The Cowboys have to be frustrated after losing last weekend at New England in the last minute of the game.  The Rams have been pathetic all year long and they will be without starting QB Sam Bradford in this game.  A.J. Feeley will be making his first start since 2007.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are going to come out passing in this game and try to break the Rams will early.  Tony Romo should have time to throw the ball and the Rams’ secondary is unlikely to offer much resistance.  That means that Jason Witten, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are all in line for big games.  Rookie RB DeMarco Murray couldn’t have picked a better team to make his starting debut against.  The Rams are allowing 163.0 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Cowboys are going to go all out to stop RB Steven Jackson and force A.J. Feeley to try to beat them with his arm.  Rams’ QBs have been sacked 22 times already this year, so DeMarcus Ware and his buddies should have no problem getting to Feeley.  Look for Brandon Lloyd to be featured in the passing game for the Rams.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 31, RAMS 7

The Cowboys have had two weeks to get ready for the Patriots.  Defensive co-ordinator Rob Ryan really found a way to slow down the Patriots’ offense in Cleveland last year, when the Browns beat the Patriots.  Beating them on their home field is a completely different animal though.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  Tony Romo should have a lot of time to throw the ball this weekend as the Patriots only have 8 sacks in 5 games so far this year.  Romo is in line to have a huge game as the Patriots are giving up 326.6 yards passing per game so far this year.  Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and Miles Austin are going to give the Patriots’ secondary fits all day long.  The Patriots are also giving up 4.6 yards per carry so far this year, so maybe RB Felix Jones will have a breakout game.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots have been much more balanced the last couple of weeks, so look for them to try to get the running game going early tomorrow.  Make no mistake though, Tom Brady is going to be ready for a fire fight.  The Cowboys are giving up 230.0 yards passing per game so far this year and they don’t have the best secondary around by any means.  The Cowboys are likely going to try to blitz a lot in this game and that could either help them or kill them in this game.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 31, COWBOYS 27

The Cowboys have won two games in a row, but they are going to have to deal with the Lions this Sunday, who have won 7 games in a row.  The Cowboys are going to have to get a quick lead and keep the pedal to the metal this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are going to need to try to run the ball a little more this weekend.  The Lions are giving up 113.0 yards rushing per game so far this year and 5.0 yards per carry.  Felix Jones will likely have a heavier workload this weekend as long as his shoulder holds up.  The Cowboys are going to need to block well for Tony Romo, because the Lions bring a lot of heat in the passing game and they hit the passer a lot.  Romo might need to keep the passing of the shorter variety and hope that Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree and Laurent Robinson can make some plays after the catch.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Cowboys are going to try to stop Jahvid Best’s running with the front seven as the Lions are only averaging 78.3 rushing yards per game this year and 2.8 yards per carry.  This will allow the Cowboys to really come after Matthew Stafford this weekend.  OLBs DeMarcus Ware (5 sacks) and Anthony Spencer (3 sacks) are likely going to be turned loose the whole game in an effort to force Lions’ QB Matthew Stafford into making some mistakes with the football.  The Cowboys need to get to Stafford and hit him a lot because he’s going to be aiming at the secondary quite a bit this Sunday.  WR Calvin Johnson, WR Nate Burleson, WR Titus Young, TE Brandon Pettigrew and TE Tony Scheffler are going to cause matchup problems for the Cowboys’ D.  Jahvid Best out of the backfield on screen passes could also cause the Cowboys to have issues on defense.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 24, COWBOYS 20

The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins split last seasons two games with each team winning at home.  The Cowboys are really beat up heading into this game while the Redskins are ready to rock.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys might get rookie RB DeMarco Murray more involved in the offense in this game as Felix Jones is going to try to play with a separated shoulder.  The Cowboys are only averaging 54.5 yards rushing per game and 2.3 yards per carry, and that’s just not going to get it done.  The Redskins are allowing 4.8 yards per carry this year but only 84.0 yards rushing per game, so the opportunity to have a somewhat balanced offense could be there for the Cowboys in this game.  Tony Romo is going to try to play with a couple of fractured ribs in this game, so expect the Redskins to send the house after him by blitzling early and often.  With WRs Miles Austin and Dez Bryant out of action due to injuries, Jesse Holley and Kevin Ogletree will need to step up.  Romo will likely be looking for his buddy, TE Jason Witten a lot in this game.  Witten caught 13 passes for 167 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD grab against the Redskins last year.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Cowboys will have to stop RBs Tim Hightower and rookie Roy Helu, as the Redskins are averaging 123.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  The Cowboys should be up to the challenge as they are only allowing 59.5 yards rushing per game so far this year and only 3.0 yards per carry.  The Redskins have been really effective throwing the ball this year and Rex Grossman torched them for 322 yards passing and 4 TD passes in his lone start against the Cowboys last year.  They will have to send the blitz after Grossman a lot in this game to try to force him into making some mistakes.  If Grossman has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have a big game tossing the ball to TE Fred Davis and WRs Santana Moss, Anthony Armstrong and Jabar Gaffney.

PREDICTION:  REDSKINS 26, COWBOYS 20

The Dallas Cowboys are fresh off a gigantic choke job against the Jets last Sunday Night.  The 49ers have to be thinking good about themselves both defensively and on special teams due to their performance last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are going to come out throwing the ball to try to get a quick lead on the Niners and take them out of their game plan.  If the Cowboys can protect Romo (the Niners had 5 sacks last weekend), he should have success throwing the ball.  The Cowboys have too many weapons (Jason Witten, Dez Bryant and Miles Austin) for the 49ers’ secondary to deal with.  The Cowboys would also like to get Felix Jones going but he’s going to have to fight for every yard with Patrick Willis chasing him around all day long.

When the 49ers have the ball:  The Cowboys want to take Frank Gore away from the Niners and force Alex Smith to beat them with his arm.  The Cowboys’ front seven will be responsible to stop Gore and they did well last week against the Jets, who they held to 45 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.8 ypc).  The secondary is very vulnerable right now due to all of the injuries they have suffered at cornerback.  That means that the Cowboys will have to send OLB DeMarcus Ware and his buddies after Alex Smith.  CBs Mike Jenkins, Bryan McCann and Frank Walker are going to have their hands full dealing with Braylon Edwards, Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan.  Safeties Abram Elam and Gerald Sensabaugh better tighten up the chinstraps this Sunday as they are going to have to try to corral Vernon Davis.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 27, 49ERS 24

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t make a whole lot of changes in the off-season.  But they did blow up the offensive line, so it will be interesting to see how well the youngsters hold up against the aggressive Jets’ D tomorrow night.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are likely going to come out throwing the ball in an attempt to get an early lead on the Jets and take them out of their gameplan.  The young O-Line is going to have to give Tony Romo time to throw the ball, or CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are going to get the best of him.  Still, it will be fascinating to watch Dez Bryant and Miles Austin battle the top pair of corners in the NFL (sorry Philly).  TE Jason Witten is also going to get used a lot in the passing game for the Cowboys tomorrow night as they are going to challenge the Jets’ safeties in this game.  The Cowboys are planning on making Felix Jones the main man in the running game.  It will be interesting to watch his blazing speed match up against the inside linebackers (Bart Scott and David Harris) of the Jets.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets want to run the ball.  It will be up to the front seven to stop power runner Shonn Greene and veteran LaDainian Tomlinson.  That is going to be easier said than done.  The Cowboys also need to get to QB Mark Sanchez as he sometimes throws the ball up for grabs when you hit him in the mouth a couple of times.  OLBs DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer are going to be chasing Sanchez around all night long.  Safeties Abram Elam and Gerald Sensabaugh will have to keep tabs on TE Dustin Keller as Sanchez likes throwing to him off play action.  CBs Michael Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick will have to step up against WRs Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason.

PREDICTION:  JETS 17, COWBOYS 16

The Cowboys are 4-3 under Jason Garrett and this is a huge game for him.  After losing a very disappointing game to the Cardinals, Garrett can’t afford to slip up against an Eagles’ team that is going to rest most of it’s starters this weekend.  The Cowboys lost just three weeks ago, 30-27 to the Eagles in Dallas.  The Eagles just want to get through this game with everyone in one piece for the playoffs.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  With Stephen McGee starting at QB, I see the Cowboys running the ball more than usual this weekend.  Felix Jones, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice will split the carries against a Eagles’ D that is allowing 107.1 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  Stephen McGee is also a solid runner so look for him to take off out of the pocket a few times in this game.  The Eagles are giving up 223.7 yards passing per game so the Cowboys won’t be shy about throwing the ball to Jason Witten, Roy Williams and Miles Austin in this game.

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Eagles are likely going to rest Michael Vick, Lesean McCoy and DeSean Jackson this weekend to keep them fresh and healthy for the playoffs.  They have solid replacements though so expect the Eagles to give a good effort on offense.  Jerome Harrison will likely have a heavy workload against a Cowboys’ D that is allowing 107.5 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  Kevin Kolb is going to get the start at QB and he is still a very solid QB.  The Cowboys best chance is to blitz Kolb and try to rattle him, hoping that he’ll make some mistakes. 

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 23

The Dallas Cowboys are now 4-2 under Jason Garrett as the head coach and they will take their act on the road to Arizona to deal with the Cardinals this Saturday Night.  The Cowboys are playing with a lot of pride right now while the Cardinals are playing like a team ready to go on vacation.  Still, the Cardinals are 3-4 at home so they probably won’t go down without a fight.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys have been running the ball more lately and I don’t think that will change this weekend.  The Cowboys are going to feed the ball to their RBs against a Cardinals’ D that is giving up 145.7 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry so far this year.  The Cowboys are also going to pass though as John Kitna will be aiming for Miles Austin & Jason Witten a lot in this game.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals just have not been smart enough to try to run the ball this year.  That means they are likely to have rookie QB John Skelton challenging a Cowboys’ D that is allowing 256.6 yards passing per game.  The Cowboys should blitz the rookie a lot in this game to force him into making some mistakes….which he will!  The Cowboys would also be smart to double cover Larry Fitzgerald all game long.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 31, CARDINALS 17

The Cowboys are 3-2 under Jason Garrett as the head coach and they have scored 160 points in those games!  The Redskins have lost five of their last six games and three in a row.  The Redskins beat the Cowboys 13-7 in the season opener but these two teams are going in opposite directions right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys have been running the ball a lot lately and I don’t see that changing this weekend.  The Redskins are giving up 134.4 yards rushing per game and 4.9 yards per carry so Felix Jones & Tashard Choice are going to likely find a lot of running room.  Jon Kitna should have enough time to throw the ball and do some damage against the Redskins’ secondary.  I look for Miles Austin & Jason Witten to have big games this Sunday.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Cowboys need to focus on stopping Ryan Torain and forcing Rex Grossman to throw the ball.  That being said, the Cowboys are giving up 254.4 yards passing per game and Rex Grossman likes to take shots down the field.  He’s going to be aiming deep for Anthony Armstrong and Santana Moss.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 30, REDSKINS 20

The Cowboys are 3-1 under Jason Garrett as the head coach.  They have scored 133 points in the last four weeks as the offense has been flying high.  The Eagles have also been flying high as they have won 4 of the last 5 games by scoring 172 points.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys will likely come out running the football with Tashard Choice  & Felix Jones in an attempt to control the clock.  The receivers are likely going to have to get a lot of their yards after the catch as the Eagles have a good pass rush.  That means that Jon Kitna can’t afford to make any mistakes when throwing the ball to Jason Witten, Miles Austin and Roy Williams.

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Cowboys must contain Michael Vick in the pocket of they could be in deep trouble in this game.  The Cowboys are giving up 254.1 yards passing per game this year and they don’t match up too well with the WRs of the Eagles who are very fast.  The Eagles are also still going to run the ball with Lesean McCoy and Michael Vick so the Cowboys won’t be able to cheat to help the secondary.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 34, EAGLES 31