The Dallas Cowboys emerged victorious from a truly ugly game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon to secure a 34-26 win, thanks to a dominant fourth quarter that would put an end to their five-game losing streak.
This is Dallas’ win is the first since October 6th when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in late night thriller. With Thanksgiving just four days away, the Cowboys are hoping this win can be the start of a winning streak.
In case you missed it, here are three takeaways from the Cowboys road win over the Commanders:
Overcoming an ugly start
In the opening moments of the game, Dallas initiated its offensive drive with consistency and came out firing. Washington’s defense finally responded in the red zone, forcing the Cowboys to attempt a 35-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey. But since this is the season of hell for the Dallas Cowboys, the kick was unfortunately blocked.
Defensively, the Cowboys struggled in their first time out on the field but would also force Washington into a field goal, which they made to take the 3-0 advantage in the first quarter. The second drive for the Dallas offense saw them struggle and get their punt attempt blocked. The Commanders gave the ball right back to the visitors when quarterback Jayden Daniels threw an interception into the arms of Chauncey Golston.
With Dallas leading 10-9 going into the final quarter, the Cowboys scored 10 points to take a 20-9 lead thanks to a Aubrey field goal and quarterback Cooper Rush finding a wide open Luke Schoonmaker in the end zone.
The Cowboys outscored the Commanders 24-17 in the final 15 minutes, which included a KaVonte Turpin 99-yard kickoff return for a score and Juanyeh Thomas returned a Washington onside kick attempt for a touchdown to give Dallas an 8-point advantage. Overall, teams combined to score 31 points in the last four minutes, the most in an NFL game in more than a decade.
“We got down to the end there and it was a game-situational extravaganza,” Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy said. “It was like Yahtzee. Everything was in there.”
Still in the hunt
The win for Dallas puts them at 4-7 on the season with six games left to play in the regular season. Their opponents over the next four games include the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — an combined record of 14-30.
“Lot of games left,” Rush said. “We’re sitting at 4-7. This is why you play them.”
Meanwhile, Washington’s loss is extremely damaging to their chances of winning the NFC East title. The Commanders are 2-2 in division games while the Eagles are 3-0 against the NFC East.
“Any time you lose a game or you lose a game in that type of fashion, it’s very difficult and it’s tough, but it never comes down to one play,” Daniels said.
A little bit of luck
The Cowboys gave the lead away multiple times on Sunday, including with 20 seconds left on the clock. After Daniels connected with Terry McLaurinon an 86-yard touchdown that made it 27-26 with 21 seconds left, Lady Luck decided to shine on Dallas.
Austin Seibert missed an extra point attempt that would have tied the game, likely meaning overtime would have been upon us. Seibert’s miss led to the onside kick attempt that Thomas scored on to give the Cowboys the eight point advantage to seal the win.
“I just wasn’t striking it well,” said Seibert. “It didn’t make a difference at all. It was on me.”
Up next
The Cowboys (4-7) return home to Arlington to face the New York Giants (2-9) for their annual Thanksgiving Day game.
The Commanders (7-5) will face the Tennessee Titans (3-8) at FedEx Field on December 1.
