Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Taking one last look at the Commanders’ side of things. Dan Quinn, players prepare for reunion with Cowboys – Zach Selby, Commanders.com This matchup feels like Dallas vs. former Dallas coaches and players. Matchups between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys don’t normally need any extra juice. Aside from the obvious divisional ramifications that come with each game, the two teams have an intertwined history that spans decades. There will be a few more threads connecting the Commanders and Cowboys this year when they square off at Northwest Stadium on Nov. 24. Head coach Dan Quinn, who served as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 2021-23, will face off against his former team for the first time on the other side of the rivalry. Current Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., along with five players on Washington’s roster, are also set to put their stamp on the historic feud between the two teams. Quinn and his players are taking a team-first mentality into the week of preparation, but there’s certainly some extra excitement surrounding the game. “To get a chance to have my first Dallas game here and have the crowd behind us and digging in, that’s a really cool thing,” Quinn said. “We can’t wait.” Quinn success in Dallas is part of what landed him the job in Washington. The Cowboys led the league in takeaways (93), interceptions (59) and defensive touchdowns (15) with him as their defensive coordinator. He still has respect in Dallas for what he accomplished, both from his former players and fellow coaches. “Just knowing Dan from across the way, I always had a ton of respect for him,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on Tuesday. “It was awesome to have him here in Dallas. He’s become a very good friend. I’m really happy for the success he’s having.” Quinn was known for his ability to build relationships with players in Dallas — a trait that he brought with him to Washington. General manager Adam Peters and Managing Partner Josh Harris wanted to hire a coach who could help establish a culture and make Washington a place where players want to be. The Commanders are still in the process of establishing that reputation, but based on the 7-4 start and the report at the trade deadline that players wanted to join the Burgundy & Gold, the signs are pointing in the right direction. That likely isn’t a surprise to the Cowboys players who knew Quinn from his days in Dallas. “Q [Quinn], I love him,” said Cowboys safety Malik Hooker. “I’m sure there’s a lot of guys here that loved him. Obviously, I haven’t talked to him since the season started, but [in the] offseason he still reaches out and checks in from time to time. Q is always going to be one of the favorite guys in my book. He’s one of the best coaches I had, and I still love him like a mentor as he was here.” The flagging Commanders offense gives Kliff Kingsbury a familiar problem – Sam Fortier, The Washington Post Recent offensive struggles after a hot start might not be a Kingsbury issue. It’s difficult to isolate one reason the Washington Commanders’ offense has dipped over the past month. The messy, overlapping pile of explanations includes subpar health, continued issues with talent, luck, more difficult competition, a short week and the mental toll of 11 straight weeks without a bye. But one thing seems clear: There’s no reason to think this is related to offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s past midseason regressions. While Kingsbury’s offenses have faded down the stretch nearly every year for a decade, the film shows the Commanders’ struggles have mostly been about execution. Kingsbury’s decisions haven’t been perfect — especially in the running game, in which efficiency is down — but his scheme and play calling do not appear to be the problem. For his part, Kingsbury suggested he wasn’t aware of the downward trend and wouldn’t change his approach. “I was thinking about doing triple option,” he joked Thursday. “Is that what you’re thinking? We’re going to do what we do.” Over the next two weeks before the bye, Kingsbury can reassert his offense’s dominance against the Dallas Cowboys, one of the league’s worst defenses, and the Tennessee Titans, who aren’t significantly better. Plus, he seems to have high hopes for Jayden Daniels. When a reporter asked Kingsbury whether he had to change play calls earlier this season because of the quarterback’s rib injury, the coordinator paused. “I’m not going to divulge what we did while he was, I would say, more banged up,” he said. “But” — he paused again — “hopefully we play better this week. I’ll just say that.” If the Commanders capitalize on the plays available, the offense could still soar back to its previous heights. “Overall, collectively as an offense, we can be better, and I think a week of real practice will help that,” Kingsbury said. 5 Commanders on the hot seat entering Week 12 vs. the Cowboys – Dean Jones, RiggosRag.com Some Commanders will still need to step up for this division rivalry renewal. Fans will be expecting a victory given how things have gone for the Cowboys this season. After getting more hype than they deserved before the campaign, things have crumbled dramatically. The Commanders will never get a better chance to flip the script of this storied rivalry. This divisional clash will also have special significance for many. Several coaches and players were on the opposite sideline last season. Handling the pressure and getting Washington in the win column once again is the only thing that matters. With this in mind, here are five Commanders firmly on the hot seat, for differing reasons, in Week 12 versus the Cowboys. Commanders on the hot seat entering Week 12 vs. Cowboys Commanders offensive tackles We’ll group all three offensive tackles projected to play together. They have one objective above all else in Week 12.

Madden believes the Dallas Cowboys will find a way to win this week. It has been a rough two months for the Dallas Cowboys to say the least. Consider that the game they played against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the one that took forever to happen as a result of the weather delay, was the last time that they tasted victory. That wasn’t quite two months ago, but it was basically such which means we have been wandering in the wilderness of frustration for far too long. The next opportunity for Dallas to make their fans happy, assuming you do want to see them win right now, is on Sunday on the road against a division rival in the Washington Commanders. What’s more is that on Sunday the Cowboys will see a ton of former friends and colleagues. Dan Quinn is the Commanders head coach and their roster has players like Tyler Biadasz, Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler, Noah Brown, the list goes on and on… so the reunion will be in full effect before families across the United States have their own next week on Thanksgiving Day. Will there be a Cowboys win found in Landover, though? In order to figure out how possible it is we ran a simulation as we always do through Madden 25. You can watch the entire thing below: It may sound shocking, but Madden actually believes the Cowboys are going to win this week. Again, it does sound rather absurd. There has only been a single instance this season where Madden correctly predicted the Cowboys to win and it was the aforementioned Steelers game. Incidentally, the Steelers also beat the Commanders this season, although Pittsburgh is a very different team these days compared to when Dallas was able to topple them. Here are the Madden predictions for every game this season and how they have fared. Week 1 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys lose to Cleveland Browns, 18-17 Week 1 In Actuality: Dallas Cowboys beat Cleveland Browns, 33-17 Week 2 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys lose to New Orleans Saints, 36-29 Week 2 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to New Orleans Saints, 44-10 Week 3 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys lose to Baltimore Ravens, 21-14 Week 3 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to Baltimore Ravens, 28-25 Week 4 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys lose to New York Giants, 28-21 Week 4 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys beat New York Giants, 20-15 Week 5 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-14 Week 5 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-17 Week 6 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys lose to Detroit Lions, 38-31” Week 6 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to Detroit Lions, 47-9 Week 8 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys beat San Francisco 49ers, 22-7 Week 8 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to San Francisco 49ers, 30-24 Week 9 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys beat Atlanta Falcons, 13-10 Week 9 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to Atlanta Falcons, 27-21 Week 10 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys lose to Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17 Week 10 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to Philadelphia Eagles, 34-6 Week 11 Madden Prediction: Dallas Cowboys beat Houston Texans, 24-17 Week 11 in Actuality: Dallas Cowboys lose to Houston Texans, 34-10 Time will tell if Madden can get another Dallas Cowboys win correct. I’d imagine that nobody thinks that it will.

Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images This season has felt broken for a very long time now. The Cowboys have now lost five straight games, with the season falling into utter disarray ever since their gutsy win in Pittsburgh over the Steelers that seemingly signaled a positive shift in the team’s overall trajectory. Of course, it’s hard to talk about this current slide without acknowledging all of the injuries that have plagued this roster. Micah Parsons missed that game in Pittsburgh, as did DeMarcus Lawrence, and then missed the next three games. Lawrence still hasn’t returned, and his replacement – rookie Marshawn Kneeland – almost immediately landed on the injured reserve in that Steelers game. Kneeland has had his practice window activated now and may return soon, as is the case for DaRon Bland, who has yet to play all year. But because this season is seemingly cursed, all these players started getting healthy right when Dak Prescott went down for the year, making their returns largely meaningless. It’s easy to blame this lost season on the injuries, but the Cowboys didn’t exactly look all that crisp before players started dropping like flies either. That shouldn’t be a surprise after a lackluster (to put it nicely) offseason led to what some deemed the worst roster of the Mike McCarthy era. So is this losing streak more about all the injuries or just a symptom of the team being set up to fail by their front office? Our own Tom Ryle and David Howman have some thoughts. Tom: Looking at the roster even before players started getting hurt, I thought that eight wins just might be the ceiling for this team. The offensive line was suspect, the running game had no clear lead back, and the defense also had some big question marks, starting with the interior of the line where run games either get handled or gash you. Once again the aversion to using free agency to really improve things was in play, and it boded ill. All that has come into play, and the rampant injuries have just made it worse. But I still think the team was going to miss the playoffs even with good health. Mike McCarthy was dealt a bad hand to play, and I cannot dismiss my suspicions it was deliberate. Now the only race of any importance for Dallas is how close to the top of the draft order they can get. We know Jerry Jones is a firm believer in building through the draft, and it looks like he will get a chance, although the odd decision to trade a fourth-round pick for Jonathan Mingo, coming off IR, doesn’t help. We are left to wonder just what Jerry said he was all in on, but we don’t have to speculate about how this season will end. The Cowboys will be at home for the playoffs. And I think that was going to happen in any case. David: While I’m fully inclined to believe that Jerry Jones intentionally set Mike McCarthy up to fail, I also don’t believe that things were going to completely come off the rails as they have. We had similar conversations heading into the 2022 season, and the front office put a similarly lackluster product on the field, but McCarthy was able to will that team to 12 wins even with Dak Prescott missing five games. It helped, though, that the Cowboys defense was fully intact and playing well while Prescott was out. Looking at this year, the Cowboys entered the season with questions but also potential answers. Rico Dowdle has rightfully emerged as the top back, though it seems that McCarthy encountered some unexpected hurdles in properly prioritizing him in the offense, and both Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe looked genuinely good in the preseason. Honestly, both rookies have been solid, especially when you account for the fact that neither of them played their current position in college. What nobody accounted for on this offensive line was Zack Martin’s significant drop-off in production or even Terence Steele, who’s always been suspect but not terrible in pass protection, leading the league in sacks allowed through 11 weeks. And then there’s the defense. They got their doors blown off by the Saints and Ravens, one of which is par for the course all throughout the league. Then they lost their best player and just about every other edge rusher behind him. The cornerback spot in Bland’s place has been a revolving door, which isn’t surprising given how hard it is to find great corners in today’s age. And all of that came on top of the whole defense still learning and adjusting to a pretty radically different scheme with Mike Zimmer. In recent weeks, we’ve seen the defense flash some genuine promise, though it’s far too little and far too late. If the Cowboys had been just a little bit healthier during this stretch, I think they squeak out wins against the Falcons, Eagles, and Texans and are sitting here today at 6-4. Tom: I still think that is too optimistic for what this squad was, even at their peak. We pretty much all agreed the roster going into this season was a step backwards from the prior year. I’m very unimpressed with the jobs both McCarthy and Zimmer have done. Both seem to need a full strength roster to work with, and Zimmer needed to do a better job getting his unit up to speed. But the thing that has emerged for me so far is that they have made a huge mistake with Dak Prescott’s contract. It is hard to argue that injuries now seem inevitable for him. Worse, the evidence is that he has lost the mobility that was so important. With it, he was clearly a top 10 quarterback and should have been capable of doing more than he has in the playoffs. Now, he just cannot escape pass rushes the way he used to and is

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The safety position has been a disappointment for the Cowboys in 2024. Safety Donovan Wilson signed a three-year extension for $21 million before the 2023 season, and he earned it. The year before, Wilson had his best season as a pro with 101 tackles (seven tackles for loss), five sacks, an interception, two pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Even last season was productive for Wilson with 88 tackles (two tackles for loss), two interceptions, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. When it comes to the NFL, though, every player has to constantly update their résumé. For Wilson, he hasn’t put forth the performance the Cowboys need at the safety spot. Wilson has 11 missed tackles on the season, which is just one fewer than he had last season, and there’s still seven games for the Cowboys to play. He has a missed tackle percentage of 18%, the second-worst of his career. In coverage, it’s been even worse. Wilson has allowed 19 receptions (tied for the second-most of his career). The 280 yards, 90.5% reception percentage, and 14.7 yards per catch Wilson has surrendered in 2024 are the worst marks he’s had in his six seasons in the league. Wilson is known for playing downhill and being a head-hunter. He has the instincts of a linebacker and that gets him in trouble when trying to cover guys. His aggressiveness gets him beat and also leads to the missed tackle issue mentioned earlier. Coverage has never been a real strength when it comes to Wilson, but it looks worse that it ever has, and simply can’t be that way, especially with a defense that is as bad as the Cowboys are this season. Even if their defense was good, it would still be an issue because that’s not ideal for the backend of your unit. In 2026, Wilson will be an unrestricted free agent. Next season was already going to be a contract year, but with how his play has slipped, it will be even more paramount for him to bounce back, or he could likely be wearing another uniform.

Amber Searls-Imagn Images What do you think Sunday will look like when the Cowboys face off against Dan Quinn? The Dallas Cowboys travel to play the Washington Commanders in Week 12, an NFC East clash. To prepare for the game we reached out to sister site, Hogs Haven, for some knowledge on the enemy. Blogging The Boys: Obviously Dan Quinn has done a great job taking over the Commanders. What are some of the specific things he’s done to turn things around? Hogs Haven: First and foremost, he seems to be a very positive, high energy person who everyone wants to work for. Quite a few free agents in the offseason said they wanted to come here specifically to work with Dan Quinn, since he has a reputation for being a great person to work with. In addition, several of the defensive free agents said they wanted to play in his defensive scheme because they thought it could really highlight their abilities. The thing is, players at all position groups said that, from safety (Jeremy Chinn) to LB (Frankie Luvu) to DL (Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler), which to me indicates it’s just a really good defensive scheme. He’s instilled a culture of effort and discipline and the team has consistently played with high effort (like this play where a WR runs 40 yards down the field to block for his RB and thus is in place to recover his fumble) and very good discipline (tied for 7th fewest penalties per game). Quinn has primarily operated as a CEO, leaving his coordinators to actively manage their sides of the ball, but all sides of the ball seem well coached and our offense and defense are performing much better than most people would expect looking at the roster on paper. The team is functioning as a whole much better than the sum of its parts, which I credit to good coaching. BTB: Give us everything we need to know about Jayden Daniels. HH: Based on the first 9 games, I would have said he’s a cerebral QB with pinpoint accuracy on most throws, excellent throwing mechanics, and an advanced ability to recognize the defensive alignment, call protections, and process quickly what is happening around him on the field. In addition to that, he has an excellent sense for pressure and the athleticism to scramble to evade pressure and buy more time to throw or simply make a big gain himself with his legs. I think the biggest thing that makes him stand out from other rookie QBs is his maturity though. In many ways, he acts like an NFL veteran. He’s one of the first players to the facility every day, studies film and practices constantly, stays calm under pressure in games, and quietly commands the locker room. However, he has struggled in the last two games and come down to Earth a bit, which I’ll talk about in answering the next question. BTB: Things seemed to have stalled over the past couple of games for the team. What is going on there and is it something you guys are worried about? HH: I think it’s a combination of factors. The biggest factor is that the last two teams we faced were the Steelers and Eagles and they have the best defenses we have faced all season (ranked 2nd and 6th in the NFL in scoring allowed respectively so far this season). Honestly, it’s possible that the quality of those defenses is 95% of the explanation. In addition to that, though, Jayden Daniels sustained a rib injury in week 7 against the Panthers and hasn’t quite looked like the same player since. His throws have been less accurate, leading to a much lower completion rate (he had a 70% or higher completion rate in 4 out of 6 games before the injury, he has been below 70% completion rate in every game since the injury). Jayden also hasn’t been able to scramble as effectively, which was a big part of his game. In weeks 1-6, Jayden averaged 54 rushing yards per game, whereas in weeks 8-11, he averaged 28 yards per game. Scrambling was a big part of his game and an important way for him to convert on 3rd and 4th down when his receivers weren’t open, so not being able to scramble as effectively combined with the reduced accuracy and completion rate is really hurting our ability to sustain drives. I think another part of it is that teams seem to finally have figured out the best way to play him, which is to treat him like Lamar Jackson: rush 4, use a QB spy, and drop the rest back into zone coverage. That defensive playstyle is also leading to fewer scrambling yards and limiting Jaydens options to extend plays. OC Kliff Kingsbury is also notorious for having offenses that start hot and stall midway through the season, so there is that possibility, though watching the games I think Jayden is the biggest factor. Washington fans are really tuned into this matchup with the Cowboys to get clarity on what exactly Jayden’s problems are. We are hoping that with 10 days to rest since our last game, Jayden will have healed enough for the rib injury to be less of a factor. So long as the OL can keep Jayden clean, the Cowboys pass defense also doesn’t seem as imposing as that of the Steelers and Eagles. If Jayden looks like the old Jayden Daniels, then a lot of these issues may have been overblown. If he continues to struggle though, it could be a sign the injury is more significant, defenses have successfully adapted to him, or he’s hit a rookie wall and needs an offseason to develop. BTB: Who are some of the players who have taken steps forward this year, or who among rookies (besides Jayden Daniels) and free agents have stood out? HH: Other than Jayden Daniels, the rookie who has stood out the

Brad Mills-Imagn Images The latest headlines surrounding the Dallas Cowboys. DaRon Bland not concerned about rust once Cowboys clear him for 2024 debut – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com DaRon could be making his way on to the football field this Sunday against the Washington Commanders. Assuming Bland is medically cleared to take the field against the Washington Commanders in Week 12, it will mark a total of 315 days from when he last played — on Jan. 14 against the Green Bay Packers in last season’s playoffs — or a total of 319 days if he’s held out until the matchup against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving. Either way, he says he has zero concerns about being rusty, and it would likely help that, for the first time as a starter, he’d take the field with both Trevon Diggs and Jourdan Lewis. “Yeah, definitely, shoot — just putting the helmet back on felt good,” said Bland. Some might find it difficult to locate fuel in a season wherein the team has fallen to 3-7, and especially when, physically, your body has prevented you from taking to the field and trying to help prevent that spiral. Bland is far from mentally checked out though, and he has zero interest in being shut down for the remaining seven games. The Cowboys’ tough transition from Quinn to Zimmer as DC – Todd Archer, ESPN It will be difficult to evaluate Mike Zimmer’s impact in 2024 as injuries have made it difficult to implement a solid defensive scheme. Injuries might be viewed as excuses, but they are also valid reasons. “I do think when you’re down to your fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth defensive linemen, and you’re down to your fourth, fifth, whatever corner situation, I think that’s going to make a difference,” Zimmer said. “If we had all those players healthy and playing, then I think it would be different in a lot of ways.” Zimmer has changed his plans, adjusting his fronts, coming up with different personnel packages and turning more to blitzing as the season has gone on. “Losing our guy, our pass rushing guy [Parsons] and a couple of our other guys, you got to create other different things,” linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. “I’m sure this is something he cooked up before the injuries, where now it’s, ‘OK, now we’re filling in pieces,’ and you can’t really just throw everything that you been doing at training camp at somebody that just got here a week or two ago. So he has definitely been dealing with stuff, but I definitely can see here he’s getting comfortable with his guys on the field. He’s able to dial it up and trust that we’re going to get the job done.” But there have been times where Zimmer has schemed up a free rusher on the opposing quarterback only to see the defender miss a sack. Two weeks ago against the Eagles, Overshown missed a sack of Jalen Hurts, who threw a touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert. Last week, safety Donovan Wilson missed a sack after being unblocked. “I mean, when you get free runners, you like to get them home,” Zimmer said. Six reasons why Cowboys season is a disaster: Injuries, CeeDee Lamb’s holdout, more – Jon Machota, The Athletic There are plenty of reasons why this season for the Dallas Cowboys has gone south. They didn’t do enough in the offseason When other teams filled roster holes through free agency and trades in March and April, the Cowboys did very little. Their March consisted of signing veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks to a one-year, $3 million contract. There were no trades like a year ago when they moved fifth-round picks for proven veterans like cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks. In August, they traded for CB Andrew Booth and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and signed DT Linval Joseph and running back Dalvin Cook. Their two biggest misses were not upgrading more at running back (more on that later) and not doing more at defensive tackle. Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is used to working in a draft-and-develop program from his time in Green Bay. But it’s clear there were not enough gaps filled in the offseason. “It’s hard to do it every year because you’ve got the whole financial realm over here that’s critical to the process of putting together a roster,” McCarthy said earlier this month. “You try to make sure through veteran free agency you have spots full or at least you know you can go play a game today if you had to in April. And then you’re not drafting for need. You try to stay away from drafting for need. But some years it’s not practical. Have been there even in a draft-and-develop program for 13 years. We said we were BPA, best player available, all the time, but there were times we were not. So that happens. “I personally as a head coach … when you’re signing veterans in camp and you’re doing things at the end, I think that’s a pretty big challenge. Because that’s happened more this year that I haven’t been exposed to as much. If you can have everybody here in April, when that draft’s over and you line up and you’ve got that 90-man roster, if you can get to work on continuity and consistency, I think that’s a huge factor in the start of your season.” Micah Parsons on Cowboys’ growth and learning to lead – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com Despite the 3-7 record, Micah Parsons says there are positives to grow from for this 2024 defense. “I know we’re growing; I know some of these young who didn’t get the opportunities, they’re getting better,” Parsons said. “Let’s look at the film, let’s break it down. Of course young guys are still going to make mistakes, that’s what learning is.” Parsons has played in Dallas’ last two games against the Eagles and Texans, both of which were one-score games at halftime. Now,

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Who wins tonight… Pittsburgh or Cleveland? The Pittsburgh Steelers play the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football. FanDuel has the Steelers as 3.5-point favorites over the Browns. Final score prediction: Steelers 20 – Browns 13. Check out FanDuel for all of your NFL betting needs. This is an open thread for game chat.