Washington Commanders bold predictions for Week 18 vs. Cowboys

01/02/2025 08:42 PM

There’s hope for a return of Austin Ekeler when the Washington Commanders play their final regular season game of 2024. With a Washington Commanders Week 18 game scheduled against the Dallas Cowboys, there's still a little something on the line. Ahead of the Commanders-Cowboys game, we'll be making our Commanders Week 18 predictions.

Washington enters the game with a record of 11-5, having secured a playoff berth with last week's exciting overtime win over the Falcons. But they still have a chance to slide into the No. 6 spot, perhaps creating a better first-round matchup than taking on the Eagles for the third time this year.

Head coach Dan Quinn stated his team will go for a higher seed and not rest his starters in Week 18, according to Sports Illustrated.

"I think the seeding portion of this is really important, and that’s what we discussed as a team,” Quinn said. “We thought (against the Falcons) the vibe was awesome at the game. We thought we left some plays out there, and so for us that leveling up as we’re heading into this week with Dallas would be really important. But we recognize having a six seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing. And so, we’re going to fight like hell to keep that."

Also, the Commanders have won four games in a row and would like to keep that momentum.

QB Jayden Daniels will account for a trio of TDs

Look for Daniels to hit a pair of throwing strikes while also rushing for a score. That may be one of only a few rushing attempts for Daniels, who tied his career high with 16 attempts in last week's win over the Falcons. It's unlikely the Commanders will want to expose Daniels to a high numbers of carries. But that will increase the surprise element near the goal line and give him an elevated chance for his seventh rushing score of the season.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has enjoyed Daniels' improvements as the season has unfolded, according to Sports Illustrated.

“Certainly not surprised, but definitely the latter, amazed," Quinn said. “It’s his ability to extend plays, to scramble, remain a passer. He did one to Zach (Ertz_ for a long one, used his legs to get out and scramble for a first down.

“Those are plays, I would say, that amazed me. Because there’s a play that goes in the huddle and then there’s another play at the result of that. And they are not the same play."

Jayden Daniels has helped elevate the play of teammates

Daniels willed the Commanders to the win over the Falcons, Quinn said, according to nfl.com.

“What I told (Falcons coach) Raheem (Morris) after the game, I said, ‘Man, there’s some things that five (Daniels) does that you can’t put on a card,’ “Quinn said, via the team’s official transcript. “At the end I thought, in the second half especially, there was just some strong plays and he just willed it. That’s the competitor he is. And I thought he was fully able to demonstrate that and express himself tonight with his legs, with his arm.

"And it was hard. I’d love to say we gain a lot from the ones where there’s a big score and you went ahead. But it’s nights like tonight that you do gain a lot and it’s tough. And it’s grimy at times and you have to overcome things. But those are the times that we get to learn. And we’re fortunate tonight that we get to learn after a win and we will take all these lessons and apply them.”

In the first game against Dallas, a 34-26 loss, Daniels hit 25 of 38 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

LB Bobby Wagner will record double-digit tackles

The Cowboys will be running the football, too, and that will give Wagner a chance to rack up numbers.

Quinn said Wagner embodies good fundamentals on the field, according to commanders.com.

"And as I was sitting next to Jeremy Reeves, I said, look at this and it was the body position, the squareness of (Wagner)," Quinn said. "The wrapping. And I said, this is amazing. And so he must have been on, if there were a hundred clips of people, like, ‘There was 54. There was 54.’ And I think it’s a reminder of like how square really excellent tackles are.

"And so, you could see somebody’s shoulder turn. And he could just have this way that he’s placed square and can cover ground laterally. I said, ‘Man, this is pretty cool.’ And so he was just on there a lot. It wasn’t by anyone, you know, like, ‘Oh I’m gonna make a highlight tape of Bobby.’ It was just him being him. I think as funny as that sounds, it actually happened this morning with just the amount of tackling that took place because it went from all the way from the opening game all the way through. And so it had a lot of players in it, but he was on there a lot as you might imagine.”

RB Brian Robinson will rush for 80-plus yards

The Commanders will try to control the clock, and the Cowboys have been vulnerable against the run this year. They rank No. 29 with 138.6 yards allowed per game.

Dallas could not pressure Eagles quarterback Kenny Pickett last week, failing to record a sack for the second time this season.

For the year, Robinson has just three games of over 80 yards rushing. In each of those, he passed the 100-yard mark. Robinson has 182 carries for 789 yards with eight touchdowns in 13 games played.

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