The Washington Commanders made the Dallas Cowboys look like the Baltimore Ravens in Sunday’s 34-26 loss.
Kicker Austin Seibert, who had provided perfect stability to Washington’s kicking game, missed a point after the Commanders went the distance to bring the game to a tie in the last seconds of Sunday’s game. In a game where no one could find a touchdown in three quarters, both teams combined to score 41 points in the fourth quarter in what will be one of the heart-wrenching games in Northwest Stadium history. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for 275 yards with two touchdowns, along with a pair of interceptions. Running back Austin Ekeler carried Sunday’s run game with nine for only 22 yards. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin caught five for 102 yards and one touchdown.
In a week where the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lead the AFC North, lost to the Cleveland Browns, ranked last in that same division, Sunday’s loss came just as shocking. It was also a reunion for Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, who served as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator for three years. On Sunday, however, he would watch his defense falter, and the Dallas defense would own the day. Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver CeeDee Lamb caught ten for 67 yards.
Commanders’ Ugly First Half: All Defense, No Conversions
The Commanders punted three times in the first half, along with a missed 51-yarder by a returning Seibert. He finished the first half 1-1, making from 41 yards early in the first. The Cowboys had a blocked field goal, a missed field goal, and a fumble. However, they did finish the half with one successful field goal. In addition to the Commanders’ special teams victories in the first half, there were no conversions on any of those for points. Add in the three punts and the fumble, and you’d think the Commanders could have run away with the game, but that was not the case.
Daniels was on the run the entire first half, completing nine for 57 yards. The good news is he’s also back on the rush, carrying three for 25 yards. Not much, but to see Daniels carrying a few was a good sign. The past couple of weeks after his rib injury, Daniels has been very conservative on taking off with the ball but looked comfortable Sunday. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. still had the most carries in the first half with five but only rushed for 25 yards.
Second Half Brings More Action, Ends In Heartbreak
Daniels set the pace for the second half with a 10-play drive comprised of three good third-down conversions that resulted in a 17-yard run-in by the rookie. The Cowboys responded with a successful drive of their own, going eight plays for 80 yards to finish with a six-yard touchdown throw from Cowboys QB Cooper Rush to receiver Jalen Tolbert, putting them ahead 10-9 thanks to a missed point after by Austin Seibert, a first for him this season.
This was also the Cowboys’ first touchdown in the third quarter all season. To make matters even worse for the Commanders’ apparent confusing coverage, Rush threw 22 yards over the middle to tight end Luke Schoonmaker to extend the lead 20-9 with five minutes left in the game.
Commanders Stall In Fourth
With 3:02 left in the fourth, Daniels orchestrated a nine-play, 69-yard drive capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz to bring it within five. Daniels would scramble to make the two-point conversion to bring it within three. There was hope for a second, but that fizzled away like a Thanos snap when receiver KaVontae Turpin, on the kickoff, muffed the catch, picked it up, and returned it for 99 yards.
At 1:44 left in the game, the Commanders went for a 51-yard field goal attempt, which was successful, but failed at the onside kick. After the Cowboys failed to convert on downs, the Commanders, with under a minute left in the game, Daniels went 86 yards to receiver Terry McLaurin to bring the game to yet another miracle finish at 27-26.
It would have taken the extra point to coast into overtime, but Seibert, who had missed an extra point late in the third quarter, missed the extra point for a second time. The Commanders would try another onside kick, which failed and resulted in another Cowboys score, extending the lead to 34. Daniels was once again put in the same position he was in when he hurled the ball more than 60 yards for their miracle Week 8 win against the Chicago Bears but would end this time with an interception. For the Commanders, the losing streak continues. For the Cowboys, Sunday’s win broke a five-game skid for them.
Final Thoughts
I have no idea what happened today with the Washington offense. They took no shots downfield, Robinson was ineffective, the offensive line was overpowered, and the playcalling was horrendous. You cannot try to play four quarters of football in the last quarter of the game. This was not Seibert’s fault, but it kinda was, considering extra points are literally right there at the goalpost. Nonetheless, there was more than enough blame to go around. This was an uncalled-for loss, especially with Dak Prescott out for the season. The Cowboys beat us with a backup, and he earned it. He played his game. We didn’t play ours.
