There have been some insane finishes in the Cowboys-Washington rivalry over the decades, but this one might take the cake. After a sloppy, special-teams-gaffe filled first half, Dallas and the Commanders found themselves tied at halftime 3-3. When QB Cooper Rush found Jalen Tolbert in the end zone, the Cowboys scored their first third-quarter touchdown of the season to take a 10-9 lead into the fourth.
And then the fourth quarter happened and it was pure chaos. The two teams combined for 41 points, including touchdowns that went for 99, 86 and 43 yards. Dallas returned two kickoffs for scores and Washington tried their best to pull off another Hail Mary but Jayden Daniels’ pass was tipped into the waiting arms of Israel Mukuamu to seal the 34-26 victory.
The Cowboys improved to 4-7 on the season, breaking their five-game losing streak and handing Washington their third consecutive loss to drop to 7-5.
The game was full of special teams miscues, with Brandon Aubrey having his first field goal blocked, missing his second. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked as well, but the Commanders Austin Seibert wouldn’t let them suffer alone. He missed his own field goal as well as two extra points that set the Commanders back at every opportunity.
Even the things that went right involved mistakes, including Kavontae Turpin muffing a kickoff before racing 99 yards for a score.
Cooper Rush, starting his third straight game after Dallas lost Dak Prescott to a hamstring injury, finished 24 for 32 for 247 yards and two scores, sporting a 117.6 passer rating. He also found TE Luke Schoonmaker for a score in addition to Tolbert. Dallas’ offense was able to run the ball as well, with Rico Dowdle averaging 4.5 yards a carry on his way to an 86-yard day.
The Cowboys defense intercepted Daniels twice as he continues to struggle after a blazing start to his season and his career.
Dallas will now have a short week to prepare for their next division game, their second of the season against the New York Giants (2-9) who released their starting quarterback Daniel Jones earlier in the week. New York fell 30-7 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after falling behind by 30 through three quarters.