Winner Take All NFC East for 2012

For the NFC East, it has come down to the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.  This is a dream match up for the fans of the Boys and the Skins and the schedule makers for ratings.  The NFL has flexed this game from the 1:00 pm original slate on FOX to the Sunday Night matchup on NBC December 30, 2012, at 8:20 pm.  The NFC East Championship game will be determined by the common games played.  See the preview below:

NFC East Teams	Overall Record	NFC Division Record	Common Games
Washington	9-6	4-1	8-5
Dallas	8-7	3-2	8-5

Making sense of the Common Games played between Washington and Dallas:

AFC North	Washington	Dallas
Baltimore	Win	Loss
Cincinnati	Loss	Win
Pittsburgh	Loss	Win
Cleveland	Win	Loss
NFC South
Atlanta	Loss	Loss
Carolina	Loss	Win
New Orleans	Win	Loss
Tampa Bay	Win	Win
NFC East
Philadelphia	Win + Win	Win + Win
NY Giants	Loss + Win	Win + Loss
Washington	N/A	Loss + ?
Dallas	Win + ?	N/A
Record	8-5	8-5

Dallas Cowboys

Winners in 5 of the last 7 games

Offense:

Slow starts in the first half and miraculous comebacks for the second half of games this season. The offense can sputter at times, but creates enough points to compete in every ball game.  Romo and Dez have been phenomenal over the last several ball games and Demarco Murray has been a healthy addition.

Defense:

Defensive playmakers have played well at certain times of the game, but they do not make enough plays to win ball games consistently.  Demarcus Ware must step up in order to lead this defense.

Special Teams:

Great kicking game, average to below punting game, and pretty good punt return team with Dwayne Harris.

Washington Redskins

Winners of 6 straight games

Offense:

Under the Mike and Kyle Shanahan system either RG3 or Kirk Cousins can get the job done.  Both QB’s have excelled when necessary.  RG3 has done it all this year with his running, passing, and decision making.  This is the number 1 rushing offense in the entire NFL through 15 of 16 weeks of the season, according to NFL.com.  The offensive coaches are doing something right in Washington.   

Defense:

To be one of the worst defenses in the league a few weeks ago, this defense has come back big.  Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett has this team playing at a high level even with all of the injuries and suspensions.  Adding Raheem Morris as the secondary coach this off season was a great move.

Special Teams:

Brandon Banks was always the name everyone has heard about returning kicks for the Skins, but he has been replaced by #39, cornerback Richard Crawford.  For those of you who may be saying, “Who’s This Guy?”, just remember Crawford was the guy with the huge punt return against the Baltimore Ravens in overtime to set up kicker Kai Forbath for the Skins to win.  The kicking game has also been phenomenal for the Skins.

Bottom Line:

If the Skins win they will be hard to beat due to their soaring confidence, which is very hard for every player on a team to buy into.  The Skins have all 3 phases of the game working well in the offense, defense, and special teams.

If the Cowboys win, it will be because they wanted it more on that one particular Sunday.  The truth is... it is very hard for the Boys to stay consistent whether it is winning or losing.  When you think they will lose, they win.  When you think they will win, they lose.  It is hard to figure out the Cowboys, but they are an interesting team to watch every single year. 

This should be a great game for the last game of the 2012 season.  Tune in to NBC on Sunday Night.  As the once NFL wide receiver T.O. (Terrell Owens) used to say, “Get Your Popcorn Ready!”