Rebellion's, Hope, and a Last Stand: 5 Keys to Washington's Week 7 Win Against Dallas

Can Operation 2021 be held off for another week?

There are some things to be said about hope.

People hang their fandom on hope for a team that has floundered in the abyss for 20+ years. Political campaigns harness hope to victory. Parents can cling to hope during a pregnancy that their child will be healthy. And as Jyn Erso says in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, “Rebellions are built on hope.”

Hope. Such a simple four letter word. But it can carry so much power and emotion.

Entering the Thursday night match-up between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles the NFC East was 5-18-1. And with the Eagles beating the Giants, the NFC East continues to be up for grabs. And it all begins—and ends with—Sunday’s game against Dallas.

Win and you are sitting one-half game behind the Eagles. If you lose and drop to 1-6, you're looking up at the Cowboys and Giants with a losing division record. Washington then heads into their bye week having to make potential difficult decisions at the trade deadline.

The Cowboys are the evil empire that has seen its franchise life force fade from its evil façade. They are simply a shell of themselves. Just like this rivalry.

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Here are my five (5) keys to a Washington win against the Dallas Cowboys:

Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper: Ever since Amari Cooper arrived in Dallas, he puts on a show against Washington. In three games, Cooper has tallied 16 receptions, 316 yards, and 3 touchdowns on 19 targets. With Dallas having more weapons they could go elsewhere. But why fix what isn’t broken.

While quarterback Andy Dalton played arguably the worst football of his NFL career against the Arizona Cardinals, he still has a way of finding his best target.

Dalton looked to keep Cooper involved as much as possible adding to those receiving stats where he is now averaging 10.8 targets, 7.6 catches and 83.8 yards per game.

With the emergence of rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb the past five games—by seeing no less than seven targets—it will be even more important for the secondary to keep Cooper in check.

Do this, and Washington will be in position to walk away victorious Sunday.

The Terry McLaurin Show: Washington has quickly found itself short on reliable receivers. Steven Sims, Jr. is on injured reserved while rookies Antonio Gandy-Golden and Isaiah Wright are nursing injuries suffered against the Giants.

Weapons will be limited with Dontrelle Inman being reliable on third downs, but not someone you can lean on for a high-volume day.

McLaurin hasn’t seen less then seven targets in a game this year, but it has been when he’s seen a majority of them that has been concerning. He gets most of his target share in the second half when Washington has already been trailing. If offensive coordinator Scott Turner is wanting to get up early on a vulnerable Dallas secondary, he needs to have Kyle Allen get McLaurin involved early and often.

Sunday could be Terry’s biggest day of his career. Washington just needs it to be mostly done in the first half so they can nurse a lead against a struggling Cowboys offense.

Short Field, More Points: Washington has gone 5 straight games without scoring 21+ points. The only time they have done that was against the Philadelphia Eagles when Dwayne Haskins rallied the troops at halftime.

Part of the reason Washington was able to comeback against Philadelphia was the turnover margin and constant pressure they put on Carson Wentz. For all of his early flaws with play design from Scott Turner, he has improved one area that the offense struggled with under former head coach Jay Gruden.

Washington is 15th in the NFL at 64.7% in red zone efficiency in 2020 compared to last year where they converted 48.8% of their red zone attempts landing them at 27th in the league. If there is one thing that we can trust Turner with is getting points on the board once the field gets shortened.

Forcing turnovers and putting pressure on Andy Dalton, who was rattled easily against the Arizona Cardinals Monday night is a recipe for success and Washington’s second win of the year.

Take Your Shot, Kyle Allen: Something that Washington’s offense has been lacking this year is the big play. Whether it’s been by play design, a quarterback not reading through route progressions correctly, or the offensive line, the big play has been near non-existent.

That should change against a porous Cowboys secondary. Which means Kyle Allen needs to look for McLaurin, Cam Sims, and whomever else will be called up at wide receiver on 20+ yard routes.

Stretching the field deep will also allow for receivers like Inman and tight end Logan Thomas to be freed more on their drag and slant routes. Allen taking shots will also give the running backs a better opportunity at open lanes and screens.

If Kyle Allen doesn’t give away his shot, Washington can put up 21+ points easily and win by a big margin.

Lock the Top Down: Despite New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones’ 49-yard run, the secondary did their best job to date of keeping the 40+ yard pass play under control. Pulling Troy Apke for Deshazor Everett allowed for a more disciplined, and sure tackler, to take over the free safety position. There are still issues with Landon Collins in coverage, but there was improvement.

Keeping the top sealed on defense—and avoiding big plays will allow for a Washington offense that struggles to score points in the game.

As mentioned above,  Lamb has started to show why he was Dallas’ first round pick. Lamb has speed and the quick twitch that can make defenders go crazy. Michael Gallup can also find a seam and exploit it for a play that flips the field.

For a team that has leaned on dinking and dunking up and down the field, allowing quick explosive plays over the top is not an ideal way to keep yourself in it.

If Washington is going to win on Sunday, they will need the most disciplined game of the year out of  Collins and Everett.

Game Prediction: I was hoodwinked last week. I’ll admit it. I thought Washington had their ducks in a row against a bad New York Giants team. Woops!

Washington yet again found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and fall to the cellar of the NFC East. Sunday is redemption time.

With an offense depleted of weapons and a mediocre running game Washington is going to lean heavily on McLaurin, Thomas, and Gibson. The defense will also need to leverage their advantage along the line where Dallas is nursing some injuries and missing key components.

The defense will be better with Cole Holcomb continuing to get snaps with the starters. Same with Everett.

It would be the easy thing to do to say that things are lining up for Washington and then turn and pick the Cowboys. Because that is what we have come to expect the past few years.

But this is Washington’s rebellion. This is where Washington needs to make their stand and say they will not go quietly into the night.

This is Washington’s new hope.

Dallas 24 Washington 28

Game Info: Time: 1:00 PM EST - FedEx Field; Landover, MD

TV: FOX - Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver

Radio: The Team 980, ESPN 630, 105.9 WMAL – Julie Donaldson, Bram Weinstein, DeAngelo Hall

Line: DAL -1; O/U 46

Alan Lepore joins "Washington Football" on SI.com, while still doing outstanding work as an editor/writer at FullPressCoverage.com or @FPC_Redskins. You can follow him on Twitter @AlanLepore or on Instagram @leporealan. Alan is a Villanova University MPA Nonprofit Management candidate and is a fundraising/development professional.