IRVING, Tex. - Despite clinching a postseason appearance, the Dallas Cowboys will not sit their starters next week against the Washington Redskins, head coach Jason Garrett said Monday.
"You play guys," Garrett said. "You get sixteen opportunities and you go play and go try and play your best football."
Their best football was achieved on Sunday when Garrett's Cowboys harassed the Colts in a 42-7 laugher that saw Tony Romo throw four touchdowns and Andrew Luck thrown to the bench. Romo had two incompletions and Luck two interceptions on the day.
Dallas (11-4) technically, though not practically, has a shot at a first-round bye with a win over the Redskins and if the 49ers and Rams can both get victories next week.
San Francisco hosts the Arizona Cardinals, who will reportedly start rookie quarterback Logan Thomas, and St. Louis visits the Seattle Seahawks.
Playing spoiler is a role Washington was ready for Saturday night when they handed the Eagles the upset that would, with the Cowboys' decision over the Colts the next day, bounce Philadelphia from the postseason.
"What we're going to do is we're going to practice as well as we can practice and go play our best football game," Garrett said. "We play the early game up there [Washington] so all the scenarios everybody is talking about no one will know what those are, so we got to go play our best football."
DeMarco Murray carried 22 times for 58 yards rushing and a touchdown in the team's rout of Indy after having surgery on a broken hand six days before, so any extra rest will likely aid the Cowboys' postseason cause.
Murray has a league-best 1,745 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
Garrett did not specify to what degree his starters would face off against the Redskins on Sunday.
"Our football team, we need to play," the coach said. "We need to go play and play well."
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