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Cowboys not overlooking Washington despite clinching playoffs

The Dallas Cowboys have already clinched a spot in the playoffs but they still have their sights on claiming the NFC East against Washington.

DALLAS — The Tennessee Titans helped the Dallas Cowboys out to kick off Week 16 when they beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 on Thursday night at Nissan Stadium.

The AFC South leader’s win gave the 10-4 Cowboys a playoff berth as the Niners fell to 8-7 with two games to go. In the NFC East, the Cowboys are ahead of the second place Philadelphia Eagles (7-7), Washington (6-8), and New York (4-10). Nevertheless, Dallas wants to keep the momentum going and not backdoor their way to a division title.

The best way that the Cowboys can capture momentum in a bid to earn home field advantage in the playoffs and the NFC's only bye is to crush Washington on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium to jumpstart the final three games.

"We got a big game coming up here this weekend," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 "The Fan" [KRLD-FM], Friday. "A lot of people say, ‘My goodness, you clinched the playoffs.’ No, this is a big game. We want to walk out here and win every series. We want to win the series. We want them down. We want to win the quarter."

The Cowboys are getting a Washington team that is coming off short rest having lost to the Eagles 27-17 on Dec. 21 during the NFL's Tuesday night doubleheader. Dallas also saw their NFC East arch rivals two weeks ago at FedEx Field in a 27-20 victory.

For quarterback Dak Prescott, seeing Washington so soon after commencing the season series doesn't feel strange.

"No, I mean, not necessarily," Prescott said. "I feel like I’ve done it before, a couple years ago. Playing a division team sometimes that’s going to happen. We just got to look back at last week, know ourselves really well, know what they did to us and hopefully come out and execute better and be a better version of ourselves."

What Jones knows about his team is that their depth along the defensive line has been a key part of their December victories, including against Washington two weeks ago, as they have been able to keep pass rushers Randy Gregory, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Micah Parsons fresh throughout the games.

Said Jones: "It’s a big difference in taking 20-22 snaps a game when you’re pass rushing than having to do 30-35 pass rushes in a game — all the difference in the world. And, so, we’re going to be fresh. We’re going to keep these guys fresh."

The Cowboys have not won the NFC East since 2018. Knocking off Washington and capturing the East would keep the streak of not having a back-to-back division champion alive since the 2001-04 Eagles accomplished that feat.

Do you think the Cowboys will heed Jerry Jones’ words and give it their best against Washington on Sunday? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.

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