The Dallas Cowboys kicked off Week 13 in the NFL by getting their record back to .500 at 6-6 with a 38-14 defeated of their NFC East rivals the Washington Redskins.
With Cowboys finally got their running game going in the absence of Ezekiel Elliott. As a team Dallas ran the football 42 times for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns. Alfred Morris led the way as he carried the football 27 times for 127 yards and 1 touchdown. Dak Prescott ran 5 times for 28 yards and Rod Smith carried the football 10 times for 27 yards and a touchdown. It was the first time since Week 8 that Dallas had a running back rush for 100 yards in a game. Oddly back in Week 8 the Cowboys opponent was the Redskins.
With the running game going Prescott only threw for 102 yards in the game. He was 11 for 22, but did throw for 2 touchdowns.
The Dallas defense also had a good night. The Cowboys held the Redskins to just 56 yards rushing. Kirk Cousins did throw for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns, but was sacked 4 times and threw 2 interceptions. The Dallas defense also forced 3 fumbles, recovering 2 of them.
Anthony Hitchens made 12 tackles for the Cowboys while DeMarcus Lawrence added 2 sacks. Taco Charlton and David Irving had the other sacks. Anthony Brown and Jeff Heath where the Cowboys defenders with interceptions.
The Cowboys also had a special teams touchdown as Ryan Switzer returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter.
The game was pretty much a playoff elimination game. Neither team was going to be able to win their division with the way the Philadelphia Eagles have been playing; so they needed to get into the playoffs as a wild card team. The win puts the Cowboys 1 1/2 out of a wild card spot, but they’ll have to find a way to jump four teams to get a playoff spot. The Redskins fell to 5-7 with the loss and while they’re still mathematically alive in the playoff race it’s going to be tough for them to make it. Washington is currently 2 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, but will have to find a way to get past seven teams to claim a wild card spot.
To keep their playoff hopes alive the Cowboys will have to win their final four games of the season. That won’t be an easy task for the Cowboys and to make it just a little tougher three of their four final games are on the road. Next week they’ll face the New York giants on the road. In Week 15 they’ll travel to Oakland to face the Raiders. On Christmas Even they’ll not only get Elliott back from suspension, but they’ll also host the Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys wrap their season up on the road against the NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles. If Dallas can hang around in the playoff race that final game may work to their advantage as the Eagles might not be playing for anything in the final week of the season.
The Redskins would also have to win out to have any shot at making the playoffs and that might not even be enough. In Week 14 the Redskins are on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers. They’ll host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 15 followed by a home game against the Denver Broncos in Week 16 before wrapping the season up on the road against the New York Giants.
It’s going to be a difficult road for either the Cowboys or the Redskins to get into the playoffs. How do you see the playoff future shaking out for this season for these two teams?
There where six candidates for the New York Yankees managerial position. Hensley Meulens, Rob Thomson, Eric Wedge, Aaron Boone, Chris Woodward and Carlos Beltran.
As of yesterday reports where that the list was down to two, Meulens and Boone. Then last night it was being reported that Aaron Boone will be named the new manager of the Yankees. Now of this is official as we’re waiting for the Yankees to make an announcement.
While Boone has no managerial experience he does come from a baseball family. His grandfather Ray played 13 seasons in the major leagues for 6 different teams. His father Bob was a catcher for three different teams covering 19 major league seasons. Bob was a 4 time All-Star and a 7 time Gold Glove winner who won a World Series championship with the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies. Aaron’s older brother Brett spent 14 seasons in the big leagues playing with 5 different teams. Brett was a 3 time All-Star, a 4 time Gold Glove winner, a 2 time Silver Slugger award winner and led the American League in RBI’s with 141 in 2001. Boone also has a younger brother named Matt who spent 7 seasons in the minor leagues playing in the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers farm systems.
If you’re a baseball fan I’m sure you’ve seen the highlight that made Boston Red Sox fans hate Boone. In the 2003 American League Championship Series Boone hit a Game 7 walk off home run in the 11th inning off of Tim Wakefield to give the Yankees a 6-5 win over the Red Sox.
Boone actually only has 54 career games with the Yankees. He was acquired at the trade deadline of the 2003 season from the Cincinnati Reds for pitchers Charlie Manning, Brandon Clausen and cash. I January of 2004 Boone torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing in a pick up basketball game. Playing in that game was a violation of his Yankees contract and they ended up releasing him in February of 2004.
While Boone may not have any managerial experience he has stayed close to the game of baseball. Boone has been working for ESPN as a baseball analyst since 2010 and has been a color commentator for game starting with the 2014 and 2015 World Series games and then taking that job full time for the 2016 season.
The Yankees have a storied history as a baseball franchise and being named their manager is held in high esteem. How do you think Boone will do as the Yankees manager?
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