Big Facts: Dak Can Break Romo’s Passing Record

At the end of the day, this entire scenario for playoffs relies on the 4-11 New York Giants upending the Eagles. After handing off the division lead to Philadelphia on Sunday, the Cowboys no longer control their destiny; a win over the Redskins and an Eagles loss to the Giants would get the Cowboys in. It would be winning the division in consecutive seasons for the first time since Dallas won five straight in the mid 1990s (1992-1996).

Full season with Dak should have better results. Since the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule in 1977, the Cowboys have had 15 seasons in which the quarterback started every game. But only once in that span have the Cowboys had a losing record. Troy Aikman started all 16 games in 1997 but the Cowboys fell to 6-10 and Barry Switzer was fired after the year. Dak is expected to be the 16th Cowboys quarterback to start 16 games but is hoping to avoid a losing season, which would be the first of his career.

The Redskins' defense can't get off the field. Washington ranks last in the NFL in opponent's third-down percentage. Teams are converting 48.6 percent of its third-down plays, staying on the field and extending drives. On the flip side, the Cowboys have been among the best all season at converting third-downs. They rank third in the NFL now at a 46.5 conversion rate.

Cowboys finally seeing a familiar QB for Washington. Because of an injury to Redskins rookie Dwayne Haskins (concussion), the Cowboys won't see a new player under center for a change. Had Haskins started this week as planned, he would've been the fifth different Redskins quarterback to start against the Cowboys, dating back to 2017. That year, Kirk Cousins started both games, followed by Alex Smith and Colt McCoy in 2018 and then Case Keenum in Week 2 this year. But because of Haskins' injury, Keenum will get the start, ending that rare streak.

Ezekiel Elliott has proven he is durable. Zeke is averaging 126.4 scrimmage yards-per-game in the month of December since 2016 - the third-highest average among all NFL players in December over that span.

The Cowboys have two 1,000-yard pass catchers in a season (Amari Cooper, 1,085; Michael Gallup, 1,008) for only the seventh time in franchise history, and the first time since the 2012 season when Dez Bryant 1,382 and Jason Witten 1,039 accomplished that together. For the first time in franchise history, the Cowboys also add in a 4,000-yard passer in Prescott and a 1,000 yard rusher in Zeke.

The offensive line is still in it's prime. Dallas has allowed the lowest percentage of sacks in the league in 2019, with only 3.4% of passing plays resulting in a sack. Dallas has the second ranked passing offense in the league, averaging 297.1 yards-per-game through the air.

Sunday could be record-breaking for Jason Witten. Whether or not this is his final game of his career, Witten needs one touchdown catch to tie Dez Bryant (73) for the most touchdowns in team history. He also needs just 47 yards to become the 19th player in NFL history to reach 13,000 career yards.

Could Dak break Romo's record? Win or lose, Dak is closing in on the Cowboys' all-time single-season passing record. Prescott needs 305 yards to surpass Tony Romo's record of 4,905 yards that he set in 2012 – which was also an 8-8 season that missed the playoffs. The Cowboys could once again finish 8-8 if they beat Washington and still miss the postseason.

No Cowboys coach has been to the playoffs in consecutive seasons in over 20 years. Forget winning the division in two straight years, how about just making the playoffs? Not since Chan Gailey did this in 1998-99 has the same coach led the Cowboys to back-to-back playoff appearances. The Cowboys went two straight years in 2006 & 2007, but under Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips. Garrett has never led the Cowboys to the playoffs in two straight years and if you're wondering what might happen if he does … do not forget that Gailey was also fired after that second season.