Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, December 2, five days before the Washington Redskins host the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night football.

Five early thoughts on Redskins vs. Cowboys

—Even though they haven’t won a game without Tony Romo, the Cowboys are still a team to be very wary of. Five of their seven losses with Romo sidelined were by one score and some of those went down to the last minute.

—Darren McFadden has managed to remain healthy and he is on pace to gain a combined 1,300 yards rushing and receiving. But he’s about their only offensive weapon. Dez Bryant is having a horrible year, missing five games with a broken foot and averaging 12.2 yards per catch with just two touchdowns. Jason Witten is losing a step or two at age 33. Of course, the production of both Bryant and Witten is hampered by the loss of Romo, who suffered a second fracture to his left clavicle on Thanksgiving and isn’t coming back.

—The Cowboys are ranked seventh in the league in defense in terms of yards allowed but they are not really that efficient. They are 18th in points allowed and Football Outsiders ranks them 22nd in defensive DVOA (18th vs. pass, 25th vs. run).

—Part of the reason they are less than the sum of their stats is their turnover ratio of minus-12, the worst in the NFL. They are the worst in the NFL in the takeaway department with just seven—six interceptions and one, yes one, fumble recovery. Their quarterbacks have thrown 14 interceptions.

—Of course, the worst thing the Redskins can do is what some of the Giants did with them and take Dallas for granted. It’s hard to see them doing that. Their propensity for following up a nice win with a bad loss has been mostly due to the quality of the opponents they have faced after winning game, not to any letdown. I think the Redskins should be confident going into this one but nobody should expect the Cowboys to lay down for them.

Timeline

—Today’s schedule: Player meetings, no media availability

—Days until: Monday night Cowboys @ Redskins 5; Redskins @ Bears 11; Bills @ Redskins 18

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