Defense braces for Prescott
Cowboys QB coming off standout day vs. Giants
LANDOVER — The same day one quarterback passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns, another threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns.
They’ll meet Sunday, but couldn’t be in more different positions. Dak Prescott is on the verge of a contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys that could guarantee him over $30 million, while Case Keenum is a temporary placeholder for the Washington Redskins until first-round pick Dwayne Haskins is ready.
Prescott leads the favored Cowboys into the Redskins’ home opener fresh off a perfect 158.3 QB rating in a Week 1 rout of the New York Giants that took pressure off running back Ezekiel Elliott. Owner Jerry Jones called a new contract for Prescott “imminent,” but the fourth-year signal caller is focusing on Washington and not looking back.
“I’m so on to the Redskins at this point that I’m off of that game,” Prescott said. “You can’t sit back and hang your hat on something like that or hang your hat on one game. It was a good performance for us to go out and do that in the passing game, obviously win that game the way that we did, but it’s about turning the page.”
Prescott faces a defense that could be without lineman Jonathan Allen, weakening a front seven that should’ve been able to put more pressure on the pocket than the Giants did. Washington struggled at that against Carson Wentz, too, when Allen left with a knee injury, and getting to Prescott is the only way to keep him from throwing wild.
“You stand back there in the pocket all day and go through your first, second and third reads and come back to your first one, OK, cool. Anybody can do that,” Redskins cornerback Josh Norman said. “At the end of the day, he’s been playing well. As you can see, he’s evolved. He’s growing in the system. He’s just taking his keys and picking his targets and throwing the ball on time.”
Keenum found tight end Vernon Davis for 48 yards and rookie receiver Terry McLaurin for 69 yards on touchdown passes in the 32-27 season opening loss . He was largely done in by a lack of an effective running game, which will look very different this week with Adrian Peterson back from a healthy scratch and Derrius Guice on the shelf after knee surgery .
“I don’t think we skip a beat with whoever is in there,” Keenum said.
REED TIME: The Redskins are expected to have Jordan Reed back after their top tight end missed the opener with a concussion.
Washington put Reed insurance J.P. Holtz on waivers and lost him to Chicago, and Reed is trending toward being in the lineup Sunday.
“Obviously, he’s been a great player for them for a number of years,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He’s a mismatch player in the passing game. He’s just really hard to cover and can run a variety of routes. He can beat you in a lot of different ways. So he’s a great challenge.”