It's going to be tough to top last week, but the Dallas Cowboys once again enter Sunday's contest against a division foe as the betting favorites, which is notable since they are on the road against a Washington Redskins team that split the season series with Dallas last year.

Just like the New York Giants last week, Washington will likely be without some of its most important contributors, including DL Jonathan Allen, who was a nuisance for the Cowboys OL in last year's matchups, and RB Derrius Guice. The Cowboys, on the other hand, enter Sunday's game relatively healthy, as Tavon Austin (concussion) appears to be the only Week 1 contributor who could miss Week 2's contest.

In a matchup where both teams should be very familiar with the other's personnel, the Cowboys should have the gift of unpredictability on their side on account of new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Washington only has one game to study in terms of Moore's play-calling style and tendencies, which isn't enough of a sample size to glean much actionable information. Therefore, Washington won't be able to tune its defense to Dallas' tendencies as much as the Dallas defense can with Washington's offense.

Nevertheless, all the schematic advantages in the world don't matter if the players don't execute their assignments given their individual matchups. Having said that, let's take a look at a few key matchups that could turn the tide of this contest in either team's favor:

RT La'el Collins vs OLB Ryan Kerrigan

Coming off what was potentially his best performance as a pro, La'el Collins will be pitted against his biggest nemesis in recent years - Washington's Ryan Kerrigan, who has three straight seasons with 10+ sacks and has finished five of his last six matchups against Dallas with at least 0.5 sacks.

Here are #Cowboys RT La'el Collins' best blocks against NYG.



Bodies were flying everywhere. Collins did a great job manipulating and exploiting opposing defenders' balance, particularly with the snatch & trap. Also doesn't hurt that Collins carries serious power in his hands. pic.twitter.com/65Ly0y06Iq — John Owning (@JohnOwning) September 11, 2019

Collins was outstanding in Week 1, as he was a road-grader in the run game and almost flawless in pass protection. Collins was particularly dominant against Giants defensive end Markus Golden, who has a double-digit sack season of his own under his belt, as Collins displaced the defender with ease in the run game while stymying him in pass protection with a myriad of techniques.

One of the more notable aspects of Collins' stellar day was the diversity his hand technique tool kit. While Collins did land his powerful two-hand punch throughout the contest, he also displayed an impressive snatch and trap, which Collins uses to counter pass rushers who have a heavy forward lean.

I thought this was an interesting hand technique from La'el Collins. Punches high to draw out the rusher's hands before quickly re-setting hands with the double under technique. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/jkJ5aS4oe0 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) September 11, 2019

Furthermore, Collins displayed an incredibly impressive bait technique (above clip) that appears to be a new addition to his repertoire. With this technique, Collins shows his hands high as a means of drawing out the pass rusher's hands. As soon as the defender attempts his strike, Collins quickly re-fits his hands, using a double under technique, and lifts to counter the defender's force, inhibiting the defender's momentum.

Still, despite Collins looking much improved against New York, he also displayed a couple of the bad habits that could get him beaten by a player of Kerrigan's caliber.

When committing to his two-hand punch, Collins has a bad habit of ducking his head and getting his weight over his toes, which Kerrigan has taken advantage of before (above clip). When he lands, it's often a devastating impact on the defender that distorts the pass rusher's line to the QB. However, when he doesn't land cleanly, it leaves Collins off-balance, making it difficult for him to counter a pass rusher's move or recover if beaten.

Kerrigan is one of the most powerful and refined pass rushers in the entire NFL, so you can bet he will test the anchor and newly diverse hand technique of Collins. For the Cowboys right tackle to win this matchup - something that hasn't happened often in recent years - he must be even more accurate with his strikes and mindful about his balance in pass protection than he was last week in a stellar performance.

If Collins can keep Kerrigan under wraps, it should afford Prescott a lot of time in the pocket, as Dallas should have the advantage with the rest of the matchups up front, especially with Allen, who recorded two sacks against the Cowboys last year, out because of injury.

Cowboys defense vs RB Chris Thompson

Even with Guice out, he probably won't be the primary back -- those duties will likely go to Adrian Peterson -- but make no mistake about it, Chris Thompson is the most dangerous playmaker in the Washington backfield.

Against the Eagles, Thompson only had three carries for 10 yards but added seven catches for 68 yards as a weapon out of the backfield.

On run plays, Washington attempts to get Thompson to the edge, where he can use his athleticism and slipperiness to elude defenders and create big plays. It will be important for the Cowboys' defensive ends to remained disciplined and set a strong edge as a means to funnel Thompson back into the teeth of the Cowboys defense.

Nevertheless, Thompson is most potent when used as a receiver out of the backfield, as he's extremely tough for a linebacker to manage. Washington loves to create situations where Thompson is one-on-one against an LB in coverage, as his quickness out of breaks is usually enough to create separation from the slower-footed linebackers.

Washington will also look to get Thompson involved heavily in the screen game, where having blockers in front only makes Thompson's athleticism and elusiveness even more dangerous.

Luckily for the Cowboys, on paper, they have the perfect personnel to counter a player with Thompson's skill set. Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch are the rare breeds of linebackers who have great size to go with outstanding athleticism, which means they should be better positioned than most to keep Thompson quiet in the run and pass games.

Unfortunately for Dallas, both Smith and Vander Esch (but especially Smith) had a slow start to the season, as both had trouble curtailing Saquon Barkley. Luckily for them, Thompson is nowhere near as talented or effective as Barkley, so Smith and Vander Esch should be up for the task.

Moreover, don't be surprised if the Cowboys move to their dime package (four defensive linemen, one linebacker and six defensive backs) on third downs as a means to bring Jourdan Lewis on the field to defend Thompson one-on-one - similar to what Dallas did to slow down Alvin Kamara last year.

Overall, against an offense that's not exactly dripping with talent, it will be extremely important to slow down Washington's most explosive weapon - Chris Thompson. If the Cowboys can keep him under wraps, it will be tough for Washington to put points on the board consistently Sunday.

WR Michael Gallup vs Washington's No. 2 CB

Last year, Washington opted against having Josh Norman travel with Dallas' No. 1 receiver in both matchups; however, against Philadelphia last week, Norman often traveled with Alshon Jeffery, which opens up the possibility that he may do the same this week with Cooper.

Therefore, if Norman travels with Cooper, that leaves Quinton Dunbar matched up with Michael Gallup. Nevertheless, even if Norman doesn't travel with Cooper, Gallup - who lined up as the left outside receiver on 31 of his 53 snaps in Week 1 - will still see a large share of snaps against Dunbar, who typically lines on the right side of the defense (left for the offense) when not forced to follow the opposing team's No. 2 receiver.

This matchup sets up nicely for the Cowboys, as Gallup finished with seven catches for 158 yards in Week 1 while Dunbar gave up six catches for 74 yards.

Expect Gallup to take advantage of Dunbar at the top of his routes, as Gallup should be able to manipulate the Washington CB with his nuanced stems and great set-ups at the breakpoint. Dunbar typically plays with outside leverage, so don't be surprised if Gallup uses body lean and varied footwork to get Dunbar to bite on a potential in-breaking route before breaking outside to create a throwing window for Prescott - similar to DeSean Jackson in the above clip.

Given Dunbar's size (6-foot-2 and 202 pounds), he struggles when forced to change direction or flip his hips. Moreover, Dunbar's propensity to play over the top of receivers to limit the big play leaves him susceptible to stop routes, which Dallas loves to use Gallup on.

On Thursday, Dunbar did not participate in practice, bringing into question his availability for the game. If Dunbar misses the game, Gallup will still be in a favorable matchup, as Washington's other cornerbacks Fabian Moreau and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie can be exploited by Gallup's route-running, physicality and toughness at the catch point.

Cowboys ran a good amount of RPOs last night. Here's one to Gallup. Also, noticed that DAL pulled OL on a heavy percentage of their RPOs. pic.twitter.com/wWwZ3MXFlM — John Owning (@JohnOwning) September 9, 2019

Moreover, Gallup is going to give the Washington defensive backs' tackling ability a true test, as he displayed impressive strength to fight through tackle attempts in Week 1.

Enjoy this post? More film studies:

-- Film room: Inside Cowboys QB Dak Prescott's Week 1 performance, from all the good to the (very) little bad

-- 3 things we learned about the Kellen Moore-led Cowboys offense against the Giants

-- Breaking down a clever wrinkle that helped Cowboys' defense keep the Giants in check

Twitter: @JohnOwning