Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Cowboys not planning on taking foot off accelerator
With win over Giants, Dallas takes NFC East
Roaring out of Texas come the Dallas Cowboys, headed to the Big Apple on Sunday and ready to grab a division crown and maybe more.
Dallas (11-1) takes on the New York Giants (8-4), the only team to beat it, in prime time (KSNV-3). A Cowboys victory gives them the NFC East title. They already own a playoff berth, and if Detroit and Settle both lose, they also could leave the Meadowlands with homefield advantage for the NFC playoffs.
That’s big doings in Big D, so don’t expect them to back off.
“A mentality is something you’ve built up to get to this point,” says rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL’s leading rusher.
“It’s something that is your character. If you’re the type of guy who coasts, you’re the type of guy who coasts. But we don’t have those type of guys in this locker room. I don’t have any worries about that.”
The Giants had won six straight before falling in Pittsburgh.
They also lost their top pass rusher, Jason PierrePaul, for the season.
But they’re the leader in the NFC wild-card race.
“This is huge,” says Giants defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. “Not saying the last game we had wasn’t huge, but this is big in the division. We have got to win this. My ultimate goal is to win the division and they are in our way, so we have to make sure that we get them taken care of.” WASHINGTON (6-5-1) AT PHILADELPHIA (5-7), 10 A.M., KVVU-5
Washington desperately needs this one, and the Eagles are fading rapidly, dropping five of their past six.
The Redskins seek a fifth straight win over the Eagles for the first time since a sixgame streak from 1981-84. They’ve scored a total of 72 points in their past two visits to the Linc.
If Kirk Cousins gets time to throw, he can pick apart a defense. That makes this fact distressing for Philly fans: The Eagles had 20 sacks in the first five games and only six in the past six games, including none in the past two.
DENVER (8-4) AT TENNESSEE (6-6), 10 A.M., KLAS-8
While the Raiders and Chiefs battled on Thursday night, the Broncos watched their division rivals. Tennessee doesn’t have that luxury Sunday because it plays at the same time as the teams it’s tied with atop the AFC South.
Neither side can afford a stumble, the Titans much less so. They come off a bye after their offense has gotten in gear with a balanced approach. Bishop Gorman High product DeMarco Murray, the 2014 NFL rushing champ with Dallas, trails only the Cowboys’ Elliott in yards gained on the ground. Marcus Mariota is up to 25 TD passes and a 101.9 passer rating. Mariota has 21 TDs through the air, three interceptions with a 117.7 passer rating over the past eight games. The Titans are averaging a league-best 30.8 points per game since Oct. 6.
But penetrating the dynamic Denver defense with passes is another story. With the Broncos more vulnerable against the run, look for lots of Murray. And lots of Broncos star linebacker Von Miller tracking him.
SEATTLE (8-3-1) AT GREEN BAY (6-6), 1:25 P.M., KVVU-5
Seattle can clinch the NFC West with a win or a tie against the Pack and an Arizona loss or tie. That division title will come, if not on the Lambeau Field tundra, then down the line.
The Packers haven’t lost to the Seahawks in Green Bay since 1999. Should Russell Wilson lead Seattle to victory, it would move him one behind Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (56) for most victories in any quarterback’s first five seasons. Wilson would have another three games left this season, too.
One key matchup to watch: Aaron Rodgers’ receivers trying to avoid outstanding linebacker Bobby Wagner, who has an NFL-best 127 tackles, 68 solo.