The buzz: Washington is reeling. The Skins were creamed by New England, needed overtime to beat the woeful Jets and then coughed up last week's game against the Eagles in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, hated rival Dallas is cruising along with NFC East wins over the Giants and Eagles the past two weeks. The Redskins are trailing the Giants and Lions for a wild-card spot at this point and can't afford to sag into fighting among the NFC dregs for that final card.

Watch for: Washington has eight interceptions and five are by safety Sean Taylor. The Redskins' secondary is too talented for such a low number, but they still get just a modest rush on most quarterbacks. If Washington can get Tony Romo running around and throwing on the run, maybe he'll drop some into the hands of Taylor or rookie LaRon Landry. The talent at safety for Washington could mean the ball goes away from Cowboys tight end Jason Witten. Look for a big day for Terrell Owens. The Dallas pass rush led by DeMarcus Ware will look for strip sacks against Jason Campbell, who has less pocket awareness than a plate of meat loaf.

Key stat: Clinton Portis has 333 rushing yards in his past two games after rushing for 433 in Washington's first seven games. The Cowboys have outscored NFC opponents by an average score of 38-24 this season.