The Dallas Cowboys come into their Week 12 clash against the Washington Commanders with little hope of a positive result.

Poor play, an absurd amount of turnovers, coupled with a host of injuries, now sees Trevon Diggs and Zack Martin added to the long list of missing players, which already includes Dak Prescott, Brandin Cooks,and DeMarcus Lawrence.

But just because it doesn’t feel like the Cowboys can cause an upset doesn’t mean they can’t and call us naive, but where there’s a will, there’s a way, and we have five things Dallas can do to give itself the best chance at causing what would be an unlikely upset at Northwest Stadium.

Here are five things that would give the Cowboys a fighting chance at snapping their five-game losing streak.

1. Curtail Washington’s run game.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers have given the NFL the blueprint to stopping the Commanders – stop the run. Washington achieved just 60 and 93 yards in those games, which coincided with losses.

Unfortunately for Dallas, it gives up an astonishing 151.0 rush yards per game, and Washington averaged 149 rush yards per game. The Cowboys stifled Saquon Barkley (14 carries, 66 yards) before Joe Mixon’s 109 yards and three touchdowns.

Stopping it completely is impossible, but don’t get gashed on the ground, Dallas.

2. Contain Jayden Daniels.

Part of what makes Jayden such a dangerous threat is when a play breaks down, he skips out and takes off for big yardage. The Cowboys must keep Daniels contained to the pocket and not allow easy running lanes for him to escape through.

Keep the edge set, and don’t over-pursue the chance of a sack. Force Daniels to beat you with his arm. If he goes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, so be it. But don’t let those back-breaking quarterback runs happen.

DeMarvion Overshown as a spy, maybe?

3. No turnovers and focus on discipline.

The Cowboys have had seven turnovers in the last two games, and against the Houston Texans, four failed fourth-down conversions led to a 34-10 loss.

In their last six games, the Cowboys have had 17 offensive turnovers, and that’s not counting the fourth-down calls.

Then we get to penalties. No false starts or holding calls that put the offense behind the sticks. Dallas had nine penalties against the Texans, taking their total to 76 for the season (ranks seventh).

Limit the laundry, and please, Dallas, no turnovers. These two are non-negotiable.

4. Get Cooper Rush/offense in rhythm.

Whatever it looks like, Rush needs to get into a flow early in the game, and no, I don’t mean having him throw it 55 times, either.

But getting him into a groove with CeeDee Lamb, Luke Schoonmaker, Jalen Tolbert, etc., with quick passes that keep the chains moving, is a good start.

In the last five games, the Commanders haven’t given up more than 206 passing yards in each contest, so it could be tough, but Dallas can’t be one-dimensional as it was last week. That’s nightmare fuel against this Washignton defense.

5. Give Rico ample rushing attempts.

If there ever was a game for Rico Dowdle to get his “perfect” 22-25 carries, it’s against a Washington defense that gives up an average of 149.9 rush yards per game.

If Dowdle can’t get established here, then we might as well pack this thing up and look ahead to 2025.

Having just 10 carries against the Texans and no more than 12 in the last three weeks is unacceptable. McCarthy must lean on Rico. Washington gives up yards for fun on the ground- take advantage, please, Mike.