Cowboys quickly turn attention to Washington
8:30 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas -- Before Jason Garrett finished his opening statement following the Dallas Cowboys' win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday, he was already thinking about the Thanksgiving matchup against the Washington Redskins.
“The challenge for us now is really put this to bed quickly and get ready for the next one on Thursday,” Garrett said.
This wasn’t just Garrett’s one-game-at-a-time mantra. This was actually true. Sunday marked the first of three games in 12 days.
The Cowboys will have a walk-through practice later Monday followed by more walk-through/jog-through practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“You’ve got to get your body back,” tight end Jason Witten said. “It’s a short week. There’s really no excuses. You have to prepare and we’re used to that. We’ve got to use that to our advantage.”
The Cowboys coaches used part of the bye week to start working on a game plan for the Redskins. They also spent some time during the latter part of the week looking at the Redskins. Of course, Washington has an even quicker turnaround than the Cowboys. It is coming off a Sunday night game against the Green Bay Packers.
Sean Lee has one way to prepare: sleep.
“As soon as this game is done, you’re on to Monday,” he said. “You’re getting ready for the next game and you’re doing everything you can to get your body ready for that Thursday. I’ve never played a Sunday-Thursday-Thursday [like the Cowboys are this year], so I’m going to really make sure I’m on point outside the building, taking care of my body.”
The Cowboys play the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 1 before getting a 10-day break before playing the New York Giants (7-3) in what could be for the NFC East title.
Dak Prescott has never played two games in four days, so his youthful exuberance might carry him through.
“I’m excited about it,” the rookie quarterback said. “It’s something I’ve never done before, to respond real quick and play another game. But I love ball and I love this game.”
The Cowboys are 29-18-1 all-time on Thanksgiving, but they have lost the last two games by a combined 66-24 to the Philadelphia Eagles (33-10 in 2014) and Carolina Panthers (33-14 in 2015). The actually have lost four of their six Thanksgiving Day meetings with Garrett as head coach.
“It’s just kind of a different week,” Garrett said. “Every team in the league is challenged by the Sunday-to-Thursday game. The practice intensity won’t be the same. You do more walk-throughs and jog-throughs than you do a regular football practice.
"The biggest thing is to get the reps leading up to the game, get the reps in different situations. And you have to do it a lot of different ways. It’s not running them into the ground and killing them with tempo all week. The mental preparation has to be there. And then the guys in terms of their spirit, they have to put this game behind them, enjoy it for a couple of hours and then get our eyes forward.”