The Washington Redskins are looking for their fourth straight victory, despite already having a playoff spot locked up. (Getty)
The Washington Redskins still want to win.
The NFC East champions are already locked into their No. 4 postseason seed heading into Week 17, but that hardly means that they’re going to completely look past today’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s likely that the Redskins will rest some of their key starters, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, later in today’s divisional tilt, but Washington is still determined to grab a victory as well. After all, going into the postseason on a four-game win streak is much bigger confidence boost than a one-game losing streak.
Here’s everything you need to know about the final regular season game:
Date: Sunday, January 3, 2015
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV Channel: The game is being locally broadcast on FOX. Click here to see if you fall within the coverage zone.
Line: Dallas -4 via OddsShark
Live Stream: NFL.com; NFL Game Pass
Game Preview: Earlier this week, the Washington Redskins had nine different players listed on the injury report. A few more players were limited in practice over the course of the week.
That’s left the team with a bit of a question heading into Week 17; who do they rest? And do they rest guys who aren’t totally banged up?
As far as coach Jay Gruden is concerned, he’s not entirely certain what to do. It’s a fine line to walk for sure, particularly for a team that was a bit of a disaster earlier this year and comes into the final game of the regular season riding a three-game win streak.
“Number one, it’s the health of our football team with these injured guys who are legitimately injured and can’t play,” Gruden told the Washington Post. “Then, from there, we’ll have to figure out the able bodies that we have — personnel groupings will be adjusted — and then throughout the course of the game, we’ll make adjustments depending on the situation.”
Quarterback Kirk Cousins and defensive back DeAngelo Hall both said they felt it was important to play against the Dalals Cowboys on Sunday, but also added that the final decision will be up to the coaching staff.
Odds are pretty good that the Redskins will start whoever they can. They want to get a few more snaps at game-time speed and keep that momentum rolling into the playoffs. But don’t expect the team’s big name stars to stay on the field too long.