Week 8 Monday Night Football open thread: Washington at Dallas

Week 8 of the 2014 NFL season draws to a close tonight with the kind of potential mismatch of teams that might more typically be found in a Thursday Night game, as 2-5 Washington travel to Jerryworld to take on the 6-1 Dallas Cowboys.

Washington is in an... interesting... situation, having benched Kirk Cousins halfway through their most recent game after four straight losses following the week 2 41-10 hammering of the, uh, Jacksonville Jaguars.  Colt McCoy - remember him? - led the team to a late rally to beat the Charlie Whitehurst-led (because Jake Locker was injured... and you thought the Bears' QB situation was a mess) Tennessee Titans 19-17, and head coach Jay Gruden has named McCoy to start his first game in three years while Robert Griffin remains out.

Dallas, on the other hand, has surprised many this season by winning six straight since an opening weekend loss to the San Francisco 49ers, including a 30-23 win in Seattle two weeks ago.  DeMarco Murray is the first back in NFL history to start a season with seven straight 100-yard games, and leads the league in rushing with 913 yards and 7 TDs on the ground.  Somehow, and I hope Marc Trestman takes note, it's helped Tony Romo to a league-high 69.2 completion percentage and a career-best 104.7 passer rating, and Dez Bryant to eighth-placed 590 yards receiving.

Washington aren't short of a decent ballcarrier either, so expect Alfred Morris to be fed the ball while DeSean Jackson occupies the defensive backs downfield.

It's worth keeping in mind that we host the Cowboys in game 13 (NFL week 14) in a Thursday night game, though whether there's still a chance of making the postseason at that point is anybody's guess.

Have fun, open thread responsibly, and because some things ought to be shared: Sweet. Mother. Of. Ditka.