Dallas Cowboys bold predictions for Week 18 vs. Commanders.
Some of the NFL’s top contenders will start their backups on Sunday, but the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 18 game against the Washington Commanders won’t follow suit.If Dak Prescott and company are to win the division and host a postseason game,
they must take care of business against the Commanders. On Sunday afternoon, it will be all systems go for the Cowboys.
But as the season draws to a close, the Commanders—who are dealing with a number of injuries—will not experience the same luck. Here are our daring Cowboys Week 18 predictions for a game that Dallas is expected to win on the road by a margin of two touchdowns.
Dak Prescott’s realistic MVP aspirations were short-lived thanks to a disappointing road performance against the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, but he’s got a chance to put a compelling case on paper with a big performance in Week 18.
With Tyler Huntley set to start instead of MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson in the Baltimore Ravens’ regular season finale against the Steelers, Prescott needs just 20 passing or rushing yards to finish with more total yards, completions, and touchdowns than Jackson. A strong performance would also likely mean that Prescott finishes with a better quarterback rating, completion percentage, and interception percentage than Jackson for the season.
Are stats everything when it comes to the MVP race? Absolutely not. Jackson has the Ravens playing like the best team in football, certainly in the AFC at the very least. If Prescott can turn in a stat sheet that beats Jackson’s, he’ll at least deserve to be included in the discussion. With a soft matchup on tap against a hapless Commanders team, the odds are in Prescott’s favor to make that happen.
Rico Dowdle reignites the running game
This hasn’t been the season a lot of people – including Tony Pollard – probably had pictured for the Cowboys’ first-year starting running back. With his ankle injury obviously still nagging at him, Pollard hasn’t been nearly as explosive as we’ve seen in seasons past.
The Cowboys’ running game rates right around the middle of the pack in terms of total yardage, but a lot of that production came in garbage time while Dallas blew out an inferior opponent. In truth, there haven’t been a lot of bright spots for the Cowboys on the ground this season.
One of them has been the play of Pollard’s backup, Rico Dowdle. Dowdle has only garnered 80 carries this season. His numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he gives the Cowboys a little physicality in the running game they don’t get with Pollard. Dowdle was injured in Week 17, but he’s set to return against the Commanders in the final game of the regular season.
Dowdle gave the Cowboys a charge on the ground once already this season. When he received a season-high 12 carries against the Giants in Week 10, Dowdle turned in 79 yards and a touchdown. Pollard isn’t productive enough to stand alone in the running game this season. Dowdle should be prominently featured, especially in short-yardage and goal-line scenarios.
Washington doesn’t roll over
Something about the Commanders on the road gives the Cowboys trouble. Washington lost a squeaker to the Cowboys at home in 2021 and nearly shut them out last season. On paper, these two teams are in two different leagues, but that hasn’t mattered recently when the Cowboys travel to Washington.
In Week 18, the Commanders will have an ample number of substitutes available on the pitch. Although that benefits the Cowboys, it also means that the Commanders will have players competing for their careers on the field. In the NFL, it can make a big difference.
As they should be, the Cowboys are strong favorites in their regular-season finale. This divisional matchup is still going to be one of those tricky ones where things could get ugly for the favorites.
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