Cowboys vs. Commanders: 3 bold predictions for Sunday’s regular-season finale

The Dallas Cowboys (12-4) wrap up their regular season on Sunday as they travel to D.C. to take on the Washington Commanders (7-8-1). Before the two teams square off on Sunday afternoon, here are three bold predictions for this divisional matchup.

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1) CeeDee Lamb goes over 100 receiving yards, giving him the third-most in a single season in team history

Coming into the season many questioned if CeeDee Lamb had what it takes to become one of the premier wideouts in all of football. The popular belief was that Lamb was very good, but still had to bridge the gap to becoming one of the game's eight to ten-best receivers. With an outstanding 2022 campaign, Lamb has proved all the doubters wrong and has been undeniably one of the best pass catchers in all of football.

Since Dak Prescott returned in Week 7, you could make a solid argument that Lamb has been a top-five receiver in football. In the 10 games with Prescott back, Lamb caught 69 passes for 898 yards, an average of 13 Y/R, and scored six touchdowns. Lamb’s outstanding stats since Prescott’s return rank him in the top five in football in receiving yards and receptions during this 10-game span. Pro Football Focus also has him ranked as their fifth-best receiver in the game since that Week 7 mark.

On the year Lamb sits at 1,307 receiving yards, the most from a Cowboys’ wideout since Dez Bryant back in 2012. If Lamb can record his sixth hundred-yard day of the season, he’ll have the third-most receiving yards by a Cowboy in a single season.

The 23-year-old is going to do just that on Sunday. Lamb caps off his tremendous regular season with one of his best performances of the season, catching seven passes and surpassing 100 receiving yards for the fourth-consecutive game.

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2) Cowboys’ pass rush gets back on track, recording four sacks

One thing that has become a trend over the last month or so is the Cowboys’ pass rush struggling to get home. Over their last four games, Dallas’ defense has recorded just three sacks, a very puzzling number for a team that has recorded the third-most sacks (51) in the league on the season.

Fresh off a much-needed nine-day break after playing last Thursday, Dallas’ pass rush is going to be refreshed and ready to wreak havoc against Washington on Sunday. The Commanders’ offensive line has not been playing very well of late. The unit has allowed 13 sacks over their last four games and has been a big reason why their offense has been unable to find any rhythm.

Washington’s struggles on the offensive line will continue Sunday, as a refreshed Cowboys’ pass rush dominates the line of scrimmage and records four sacks on the afternoon.

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3) Malik Davis breaks a 35+ yard run, scoring the second touchdown of his NFL career

While the Cowboys seem set to get Tony Pollard back from injury this week, Dallas will likely be very cautious with their star running back as they are just a week away from a playoff matchup. Dallas would also be smart to limit Ezekiel Elliott’s caries in this game, as having both running backs as fresh as possible for the postseason would put them in the best position to succeed.

With that in mind, we are likely going to see a lot of Malik Davis running the football on Sunday. The rookie showed some flashes during last week’s game against the Titans and recorded their longest run of the day (23 yards). This week, Davis breaks a bigger run and takes it all the way. The rookie running back scores his second touchdown of the season and plays a large role in Dallas’ offensive game plan.