KICKOFF: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
SURFACE: Grass
TV: FOX (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver)


KEYS TO THE GAME: The Redskins will again be without RB Clinton Portis, but Ladell Betts spearheaded a ground game that produced 174 yards last weekend. Washington needs more of the same to protect QB Jason Campbell from Dallas' strong pass rush. The Cowboys' offense will also attempt to establish the run, but big plays could prove the difference. The Redskins have allowed seven plays of 30-plus yards the past three games. Washington not only must eliminate those, but win the turnover margin by forcing QB Tony Romo into mistakes.
Need to know: The Redskins are 0-4 on the road. ... Dallas' defense has at least three sacks in seven consecutive games.
Personnel News


Redskins:
  • <LI itxtvisited="1">RB Clinton Portis, who suffered a concussion during the first quarter at Atlanta on Nov. 8, didn't practice again on Thursday and has been ruled out of Sunday's game at Dallas. <LI itxtvisited="1">DT Albert Haynesworth did not practice for a second straight day because of the sprained left ankle he suffered last week against Denver. He will be a game-time decision. <LI itxtvisited="1">OT Mike Williams remained out on Thursday with the ankle he injured at Atlanta. He will be a game-time decision.
  • OT Stephon Heyer (knee) was limited in practice on Thursday but is expected to start as he has since injuring the knee on Oct. 26 against Philadelphia.

Cowboys:
  • <LI itxtvisited="1">PK David Buehler has a fractured right pinky toe. Still he plans to try to kick off on Sunday. He missed Wednesday's practice and then tested his toe on Thursday. He plans to tape his toes together to hopefully reduce the pain. Buehler said it bothers him when he runs and plants but said he will work through it. If he can't go, kicker Nick Folk will handle both duties. <LI itxtvisited="1">RB Felix Jones had runs of at least 11 yards or longer in each of the first five games he played this year. The last two weeks his longest runs have been four yards. Running back coach Skip Peete says it's more of a product of defenses keying on Jones than him being slowed by the sprained knee that sidelined him for two games earlier in the year. Even so, owner Jerry Jones said Jones needs to get more touches. <LI itxtvisited="1">SS Gerald Sensabaugh will handle the calls in the secondary in place of the injured Ken Hamlin. Normally the free safety makes the calls, but with the inexperienced Alan Ball replacing Hamlin in the starting role, Sensabaugh will serve as the quarterback of the secondary. If the Cowboys have an injury at cornerback, look for Ball to play cornerback and Pat Watkins to play strong safety with Sensabaugh switching over to free safety.
  • LB DeMarcus Ware has had a sack in six straight games against the Redskins dating back to 2006. He is tied for the longest active sack streak in the NFL against one opponent. Chike Okeafor had six straight games with a sack against the Cardinals when he was with the Seahawks. Okeafor now plays for the Cardinals so Ware will be all alone if he gets another sack on Sunday.

Inside The Camps


Redskins:
Cornerback Carlos Rogers, benched after getting burned by Denver's Brandon Marshall on a double move on a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter last week, might not start this week. He's not as down about it as he was when he was sat down last year without any real explanation from coordinator Greg Blache.
Secondary coach Jerry Gray, a former Pro Bowl corner, said the staff made the move to protect Rogers and the Redskins.
"I've lived that life," Gray said. "If something happens like that, I feel like, 'OK, it's becoming a trend,' I have to protect this guy. Sometimes as a corner you can lose confidence. I knew they would have picked on him the rest of the game. I have to be smart enough as a coach to say, 'I'm going to protect my guy.' There's a period of embarrassment, and then you get past that and you say, 'OK, coach, why did you do it?' I explain it and then move on."
So what about this week at Dallas, gentlemen?
"I don't expect to be on the bench," Rogers said. "I made a mistake. It happened. Whatever consequences is, I gotta deal with it, I gotta live with it. If (starting is) not the plan, I'm here to support the team. I don't think I'll be just strictly benched. I may come off the bench. I don't know right now. I'm going to continue to prepare, practice, continue to study like I am a starter."
Rogers apparently got more reps than anyone in practice, but veteran Fred Smoot and youngsters Justin Tyron and Lendy Holmes were also in the rotation.
On Thursday, Gray seemed to hint that Rogers will start on Sunday.
"He's responded great," Gray said. "He understands what he has to do ... show who you really are, stop going through the little phase that he'd been going through of giving up double moves. Traditionally, he hasn't given up double moves. And what I saw on film is exactly what I've talked about, taking a little peek back at the quarterback, losing sight of the wide receiver. When you do that, any corner can get beat. I expect for Carlos to bounce back, be the physical guy that he is, and go out there and cover wide receivers
"Last year, when we lost Shawn Springs, we put him on T.O. and he knocked three or four balls down during that game. It's just going through your progression, keep your eyes on the wide receiver and then you'll make a play. Don't try to make a play that's not there."
Cowboys:
Offensive tackle Doug Free didn't have to say as much. He knows everyone else is saying it. But he clearly was stating the obvious.
A fourth-round pick in 2007, Free is finally getting a chance to play as the replacement for Marc Colombo at right tackle.
"It's a great opportunity," Free said. "I've been here a couple of years and haven't really had much playing time yet. Now is the time to show I can play.
"I've just come every week to work. There was not a time where I said, 'I should be starting. I'm ready.' I just came to work each and every week and acted like I'm a starter in my mind because you never know when it's your time."
Free said he never worried about the situation, because the Cowboys were settled at tackle with Colombo and Flozell Adams. Even so, he was confident his day would come.
"I never put a timetable on it," Free said of getting a chance to start. "When your time is there, it's there. You can never really say this is what I'm going to do. It's not a factor you can control, so you just do what you do."
Team owner Jerry Jones said Free did a good job in spot duty against the Packers after Colombo got hurt, and he feels he will be ready to go against the Redskins on Sunday.
"There's a little of me that knows he's been at left tackle and he's going over to right tackle and because of his unique, quick feet and good feet, he may be a better left tackle than he is a right tackle," Jones said. "This is what you have to do with offensive lines and that is to give you some flexibility there.
"I thought he came in, gave a good accounting the other day and have confidence that he will play well. One of the reasons I have confidence is we have the highest paid offensive line coach in the NFL with Hudson Houck." PREDICTION: Cowboys 23-13