Redskins have now lost Ramsey and Betts again, and Canidate banged up is never a treat. Cowboys need to get back into the good graces of Bill and there is no better way than to beat the Skins.

Dallas Notes

The Cowboys stumble to 8-5, losing four of their last six games and their last three road trips. They are still in contention but most likely can only gain a wildcard now.

Quarterbacks:: Quincy Carter comes off his worst showing of the year, throwing for only 93 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. That gives him nine interceptions in the last four games against five touchdowns. That does not give him a pass to starting next season.

In the last meeting with the Redskins, Carter threw for 196 yards and one touchdown and had two interceptions in the game. He rushed five times for 20 yards.

Running Backs: Troy Hambrick was having a surprisingly good performance in Philadelphia last week and gained 75 yards on 17 carries but was not used once the Cowboys trailed badly in the game. Aveion Cason has torn ligaments in his knee now and will be gone for the season so Eric Bickerstaff will remain in the rotation. Bickerstaff had 41 yards on nine carries but could get more work against the softer defenses remaining on the schedule.

Against the Redskins in week nine, Troy Hambrick notched 21 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns in his most recent productive game this season.

Receivers: In a testament to futility, last week Carter completed only one pass to a wide out - Zuriel Smith had eight yards with it. The yardage and scores are increasingly evaporating this season for the wideouts and went entirely dry last week.

Against the Redskins in their last meeting, the lone touchdown was caught by Daniel Campbell and no wideouts amounted to much. All three received around five or six passes and Joey Galloway was the best with only 30 yards on two catches. Antonio Bryant had 21 yards on three receptions and Terry Glenn had but one catch for 19 yards.

Match against the Defense: Dallas won their last game against the Redskins on good defense and rushing and the same equation will be used this week. Hambrick's only two touchdown game ever came against Washington before and the 100 yards he had against them was his second best of the season.

The Redskins have been allowing everyone to run well against them and in their last seven games, their opponent has always had a running back gain at least 90 yards. The only one that did not score was McAllister and even he had 165 yards. Look for a nice day from Hambrick with some possible horning in by Bickerstaff.

Carter is already so concerned about his interception problem that it is unlikely that he will throw much nor will he be very successful against the Redskins corners. If he does throw a touchdown, it will be on one fortunate play. Since the Redskins offense is decimated now, the Cowboys will be happy enough to run well and play defense.

Washington Notes

The Redskins rise to 5-8 with their win over the Giants.

Quarterbacks:: The Hasselbeck era has began (however long it may exist).

Now that Ramsey is out for the season, Tim Hasselbeck takes the reins for the final three games and comes off his first two touchdown game when he completed 13 of 19 for 154 yards against the reeling Giants. In the last meeting with the Cowboys, Patrick Ramsey threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns. The yardage is likely to repeat though the scores are not.

Running Backs: Trung Canidate sprained his foot last week and won't practice Wednesday. I am assuming that he can play but will be limited. Ladell Betts reinjured the forearm that he fractured earlier this season and will likely miss this Sunday's game. I am assuming he is out and that Chad Morton and Rock Cartwright blend into the running game.

Back in week nine, both Canidate and Betts were injured and did not play. Instead Rock Cartwright and Chad Johnson combined for 81 yards on 14 carries.

Receivers: Laveranues Coles had 55 yards on four catches last week and with Hasselbeck around, he has remained around 60 yards each week. Against the Cowboys in week nine, Lavernues Coles scored once on his four catches for 27 yards and Taylor Jacobs also scored late in the game during trash time. Rod Gardner was held to only one catch for 14 yards in that game.

Darnerian McCants scored last week giving him six touchdowns on the season but he had done nothing besides the two touchdown catches from Hasselbeck in the past three games.

Match against the Defense: The Redskins are back to their rushing woes, with Betts back out and Canidate likely limited in the game. Dallas held them to only 80 yards on the ground last time and that might even be high this week against a Cowboys team motivated to get back on the winning track.

The only certainty is that the Redskins will be attacking Mario Edwards like the last two teams have done. He is considered the weakness in the secondary now and will match up against Rod Gardner on most plays. Coles will draw Newman again who covered him very well last time.

* Fantasy point rankings calculated using standard Huddle fantasy points