It has to drive 25-year old running back Tashard Choice nuts that he is currently third on the depth chart in Dallas at RB behind Marion Barber and Felix Jones as he would probably start for half of the teams in the NFL.  He has played in 11 games for the Cowboys this season and he has carried the ball 58 times for 330 yards (5.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 15 passes for 132 yards (8.8 avg) so far this year.  He has now played in 27 games in his two years in Dallas and he has carried the ball 150 times for 802 yards (5.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 36 passes for 317 yards (8.8 avg) in his time in Dallas.  It will be interesting to see what Dallas does when someone calls them on draft day next April about Choice.

The Cowboys looked like a determined bunch yesterday as they came out of the locker room swinging to start the game as they built a 17-0 lead at the half and then they cruised to victory in the 2nd half.  Tony Romo had a good game completing 18 of 29 passes for 309 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs while playing with a badly bruised back.  The Cowboys got all of their stable of running backs in on the action yesterday.  Felix Jones led the way for the Cowboys with 68 yards on 7 carries (9.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Tashard Choice only carried the ball three times but he still finished up with 67 yards (22.3 ypc) rushing.  Marion Barber also had a good game with 14 carries for 61 yards (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 41 yards (20.5 avg).  Miles Austin had another great game for the Cowboys yesterday with 7 catches for 145 yards (20.7 avg) with a TD grab.  Jason Witten shook off an injury to pitch in with 5 catches for 107 yards (21.4 avg).  Roy Williams only caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) but one went for a TD.  The Cowboys finished up with 494 total yards in this game (195 rushing, 299 passing) on offense.

LB Keith Brooking led a solid Cowboys’ D yesterday with 9 tackles and 1 QB hit.  But, OLB Anthony Spencer was a monster in this game with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits as he was playing like a man possessed.  The Raiders finished up with 305 yards on offense (124 rushing, 181 passing) in this game.  The Cowboys are now 8-3 on the year.

On paper this looks like a horrible match-up but games aren’t played on paper.  That was proven last week when the Raiders shocked the Bengals.  The Cowboys’ defensed has not been that great this season and the Raiders would like to exploit them on the ground.  Michael Bush, Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden will all likely be testing the Cowboys on the ground as they are allowing 100.6 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  The Cowboys also are having problems at safety this season and the Raiders’ top receiver this season has been TE Zach Miller who could have a huge game tomorrow.  Bruce Gradkowski doesn’t have the strongest arm around but he is a solid game manager and that’s what the Raiders will be asking him to do tomorrow.

The Raiders have a solid secondary and Tony Romo has a badly bruised back so the Cowboys will likely run the ball more often than usual tomorrow.  The Raiders are allowing 157.7 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry this season so look for Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice to all be effective.  The passing game will probaby be kept to shorter passes in a attempt to protect Romo.  That means that Jason Witten will probably be the target that Romo is targeting the most in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 20, RAIDERS 17

27-year old DeMarcus Ware is still by far the best player the Cowboys have to offer on defense.  He has played in all 10 games for the Cowboys this season and he has 39 tackles, 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and he has defensed 5 passes.  Look for him to be living in the Raiders’ backfield tomorrow afternoon.  He has now played in 74 games in 5 years with the Cowboys and he has 338 tackles, 60.5 sacks, 18 passes defensed, 20 forced fumbles and he also has a interception that he has returned for a TD.  Look for Ware to continue to dominate as he tries to will his team to get to the playoffs this season.

The Dallas Cowboys’ (7-3) offense was unimpressive for the second straight week, but they only needed one touchdown to beat the Washington Redskins (3-7) on Sunday.  Some of the struggles can be attributed to Tony Romo injuring his back early in the game.  Romo was in obvious pain after having to make a tackle on DeAngelo Hall, who recovered a Marion Barber fumble.  After that play, Romo was terrible and was missing his receivers over and over.  Marion Barber did a good job taking some of the pressure of Romo, rushing for 99 yards on 20 carries, but his fumble was costly since Romo injured his back on the play.  Romo came through when it mattered most though, when he found Patrick Crayton in the endzone to put the Cowboys up 7-6 with 2:41 to play.  Romo finished the game with 1 touchdown and 1 interception for 158 yards on 15/27 attempts.

The Cowboys defense did a good job keeping the Redskins out of the endzone, but they benefited from two missed field goals.  With very little production from the offense, the Cowboys would have lost the game had Redskins’ kicker Shaun Suisham not missed a 39-yard field goal attempt and a 50-yard field goal attempt.  They did not do a good job on third downs, letting Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell go 12-12 for 150 yards on 3rd downs.  They also let third string running back Rock Cartwright get 140 total yards on 13 carries and 7 catches.  They kept the Redskins out of the endzone though, and that is what you want out of your defense.  The Cowboys should be concerned about their offense and have only a few days to get the kinks out.  They play Thursday night against the Oakland Raiders.

The Dallas Cowboys (6-3) are coming off their worst offensive performance of the year and need to be ready to play against the Washington Redskins (3-6).  Their rivals have won five of the last eight matchups and are coming off their best game of the year where they beat the Denver Broncos.  Tony Romo and the offense need to be a lot more productive or they will find themselves on the losing end once again.  The Cowboys only scored 7 points last week against the Packers, but I think they will have more success against the Redskins.  Romo and Roy Williams have been having a lot of success the past two games, with Williams catching 10 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown.  There is always the dangerous Miles Austin for Romo to find as well, and the Redskins give up 126 rushing yards per game so Marion Barber and Felix Jones should be able to get something going in the running game.

The Cowboys defense needs to be ready for Ladell Betts, who ran for 114 yards and a touchdown last week.  Betts is Clinton Portis’ backup, who is sitting out again due to a concussion.  Betts doesn’t play like a backup though, and he is going to be the main part of the Redskins’ offense.  Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell has been throwing a lot of interceptions this year, so he has been going to a lot of short passes to try and limit those.  If he tries to go downfield, the Cowboys front line can get some pressure on him as he often holds on to the ball too long.  This is a very intense rivalry, so the records don’t matter in this one.  The Redskins are coming in playing well, so the Cowboys better be on top of their game.  I think this will be a pretty close game, but if the Cowboys play like they are capable they could blow them out.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Dallas Cowboys 28, Washington Redskins 20

It’s amazing to see how some players repsond to pressure when another player at his position starts to excel.  Roy Williams has played his best football since coming to Dallas the last two weeks as he has caught 10 passes for 180 yards (18.0 avg) with a TD.  His recent performance shouldn’t surprise anyone because he’s a talented football player plus Miles Austin has been pushing him for targets due to his fine play.  The Cowboys need Williams to keep playing at a high level because it makes them very hard to defend because you can’t really double anyone.  Williams has now played in 8 games this season for the Cowboys and he has 24 catches for 429 yards (17.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for Williams to finish the season strongly as long as he can stay healthy.

With December just around the corner the Cowboys need Tony Romo to step up.  He has been awful in games in December and January since becoming the starting QB of the Cowboys and they can’t afford to have that continue.  Romo has completed 183 of 303 passes (60.4%) for 2,466 yards with 14 TD passes and 6 INTs (93.5 QB Rating) so far this year.  Romo has also carried the ball 23 times for 86 yards (3.7 ypc) so far this year.  If Romo can finish the year with his current QB Rating the Cowboys will be happy because they will be in the playoffs.  With all of the weapons that Romo has at his disposal this season it’s hard to believe that he will fail as usual late this year.

The Cowboys will be without starting free safety Ken Hamlin for the next 2-4 weeks with a high ankle sprain.  Hamlin has played in 9 games for the Cowboys this season and he has 39 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Pat Watkins will replace Hamlin in the starting lineup.  He has played in 9 games making 25 tackles this year.  This will hurt the Cowboys a little bit as Hamlin is pretty good at not letting WRs get behind him.

UPDATE:  The Cowboys will be starting Alan Ball at free safety instead of Pat Watkins.  The 24-year old Ball has played in 9 games for the Cowboys this season and he has 13 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Ball has now played in 21 games (in 3 years) for the Cowboys and he has 25 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  We’ll see if this is a smart move or a mistake starting this Sunday.

Starting right tackle Marc Colombo has a fractured fibula and he underwent surgery yesterday to repair torn ligaments in his ankle.  The Cowboys will be without Colombo for at least the next six weeks.  Doug Free will likely get the first chance to replace Colombo.  Free has played in 9 games (0 starts) this season for the Cowboys.  In three years with the Cowboys, Free has played in 10 games (0 starts).  This is a huge dropoff for the Cowboys as Free has very little experience in the NFL.