Position battleground (offense): Cowboys vs. Commanders head-to-head breakdown

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Do you have any faith in this offense for the final game?

Here we go, the final game of the 2024 season for the Dallas Cowboys is a contest with the Washington Commanders inside AT&T Stadium. The last time these two teams met it ended in a shock victory for the Cowboys who put up 34 points against the bitter divisional rivals. But since that week a lot has changed and Washington will want revenge and keep up the pace as they head into the playoffs. So how do both these team’s offenses stack up against each other? Let’s dive in and find out.

QUARTERBACK

Cooper Rush/Trey Lance
vs.
Jayden Daniels

It was a bad performance from Cooper Rush last week. He threw a pick-six at the start of the game and threw a second interception later on. He did manage to find Jalen Tolbert in the endzone for the third week in a row, but that’s about the only positive thing that can be said for how Rush played. The Eagles have always been a problem for him. Questions have been asked about whether Trey Lance should play the final game and see if there’s anything in the tank before letting him hit free agency next year. Fans and analysts have both made comments to this fact and now the coaches have made whispers that Lance could be playing this week.

Jayden Daniels has been excellent this year and leads all rookie quarterbacks in every statistical category, and ranks seventh in passing touchdowns among all quarterbacks. Not only has Daniels been productive through the air, he’s had an elite season rushing. He’s now the leading quarterback in rush yards, overtaking Lamar Jackson, and his six rushing touchdowns which is third-most among quarterbacks.

Conclusion:
This one is easy to decipher and the talent difference at the position between these two teams is obvious.
Win: Commanders

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RUNNING BACK

Rico Dowdle/Deuce Vaughn
vs.
Brian Robinson Jr./Austin Ekeler

Rico Dowdle enters the record books after becoming the first undrafted running back to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season for Dallas. He now ranks 13th in rush yards this year which is incredible when you think it took half the season for the coaches to utilize him as the lead back and move away from trying to make something out of Ezekiel Elliott. Zeke is officially out and has been released. It was an underwhelming season for the once star tailback, that means next man up this week could be Deuce Vaughn, more Hunter Luepke or any other plan at the position this coaching staff have.

Brian Robinson Jr. has failed to reach the 100-yard rush mark in the last three games as well as score a touchdown. But he does have eight rushing touchdowns this season which is eighth-most among running backs. Austin Ekeler is in concussion protocol which means there’s a chance he will miss the regular-season finale for Washington.

Conclusion:
Dallas has the most productive running back between both these franchises but as a team, Washington has the most rush yards, but much of that is thanks to Daniels. The Commanders rank third in total rush yards and Dallas rank fourth-worst at stopping the run.
Win: Push

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WIDE RECEIVERS

Brandin Cooks/KaVontae Turpin/Jalen Tolbert
vs.
Terry McLaurin/Olamide Zaccheaus/Dyami Brown

CeeDee Lamb was shutdown last week for the season meaning he’ll miss this week’s game. He’s been suffering with his shoulder for a number of weeks and with the Cowboys out of contention for the playoffs it made sense to get Lamb recovering early. Jalen Tolbert has now caught a touchdown in the last three games and is trying to answer the questions about his game. With Lamb officially out, everyone got to see what this offense looks like with Brandin Cooks as the leading receiver. It’s clear he’s a talented pass catcher, he led the team in targets last week (which is no surprise) and also led the team in receiving yards. But those numbers were still pretty low.

Terry McLaurin leads the team in receiving but last week, although he was second on the team in targets, he managed to produce only five receiving yards. Olamide Zaccheaus led the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards last week, going for 85 yards and a touchdown. Dyami Brown is the third-most productive receiver on the team with Noah Brown on injured reserve. It’s unclear whether Dyami will play this Sunday as he missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury.

Conclusion:
The Cowboys offense rank 11th in receiving yards, but that was with Lamb in mix. On the reverse, the Washington defense rank fourth-best in receiving yards allowed. And the Cowboys defense clearly has an issue at cornerback with their depth being seriously tested this year.
Win: Commanders

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TIGHT END

Jake Ferguson
vs.
Zach Ertz

Jake Ferguson was renowned for being the reliable and safe option on this team but this year he’s certainly had his problems. He has zero touchdowns and four fumbles, that’s a bad ratio. He added to that tally in last week’s game against Philadelphia and caught three passes for 18 yards.

Zach Ertz had his best game of the season last week against the Atlanta Falcons so his confidence will be flying high. He caught six passes for 72 yards and the two touchdowns.

Conclusion:
This one is another easy win for Washington. Ertz has six touchdowns this year and more receiving yards than Ferguson. He also has way less fumbles.
Win: Commanders

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OFFENSIVE LINE

Officially this offensive line allowed only one sack last week against a determined Eagles defensive line. This offensive line is a position that has been tested this year with its depth, losing several players at various points throughout the year. It will be interesting to see what the coaches decide to do at the position and if they will play with rotation players or move starting players at different positions to see what they have. The Washington pass rush ranks in the middle of the pack this year and their run stopping definitely needs some work, so it could be worth playing around with the line positioning this week.

Tyler Biadasz and Andrew Wylie are both questionable this week and that could be a big problem for the Washington line this week. Dallas has been one of the most productive pass rushing teams this season. In terms of pressures allowed they rank about the same as what Dallas has allowed. In terms of sacks, this offensive line has allowed the tenth-most so the odds stack in the Dallas’ favor here. As a run blocking unit, the Washington line is definitely in need of refinement and has struggled a lot this year. The efforts of Jayden Daniels has masked a lot of deficiencies otherwise this would look a lot worse.
Win: Push