Honestly, facing a lowly Washington Commanders team that benefited more by losing this game (thus keeping their top draft pick), the Cowboys overcame a rocky start and finished 38-10. The victory overtook the opponents in the district.
With this win, the Cowboys will return home next weekend to host the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round of the playoffs, at a date to be determined.
The Cowboys' offense hasn't missed a beat despite being without both of its starting guards, with Tyler Smith out with a foot injury and Zach Martin battling an illness. It didn't seem like it was. Dak Prescott completed 86.1 percent of his passes for 279 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, giving him a quarterback rating of 124.4. This was the fourth game of the season with at least four passing touchdowns, tied for first in the league, and the 11th of his career, a new team record.
CeeDee Lamb capped off a record-breaking regular season with another outstanding performance, gaining a game-high 98 receiving yards on 13 catches. He also added a two-score catch, extending his touchdown streak to nine games, making him the third NFL wide player to accomplish this feat since 2000, joining AJ Green in 2012 and Randy Moss in 2003-04. I became the first person to see it.
On the ground, Tony Pollard gained 70 yards on 17 carries, increasing his season rushing yards to 1,005. In doing so, he became the sixth player in franchise history to achieve back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing campaigns.
Defensively, Dallas was just as impressive, holding Washington to 180 yards of total offense while accumulating three takeaways and four sacks. Micah Parsons had five tackles and her 14th sack of the season, setting her career highs. He currently has 40 sacks in his first three seasons, becoming only the fifth NFL player since 1982 to reach that mark in his first three seasons.
After the Dallas defense stopped the Commanders on a fourth-and-1 at the Cowboys' own 31-yard line, Prescott and the offense wasted no time in getting to the end zone on their first possession. The quarterback completed all six of his pass attempts on the series, his final pass a 3-yard loft to Jalen Tolbert in the end zone for the first points of the game.
And the Cowboys regained momentum at the Washington 31-yard line when cornerback Jordan Lewis snatched the ball from running back Brian Robinson's hands on the Commanders' next snap and recovered the fumble himself. .
But Dallas couldn't get any closer than 14 yards until Brandon Aubrey came in and attempted a 32-yard field goal. Instead, his kick was blocked and picked off by Jace Whitaker, who returned the ball 66 yards to the Cowboys' 20-yard line.
The block was Aubrey's first missed field goal of the season and broke his NFL record for most consecutive field goals made to start his career with 35.
Unfortunately, the commanders took advantage of the turn of events. They inched closer to the goal line and finally scored a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Going for it on fourth-and-one, quarterback Sam Howell threw a quick out to Robinson, who shook the ball before tucking it in to tie the score.
The mistakes continued. On the Cowboys' next possession, Prescott's pass intended for Michael Gallup was bounced into the air at the line of scrimmage by defensive end Jalen Harris. This led to a successful interception by safety Quan Martin, setting up the commanders at their own 45-yard line. That ultimately led to Joey Sly's 36-yard field goal, giving the home team a surprising lead.
Washington's good fortune won't last long. After Prescott started the game with two passes and gained another 15 yards on an unnecessary roughness penalty, the Cowboys went on the ground five straight times for the final 36 yards. The touchdown came courtesy of Pollard, who muscled in from the 1-yard line.
However, the first half wasn't over for Dallas yet. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence attempted to throw the ball, which hit Howell in the arm, sending the ball into the arm of safety Donovan Wilson.
At his own 35-yard line with 1:40 remaining, Prescott made a short pass to running back Rico Doodle, who raced down the left sideline for a 32-yard gain. Lamb then entered the game, catching three of Prescott's next four shots and stretching the ball across the goal line for the final four yards, making it 21-1 for the Cowboys at the break. gave an advantage.
But it wasn't all good news. Prior to Wilson's interception, cornerback Stephon Gilmore suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the game, but his status for next week is still up in the air.
Considering Dallas was 27-2 after 2021 when it led in the first half, the game was effectively over. If it wasn't before then it definitely was when Dallas scored two touchdowns on the first two possessions of the third quarter.
The first was a 12-play, 75-yard drive in which Lamb caught five passes for 34 yards. He also scored a 6-yard touchdown when Prescott had enough room in the pocket to throw a dart to his primary target in the back of the end zone.
The defense then made a quick three-and-out, forcing the Commanders to punt. However, Peyton Hendershot broke through the line of scrimmage and recorded his first career block, giving Dallas the ball at Washington's 9-yard line. Three snaps later, Prescott dropped a pass into the arms of wideout Brandin Cooks for a 25-point lead.
Cornerback Daron Brand continued to have fun on defense, making his team's third takeaway of the day and drawing a deep Howell offer for his league-leading ninth interception of the year.
The Cowboys' starters remained for one more series after this gift, but Aubrey's bad day continued, as he missed a 36-yard field goal from the left upright.
However, he will soon find salvation. With Prescott and most of the other key starters sitting on the sideline for the remainder of the game, Cooper Rush took over behind center and led the Cowboys into the opponent's half. Aubrey's 50-yard field goal up the middle sealed the game at 38-10.
