NFC rivals attempt to avoid 0-2 hole

Dallas’ offense to try to get Bryant more involved

LANDOVER, Md.—An 0-2 start does not guarantee a meaningless season in the NFL. It usually is an indication of the direction a team is headed, though, so Washington and Dallas would love to avoid another loss, especially against an NFC East rival.

Go back to 1990, and an average of one club per season made the playoffs despite beginning with two losses.

Defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois wants to avoid following a 22-point loss in Week 1 for Washington with another defeat against rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and the rest of the visiting Cowboys on Sunday.

“When Michael Johnson broke the world record in the 200 meters, he stumbled out of the blocks — and he still broke the world record. It’s not about how you start; it’s about how you finish. This is not a sprint; this is a marathon,” Jean Francois said. “We can’t let the first game seem like, ‘All right, we got beat.’ … We don’t need to come out here acting like the season is over.”

Still, there is plenty for Washington to try to correct before facing Dallas.

The penalties, including five false starts. Kirk Cousins’ zero touchdowns and two interceptions. An inability to stop the run, which could be a major problem against the Cowboys’ terrific offensive line. And more.

“We’re not in a stance where we’re getting down on ourselves, saying, ‘We’re not good enough.’ That’s definitely not the case,” Washington left tackle Trent Williams said. “It’s a game of inches, and we missed a lot of plays by inches.”

Dallas coach Jason Garrett has a lot to improve, too

His defense faltered on two key drives in the fourth quarter in its opener. Prescott and the rest of the offense went through some growing pains without an injured Tony Romo, providing more of what happened when Dallas went 1-11 in 2015 without its veteran QB.

Part of the solution likely will include getting wide receiver Dez Bryant more involved in the offense.

In last week’s 20-19 loss to the New York Giants, Bryant was targeted five times but caught only one pass for 8 yards compared to 26 combined for tight end Jason Witten and slot receiver Cole Beasley. Witten had nine catches and Beasley eight. It’s also somewhat startling to note that Bryant’s looks were limited despite being on the field for 75 snaps.

“That’s our guy, he needs catches,” said Prescott, who was 25-of45 for 227 yards in his NFL regular-season debut.

Bryant did have a 24yard touchdown overturned on review, and another long pass into the end zone was broken up.

“It’s just understanding, understanding what they’re trying to do,” Bryant said. “Whatever the coaches give me, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to get too involved, get my emotions too high or too low. I’m just going to stay prepared and ready at any moment.”