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The Cowboys are 5.5-point favorites at home against the Redskins, which pales in comparison to the 27 points the Broncos have over the Jaguars, but is still one of the higher lines of Week 6. The over/under is set at 53.5, which together with the over/under for the Broncos game is the highest of the weekend.
But divisional games have a way of taking on a life of their own, so the pre-game predictions may not mean all that much. Whether or not the experts have a good better feel for what will happen on Sunday night remains to be seen, but here's what those experts are predicting for the game:
Name | Pick | Score | Comment |
Don Banks, SI.com |
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35-27 | Repeat after me, Cowboys fans: This is not the same old Romo; this is not the same old Romo. When all is said and done this season, the guys with the star on their helmets will be the clear-cut class of the dismal NFC East. I wasn't trying to damn Dallas with faint praise there, but you do have to face facts. It's a comically bad division. But the Cowboys' dominance of it starts Sunday night at home against the Fighting Shanahans. |
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports |
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30-23 | The Cowboys lost a tough to one to the Broncos last week, so it will be interesting to see how Tony Romo bounces back. The Dallas defense has had trouble with the pass, and Robert Griffin III seemed to get it going in his last game two weeks ago. The Redskins are off a bye, so they will be rested. But I think Dallas bounces back. |
Peter Schrager, Foxsports | ![]() |
23-34 | RGIII won both times he played the Cowboys last season. I see him going 3-0 after this one. Monte Kiffin couldn’t stop the read-option at USC and he won’t be able to stop the read-option on Sunday. The Dallas D looks awfully bad of late, and I don’t see it suddenly getting better this weekend. Hysteria time in Dallas on Monday. What’s new? |
Greg Cote, Miami Herald |
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37-24 | Washington swept this NFC East series last season — with Robert Griffin III throwing for 304 yards and four TDs in Dallas — but this year finds RG III still off his rookie form and the Cowboys improved despite their record. Tony Romo threw for 500 yards in the shootout loss to Denver last week and could approach that stratosphere again in this prime-timer versus the Unmentionable Nicknames’ abysmal air defense. Big D has won 17 of past 21 at home in series, and that trends continues. |
Sam Farmer, L.A. Times |
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28-20 | The Cowboys couldn’t solve Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III in two games last season. But he’s a different player this season, and the Cowboys have the NFL’s best receiver in Dez Bryant. |
Elliot Harrison, NFL.com |
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34-28 |
How will Robert Griffin III look after a bye week? The franchise hasn't been himself, especially when running out of the pocket. His performance will partially depend on how the Dallas defense recovers from allowing 51 points to Denver last week. Problem is, the Redskins don't have the weapons to exploit the Cowboys' secondary the way Peyton Manning did. A working running game would be RGIII's best asset. While the Redskins didn't have a high per-carry average during their Week 4 win in Oakland, they did run 32 times. Playing ball control could slow Tony Romo, who last week became just the second quarterback in NFL history -- joining Y.A. Tittle -- to throw for 500 yards and five touchdowns while giving up one pick or less in a game. |
Pro Football Talk |
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35-31 21-13 |
Smith:Dallas’s defense is struggling, and Robert Griffin III may put up some big numbers. But Washington’s defense is struggling even more, and Tony Romo may put up some bigger numbers. Florio (Who has not been arrested yet): Jerry Jones won’t be talking about moral victories come Monday. He’ll have an actual victory. You know, the kind where his team scores more points than the other. |
Vinny Iyer, Sporting News | ![]() |
38-34 | Tony Romo keeps starring in spaghetti westerns. After more than a fistful of yards and touchdowns against the Broncos, he's ready for a few yards and touchdowns more against a capitally offensive Washington defense. Robert Griffin III should be firing a little better post-bye, and would love nothing more than to beat the 'Boys again back in his home state. That sets up Jerry World for another week of wide-open football. |
Here's an additional summary of picks for the weekend, none of which provide a specific soundbite for their picks. The table is sorted by a column titled 'pick accuracy' which shows how accurate these panels have been in predicting the correct outcome of the first four Cowboys games, and after every last panelist picked the Broncos last week, the prediction accuracy looks good across the board.
Rank (LW) | Site | Cowboys | Redskins | Pick Accuracy |
1 (1) | ESPN | 14 | 0 | .725 (50-19) |
T2 (T2) | Foxsports | 3 |
1 |
.700 (14-6) |
T2 (T2) | Yahoosports | 2 | 0 | .700 (7-3) |
T2 (T2) | Pro Football Focus | 8 | 0 | .700 (28-12) |
T2 (T2) | Dallas Morning News | 7 | 1 | .700 (28-12) |
6 (6) | NFL Around The League | 4 | 1 | .640 (16-9) |
7 (7) | USA Today | 6 |
1 |
.629 (22-13) |
8 (8) | CBSSports | 9 | 0 | .558 (24-19) |
9 (9) | Inside the NFL | 2 | 0 | .500 (4-4) |
Total | 55 | 4 | .665 (193-97) |
The pundits see the Cowboys taking this one by a large margin. Do you?
More from Blogging The Boys:
- Cowboys Linebackers Sean Lee and Bruce Carter: Is History Repeating Itself?
- Can Cowboys Avoid The Traps Against The Redskins?
- Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Can Cowboys Maintain High-Octane Offense?
- Cowboys Roster: The Way Of The Rooster - Carpe Diem
- Rivalry Roots Run Deep Between Washington And Dallas