The Cowboys came into their final game of the year with nothing to play for. They were so accepting of the lack of stakes that they turned to Trey Lance as the starting quarterback for the first time all year.
Meanwhile, Washington came in with very high stakes. They could move up to the sixth seed, thereby avoiding a road trip to Philadelphia in the Wild Card round, with a win over the Cowboys team that beat them back in November in front of their own fans.
For much of the game, though, it felt like things were reversed. The Cowboys led for much of the game, and the Commanders pulled Jayden Daniels at halftime after the rookie quarterback took several big hits in the first half. Still, Washington came up big at the end, with Marcus Mariota hitting Terry McLaurin on a back shoulder fade in the endzone with three seconds left on the clock to win 23-19.
Things looked dire for the Commanders in the first half, though. Daniels’ had one of his worst games of the season against this defense last time they played, and he picked up right where he left off in this one. Mike Zimmer’s defense forced a three-and-out on the opening drive, and Washington actually netted a loss of two yards.
Lance helped navigate the Cowboys down the field, making two big throws to overcome penalties that backed them up. Ultimately, Dallas settled for a field goal, which Brandon Aubrey easily knocked through from 34 yards out.
The Commanders offense came back out and managed to move the chains once, thanks to a Daniels run on third down. But a holding penalty put them in a hole, and Daniels was forced out of bounds for a technical sack on third and long.
Zimmer’s defense forced a punt on each of the Commanders’ next two drives as well, not giving Daniels any room to work the pocket or throw to his receivers. Washington managed to get in range for a field goal before halftime thanks to a well-timed third-down scramble, but otherwise this defense locked Daniels up.
The Cowboys offense couldn’t do much either. They reached the red zone three different times in the first half, settling for field goals on two of them and turning it over on downs on the third one. That final one came on a terrible throw from Lance that fell at the feet of a wide open Rico Dowdle in the endzone.
Dallas got the ball to start the third quarter, and not much changed. Dowdle strung together some good runs and Lance had a few big plays to help the offense reach the red zone again, but a sack on third and goal brought out the field goal unit again. The Cowboys extended their lead to 9-3.
Mariota came in at quarterback and immediately ripped off some big plays, hitting Austin Ekeler for a 14-yard gain on third down before later finding Olamide Zaccheaus for a 29-yard pickup to set up first and goal. Right after that, Mariota hit Zach Ertz for the game’s first touchdown.
The Cowboys then moved the ball down the field again, with a couple big catches from Jake Ferguson and KaVontae Turpin moving the chains on two different third and long plays. Deuce Vaughn got into the game and racked up 34 rushing yards on five carries, and the Cowboys got into first and goal. Then Lance just missed Ferguson on a touchdown pass before just missing Brandin Cooks on a touchdown pass, forcing another field goal try to put the Cowboys back up 12-10.
Washington then moved right back down the field again, thanks in large part to a big pass to Zaccheaus on the first play of the drive. Mariota ended up running in for a touchdown on a quarterback keeper, but missed McLaurin on a fade for the two point try. That kept their new lead at just 16-12.
In case you aren’t sensing a trend by now, the Cowboys flew down the field in response. A pass interference penalty on a bomb to Jonathan Mingo set up first and goal at the Washington one. Dallas very nearly came up short yet again in the red zone, with both Hunter Luepke and Dowdle getting stuffed on first and second down. But Dowdle fell into the endzone on third down, scoring a touchdown and upping the Cowboys’ lead to 19-16.
The two teams traded punts after that before the game-winning drive, which only happened due to a massive option run from Mariota on fourth and one. That put the Commanders in position for a game-tying field goal, but with six seconds left on the clock, they opted to go for the kill. Mariota threw the same fade to McLaurin that had failed on the two point try, but this time McLaurin came down with it for the win.
Washington still had to kick the ball off, but Turpin was unable to do anything with it, thus ending the game and, mercifully, the Cowboys’ season. Now, the fun part begins, namely the Joneses finally offering some clarity on what will happen with Mike McCarthy and this coaching staff.
