of it," Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera said of playing the Dallas Cowboys. "They understand that this is one of the top rivalries in the NFL and I don't think it necessarily matters what your record is.

The Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys do battle to end the regular season with both teams having opposite agendas heading into it.

Dallas knows a win will secure the No. 2 seed and at least one home playoff game, whereas for Washington, a win will see it play spoiler for the Cowboys' hopes of getting home field in the playoffs.

With nothing but pride to play for, head coach Ron Rivera says the team is aware of the role they could play on Sunday.

“The players this week well they're very much aware of it," Rivera said. "They understand that this is one of the top rivalries in the NFL and I don't think it necessarily matters what your record is.

"This is really about the opportunity to play against a team like this.”

The chance to ruin the Cowboys' playoff seeding is no doubt a nice carrot dangling in front of the Commanders and it will be Sam Howell who gets the chance to replicate what he did in Week 18 last year.

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After a trying week that saw him benched to then being named the starter, Howell went out and again, showed promise in the defeat to the San Francisco 49ers as the Commanders held their own in the first half.

The second half saw the game get away from Washington, but Rivera was pleased with how Howell handled that week from a mental standpoint.

“Yeah he handled it very well, no different than I thought he would,” Rivera said. ”He's a very solid young man who's really a very mentally tough guy and I thought he handled it nicely.”

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Howell will get the chance to cap off on what has been a bumpy first season as the Commanders' starting quarterback in a positive way, and while things haven't gone smoothly by any stretch, being able to spoil a rival's playoff seeding would be a nice way to end the year.

With a lot of question marks over the organization both on and off the field as sweeping changes are expected, Howell and Washington can give a decent parting gift to the Cowboys - by ruining their chances of having an advantageous playoff seeding.