DALLAS — By the time the calendar flipped to November, it appeared as though the Dallas Cowboys were running away with the NFC East. After stumbling through the month, however, with a record of 1-3 in four November contests, Dallas have given their rivals a sporting chance as the season enters its concluding stretch.
The Cowboys did give themselves some wiggle room by opening the month of December with a victory over the Saints in New Orleans in Week 13. The 27-17 win has Dallas sitting at 8-4 with a two game lead in the division.
Meanwhile, the 6-6 Washington Football Team is the squad that is suddenly nipping at the Cowboys’ heels as they’re in the midst of a four-game winning streak that has pulled their season back from the brink. Their most recent victory came via a 17-15 nailbiter over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13.
With that in mind, here are 100 facts and stats as the Cowboys aim to dash Washington’s hopes for an East comeback:
SERIES FACTS (12)
- One cliché thrown around heading into a Dallas vs. Washington game is how the respective records need to be thrown out. However, team records are still very predictive:
- Dallas with winning record: 31-19-1
- Washington with winning record: 22-14
- Both teams with same records (Dallas perspective): 19-14-1
- The Cowboys are 8-4 for the 15th time in team history. Here are the final fates for those other 14 teams:
- Missed playoffs: 2008
- Lost wildcard: 1998, 2003, 2006
- Lost divisional: 1979, 1985, 2009, 2014
- Lost conference: 1973
- Lost league title game/Super Bowl: 1967, 1970, 1975, 1978
- Won Super Bowl: 1993
- Since 1990, 89 of the 95 teams that started 9-4 made the playoffs with 50 of them having won the division and 21 of them having secured a first-round bye.
- Since 1990, 87 of the 129 teams that started 8-5 made the playoffs with 37 of those 87 teams having won the division.
- Washington is 6-6 for the 11th time in team history. 2 of those previous 10 teams made the playoffs (2005, 2012) with only the 2012 team having won the division.
- Since 1990, 44 of the 124 teams that started 7-6 made the playoffs with 12 of those 44 teams having won the division.
- Since 1990, 16 of the 119 teams that started 6-7 made the playoffs with only five of those teams having won the division (’20 Washington, ’19 Philadelphia, ’15 Houston, ’15 Washington, ’10 Seattle).
- Dallas is 33-30 against Washington on the road. Here is the breakdown by venue:
- Griffith Stadium: 0-1
- RFK Stadium: 18-20
- FedEx Field: 15-9
- The Cowboys’ 15-9 record at FedEx Field is tops among NFC East visitors:
- Dallas: 15-9
- Philadelphia: 14-10
- NY Giants: 14-10-1
- The Cowboys are 20-14 against Washington in December, including the playoffs, with an 8-9 record on the road.
- The Cowboys are 73-76-1 all-time in their blue jerseys.
- The Cowboys are 16-15 against Washington in their blue jerseys.
DAK PRESCOTT FACTS (18)
- Prescott is 20-6 against the NFC East with an 8-4 record on the road.
- Prescott is 12-3 against the NFC East in initial match-ups with a 4-1 record on the road.
- Prescott is 7-1 against Washington. Here is how that compares to other Dallas starters through seven games:
- Dak Prescott: 7-1
- Danny White: 6-2
- Roger Staubach: 4-4
- Tony Romo: 4-4
- Troy Aikman: 3-5
- Prescott has the eighth-highest passing yards in 2021 with 3,170.
- Prescott has benefited from 1,526 yards after the catch, the ninth-most in the NFL.
- Prescott has the sixth-most red zone passing yards with 240.
- Prescott is tied for the seventh-most touchdown passes in the league with 23.
- Prescott’s 14 red zone touchdowns are tied for ninth-most in the NFL.
- Prescott is tied with Lamar Jackson for the ninth-highest yards per pass attempt with 7.6.
- Prescott has the 10th-most intended air yards with 3,252.
- Prescott has the eighth-highest completed air yards with 1,644.
- Prescott has the seventh-highest passer rating in the league at 101.7.
- Prescott is tied with Josh Allen for the fourth-lowest sack percentage at 4.1%.
- Prescott has been blitzed 127 times, the sixth-most in the NFL.
- Prescott is tied with Baker Mayfield for the seventh-lowest percentage of passes dropped at 3.7%.
- Among quarterbacks with at least 100 such attempts, Prescott’s 61.4 completion percentage on third down is the ninth-highest in the league.
- Among quarterbacks with at least 100 such attempts, Prescott’s 7.6 yards per pass attempt are tied for the third-highest in the NFL.
- Among quarterbacks with at least 100 such attempts, Prescott’s 93.3 passer rating is the 10th-highest in the NFL.
TAYLOR HEINICKE FACTS (17)
- Heinicke’s 3.5 completed air yards per pass attempt are tied for the eighth-lowest in the NFL.
- Heinicke is 1 of 10 quarterbacks to have thrown at least two red zone interceptions.
- Heinicke is tied for the seventh-most interceptions on third down with four.
- Heinicke’s 11 interceptions are tied for the fifth-most in the league.
- Heinicke’s 10.5 yards per completion is tied with Daniel Jones for the eighth-lowest in the league.
- Heinicke’s 67.9 completion percentage is the eighth-highest in the NFL.
- Heinicke averages 2.6 seconds in the pocket, the second-highest in the league.
- Among quarterbacks with at least 40 such attempts, Heinicke’s 62.79 completion percentage is the second-best in the red zone.
- Among quarterbacks with at least 90 such attempts, Heinicke’s 80.3 passer rating is the third-lowest on third down.
- Heinicke has had 3.6% of passes dropped, the sixth-lowest in the NFL.
- Heinicke is tied with Patrick Mahomes for 34 scrambles, the third-most in the league.
- Heinicke has had 44 pass plays out of a run-pass option, the eighth-most in the NFL.
- Heinicke’s 345 passing yards out of run-pass option are the 10th-most in the league.
- Heinicke has executed 99 play-action passes, the fifth-most in the NFL.
- Heinicke's 903 passing yards out of play-action are the fourth-most in the league.
- Heinicke is 1 of 6 quarterbacks to have led at least three fourth quarter comebacks.
- Heinicke is 1 of 4 quarterbacks to have engineered at least four game-winning drives.
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT FACTS (8)
- Among running backs with at least 100 carries, Elliott’s 4.64 yards per carry on first down are the fourth-highest in the NFL.
- Elliott’s 765 rushing yards are the eighth-most in the NFL.
- Elliott’s 428 yards before contact are the eighth-lowest in the league.
- Elliott’s eight rushing touchdowns are tied for the sixth-most in the league.
- All eight of Elliott’s rushing touchdowns have come inside the red zone, tied for the fourth-highest in the league.
- Among running backs with at least 150 carries, Elliott’s 4.4 yards per carry are tied with Leonard Fournette for the sixth-most in the NFL.
- Elliott is tied with A.J. Dillon for the eighth-most third down conversions on the ground with 10.
- Elliott’s 17 carries on third down are the ninth-highest in the NFL.
MIKE MCCARTHY FACTS (10)
- This is the 69th week overall that a McCarthy coached team has held an undisputed lead in the division and his 11th with the Cowboys.
- McCarthy is the only Cowboys coach to be swept by Washington in his first year. Tom Landry lost to Washington in his first year (1960), but Dallas only played them one time.
- McCarthy is 3-5 against Washington with a 1-4 record on the road.
- Here is how McCarthy’s 3-5 record against Washington compares to the rest of the NFC East:
- Philadelphia: 7-3
- NY Giants: 7-5
- Washington: 3-5
- McCarthy is 17-13 against the NFC East with a 7-9 record on the road.
- McCarthy is 57-27-2 in division games with a 25-17 record on the road.
- McCarthy is 39-18 in December with a 15-13 record on the road.
- McCarthy is 72-55-1 against playoff-winning coaches with a 30-40 record on the road.
- The Cowboys’ 96 penalties in 2021 are tied with the Las Vegas Raiders for the most in the NFL. Among McCarthy’s previous teams, only the 2009 Green Bay Packers (98) had more penalties after 12 games.
- McCarthy is 49 for 99 on challenges for his career with a 1 for 4 rate in 2021.
RON RIVERA FACTS (11)
- Ron Rivera is the only Washington coach to sweep Dallas in his first year, which he accomplished in 2020.
- Rivera is also among the ranks of George Allen, Jack Pardee, Richie Petitbon, Jim Zorn, Mike Shanahan, and Jay Gruden as the only Washington coaches to defeat the Cowboys in their first game.
- Rivera is 14-17 in initial division games with a 9-8 record at home.
- Rivera is 4-1 against the Cowboys for his career with a 2-1 record at home.
- Rivera is 13-6 against the rest of the NFC East with a 7-4 record at home.
- In terms of winning percentage, Rivera’s 4-1 record against the Cowboys is his second-best amongst NFC East opponents:
- Philadelphia: 5-2
- Dallas: 4-1
- New York: 4-3
- Rivera is 27-15 in December with a 13-5 record at home.
- Rivera has a 58-56-1 record in early afternoon games with a 37-28 record at home.
- Rivera is 52-51 against playoff-winning coaches with a 26-27 record at home.
- Rivera has led his team to a 6-6 record for the second time in his career. The last time was in 2018 with the Carolina Panthers, who finished 7-9 and failed to make the playoffs.
- Rivera is 34 for 71 on challenges for his career with a 2 for 6 record in 2021.
BROADCAST FACTS (9)
- Dallas vs. Washington has been played on 5 of the 7 possible broadcast networks. Here is a breakdown of the Cowboys’ record against their arch rival by network:
- CBS: 32-24-2
- FOX: 25-12
- NBC: 4-2
- ABC: 7-7
- ESPN: 4-1
- Dallas is 149-135 all-time on FOX, including the postseason.
- Washington is 137-185-1 all-time on FOX, including the postseason.
- This week’s commentators are Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, making them the 54th different team in the series. Burkhardt is calling his fifth game in the series while Olsen is calling his first.
- Dallas is 30-21 when Burkhardt calls their games, including Compass Media Network games.
- Washington is 8-11 when Burkhardt calls their games, including Compass Media Network games.
- The Cowboys are 2-1 with Olsen providing commentary for their games.
- Washington is 1-0 with Olsen providing commentary for their games.
- This is the 48th early afternoon game in the series. Dallas has a 30-17-2 record in such games.
ALEX KEMP FACTS (12)
- This week’s referee is Alex Kemp. That will be a first for the Cowboys. The only Cowboys game that Kemp has been a part of was on Nov. 12, 2017 when the Atlanta Falcons beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-7 with defensive end Adrian Clayborn sacking Dak Prescott for an NFC record six times. Kemp was a side judge for that game.
- Kemp’s games have the sixth-lowest (.455) home team winning percentage.
- Kemp has the highest percentage (.818) of home teams with fewer penalties per contest.
- Washington is 0-4 with Kemp:
- 2018 – HTX, 21-23 – L
- 2019 – @NYG, 3-24 – L
- 2020 – @DET, 27-30 – L
- 2021 – SDG, 16-20 – L
- Washington has had fewer penalties 2 of 4 times with Kemp:
- 2018 – HTX: 7/40; WAS: 6/43
- 2019 – NYG: 5/45; WAS: 12/58
- 2020 – DET: 9/55; WAS: 6/58
- 2021 – SDG: 5/85; WAS: 9/66
- Kemp’s games have the sixth-fewest (4.3) number of sacks in 2021.
- Kemp’s crew calls the sixth-fewest (2.3) offensive holding calls per game.
- Washington has never challenged Kemp nor have their opponents. However, Replay Assistant is 0 for 3 with two of those calls benefiting Washington.
- Kemp has the highest (1.000, 4 of 4) coaches challenge overturn rate.
- Kemp is tied for the lowest (.500, 3 of 6) booth review overturn rate.
- Kemp is an insurance agent outside of football.
- Kemp’s father, Stan Kemp, was a side judge and referee in the NFL from 1986-92.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS (3)
- The Cowboys are 5-3 on Dec. 12:
- 1970 — @CLE, 6-2 — W
- 1971 — @NYG, 42-14 — W
- 1976 — WAS, 14-27 — L
- 1977 — @SF, 42-35 — W
- 1993 — @MIN, 37-20 — W
- 1999 — PHI, 20-10 — W
- 2004 — NO, 13-27 — L
- 2010 — PHI, 27-30 — L
- Washington is 6-4 on Dec. 12:
- 1937* — @CHI, 28-21 — W
- 1943 — NYG, 7-31 — L
- 1948 — @NYG, 28-21 — W
- 1954 — CRD, 37-20 — W
- 1965 — NYG, 10-27 — L
- 1976 — @DAL, 27-14 — W
- 1982 — @CRD, 12-7 — W
- 1999 — CRD, 28-3 — W
- 2004 — PHI, 14-17 — L
- 2010 — TB, 16-17 — L
*playoff game
- The Cowboys have fourth birthdays to celebrate on Dec. 12:
- 1937 — Byron Bradfute, OT, 1960-61
- 1953 — Rafael Septien, K, 1978-86
- 1988 — Alfred Morris, RB, 2016-17, 2019
- 1990 — Tyron Smith, OT, 2011-present
Do you think the Cowboys will extend their lead (73-47) in the all-time series against Washington on Sunday? Share your predictions with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
