IRVING, Texas –The Cowboys have typically been a good team on Thanksgiving Day, especially against the Redskins who are 0-6 lifetime on Turkey Day vs. Dallas. But RG3 brings a new dimension into the rivalry as he brings his Washington group down for what expects to be a great matchup. Here is the gut feeling of Nick Eatman, Rowan Kavner and Bryan Broaddus.
Rowan: This one's been probably the most difficult game to pick of this year. The Cowboys haven't demonstrated an ability to build much on success, squeaking out a three-point, comeback, overtime win against the Browns to earn their first consecutive wins of the season. Meanwhile, they'll be facing a completely new Redskins team with Robert Griffin III returning to his home state coming off perhaps his most efficient game as an NFL player. History states picking against the Cowboys and quarterback Tony Romo isn't the smartest plan on Thanksgiving Day, but the Redskins will squeeze out a tight one if the Cowboys' offense continues to suffer through lapses.
Bryan:My gut feeling this week against the Redskins will go against everything that a Cowboys fan would believe going into this matchup. Jason Garrett and Bill Callahan will get an outstanding performance from this offensive line on Thursday. There I said it, now they have to go out and prove me right. I know it's a short week and all but I have seen this Redskins defense struggle to get consistent pressure with the exception of Ryan Kerrigan and Stephen Bowen there are ways to control them in the game with extra blockers. I believe you will see the Cowboys handle stunts differently than what they did against the Browns. I am still not ruling out Tyron Smith in this game and if he can play, he can handle the one-on-one matchups but if it's Jermey Parnell then that's the way they have to roll. With Parnell when his technique is correct, he can block but at left tackle, you cannot afford to even take one play off. Mackenzy Bernadeau is better than Ryan Cook at center so now it's about Free and Dockery. These linemen have pride and they understand what happened last week cannot happen again, this week they play a better game as a group.
Nick: This is one is a tough one to call. I've been on the fence about this game for a while. I can see the Cowboys getting a nice, solid victory with big plays in the second half. I see Robert Griffin III playing out of his mind and being too good for the Cowboys, too. I see both sides of this and I can't seem to shake from the middle. I know with about 11:25 to go in the fourth quarter, it's going to be a very close game and it'll go either way. My gut though, is leaning towards the Cowboys coming up short. And the reason probably isn't anything to do with the Redskins. It's the fact that this team will have won three straight games, and has a chance to be sitting in first place in the NFC East come Monday? For a squad that was 3-5 just two weeks ago, I have a hard time thinking they're going to be that consistent enough to get this win. One thing I can guarantee about Thursday's game is that it will probably be the most physical game of the year. These two teams always play it close and on short rest, it's all about survival.
