Dallas Cowboys Game Preview: Week 7 vs. Washington Commanders

Photo: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throwing against the Washington Commanders on Jan. 7, 2024. Photo credit: Jessica Rapfogel, Associated Press.

The Dallas Cowboys’ defense, which allows the NFL’s most yards per game (411.7) and second most points per game (30.7) so far in 2025, has been an open door for opposing offenses all season. James Houston, with 3.5 sacks, leads the team. The unit has allowed 24, 37, 31, 40, 22, and 30 points over games one through six. The offense, in contrast, has scored 20, 40, 14, 40, 37, and 27. Dak Prescott has thrown 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions. George Pickens has been a pest for defenses (525 yards receiving, six touchdowns) and Javonte Williams has been a revelation (476 rushing yards, fourth in the NFL). 

Add it all up, and you get a 2-3-1 team that is meddling in the middle, somewhere between good and bad, hopeful or horrendous. As they head into Week 7, the Cowboys can either improve and go one way, or falter and fail and go the other. 

The team’s next chance for their third victory is a home date on Oct. 19 at 4:25 p.m. eastern time against the Washington Commanders. Dan Quinn’s group, 3-3, is coming off of a 25-24 last second loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. On Sunday, they head west to face their historically-hated division rival. 

While the Cowboys boast a premier offensive attack that will be a challenge for the Commander defense - a unit that allowed 252 yards from Caleb Williams and 108 rushing yards from D’Andre Swift on MNF - to handle, the Commander offense is a dynamic one if healthy. And the Dallas D this season has shown that they cannot thwart any offense. 

On the positive side for the Cowboys, the Commanders will be without wide receiver Terry McLaurin for the fourth consecutive game due to a quadriceps injury. Receiver Deebo Samuel did not make the trip and will not play due to a heel injury. Starting Commander rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt came on two weeks ago against the Los Angeles Chargers with 14 carries for 111 yards. In Week 6 against Chicago, he ran 17 times for 61 yards, but fumbled for the second consecutive game. He will have to protect the football against a Cowboy defense that likes to punch at the ball - linebacker Marist Liufau knocked the ball from Jets’ running back Breece Hall in Week 4. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is as dynamic as they come, and his dual-threat ability will is something that the Cowboys have to focus on, especially since the unit could not hold down Philadelphia Eagle QB Jalen Hurts, who is another dual threat, in Week 1 when he ran for 62 yards on 14 rushes with two touchdowns. 

The Commanders rank 13th in the NFL in yards per game (345.7) and seventh in points per game at 26.3. They also have the second most potent rushing attack (151.0 yards per game, tied with the Buffalo Bills), which does not bode well for a Cowboy defense that gives up the fourth most rushing yards per game (142.2). The Commanders manage 194.7 yards per game through the air, and while that could be impacted by the McLaurin absence and potential Samuel absence, this Cowboy defense may still not be able to contain Daniels or Croskey-Merritt. 

Defensive end Dorance Armstrong, a 2018 fourth road draft pick by the Cowboys who is a favorite of the former Cowboy defensive coordinator Quinn, is questionable for the Commanders. He, Daron Payne, and Javon Kinlaw would be a task for the Cowboy offensive line as they face another solid front for the second consecutive week. Bobby Wagner is the stalwart in the middle of the defense, while Marshon Lattimore (four times a Pro Bowler in 2017 and 2019-21) will get the assignment on the returning CeeDee Lamb. Lattimore and opposite cornerback Trey Amos will have their proverbial hands full with Lamb and Pickens. 

Laremy Tunsil, the Commanders’ left tackle who has been to five Pro Bowls in his career (2019-20, 2022-24, all with the Houston Texans) figures to stifle the Cowboys’ edge rush. There is the Cowboys’ sack leader Houston, and rookie Donovan Ezieruaku who has improved game to game, but if matched up on Tunsil they will have a tough time. Dante Fowler also faces his former team on Sunday. He registered 10.5 sacks with the Commanders in 2024. Commander center Tyler Biadasz, who spent 2020-23 with the Cowboys after being their fourth round draft pick in 2020, faces his old team again. Biadasz will be tested against defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who has fared ok in the running game this season, but Dallas needs a rebound performance from last week’s drubbing at the hands of Panthers’ running back Rico Dowdle. The middle of the defense gets Jack Sanborn back, but Sanborn is not exactly the most quick-footed linebacker. Kenneth Murray Jr. has trouble diagnosing plays, too. The Cowboys have major issues at the second level of their defense, though rookie Shemar James has played ok in two games. 

The Cowboys received some strange news on Friday, as it was announced that cornerback Trevon Diggs suffered a concussion at his home and will miss Sunday’s game. Caelen Carson, 23, was a full participant in practice and may get elevated to the 53-man roster in time for Sunday to take Diggs’ place. Carson was drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys in 2024 out of Wake Forest. In late July, Carson suffered a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve to start the season. 

These two franchises have one of the most storied rivalries in all of professional sports, dating back to the Cowboys’ inception in 1960. The Washington Redskins came to be in 1937, after first being the Boston Braves in 1932 and Boston Redskins from 1933-36. Lifetime, the Cowboys hold a 79-49-2 advantage. The Cowboys have won six of the last eight meetings dating back to Dec. 12, 2021, a stretch that includes a 56-14 Cowboy victory on Dec. 26, 2021. In the two teams’ last meeting on Jan. 5, 2025, the Commanders won 23-19 in Arlington. In the same eight-game stretch alluded to above, the Cowboys are 3-1 against the Commanders at AT&T Stadium. Daniels completed 6-of-12 passes for 38 yards in the last meeting and ran four times for 27 yards. He was replaced in the game by Marcus Mariota. 

As always between these two teams, the intensity and energy will be high. The Cowboy offense will put up points as it usually does, and especially now with Lamb back from injury. Even with McLaurin and Samuel out though, Daniels will shine and the Cowboy defense will continue to falter. 

Prediction: Commanders 34 Cowboys 30