The Washington Commanders sure have a flair for the dramatics here recently. After last-second wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons the last two weeks, Washington did it again on Sunday, beating the Dallas Cowboys 23-19 when quarterback Marcus Mariota found wide receiver Terry McLaurin for the game-winner with three seconds remaining.
Dallas led Washington 6-3 at halftime for the second time this season. However, following the same script from the first meeting six weeks ago, the offensive fireworks were saved for the second half. The Cowboys managed only one touchdown, which came with seven minutes remaining to give them a 19-16 lead.
Mariota, who relieved rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels for the second half, rescued Washington. Mariota led the Commanders on touchdown drives of 70, 70, and 91 yards in four second-half drives.
Throughout the game, Washington fans were frustrated, specifically with the defense. The Commanders allowed the Cowboys, one of the NFL’s worst rushing teams, to rush for 150 yards. Dallas quarterback Trey Lance, making his first start in over two years, passed for 244 yards, ran for 26, and did not turn the ball over.
Fans were elated by the end of the game, though, which is a typical gameday for Commanders’ social media.
Here are some of the top reactions on X — formerly Twitter.
Another tough day for Benjamin St-Juste.
Life, Death, Taxes, and Benjamin St. Juste getting a PI call are the four guarantees in life! pic.twitter.com/ULIDGUXi7f
— Barstool DMV (@Barstooldmv) January 5, 2025
St-Juste keeps the cowboys on the field. Him and Michael Davis are the worst players I’ve ever seen.
— Nick Kerns (@nicktkerns) January 5, 2025
The second penalty on St-Juste was a bad call, though.
Y’all can crush St-Juste all you want, but that’s a horrible call.
— Commanders Wire (@Washington_Wire) January 5, 2025
Some “love” for defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.
Whitt… WTF are you doing? #RaiseHail
OMG!! Our defense looks like pure shit!
— Shelley (@Shellsyeah81) January 5, 2025
Wild thought. Get rid of Whitt Jr and hire Robert Saleh? He has connection with Adam Peters. 🤷🏽♂️
— Jeremy Lee (@BigPoppa703) January 5, 2025
I am so done with soft zone coverage from Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt.
— Benjamin (@legend96_96) January 5, 2025
12 wins. Playoffs. Jayden. Dan Snyder is dead. What a season. #RaiseHail
— Eric Nathan (@BarstoolNate) January 5, 2025
Jayden Daniels final rookie season stats:
3,568 passing yards
68.9% completions (WRs don’t have hands, not his fault)
25 passing TDs
891 rushing yards
6 rushing TDs
OROY
Playoffs https://t.co/EDyyqrj47C— Eric Nathan (@BarstoolNate) January 5, 2025
If you told me a year ago that the 4-13 Commanders would jump to a 12 win team in a mere 365 days, I would’ve laughed in your face
Jayden Daniels. Adam Peters. Dan Quinn. Incredible pic.twitter.com/OYM8tHOa6D
— 𝘀𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗵𝗮𝗻 🪖 (@DotsByDaniels) January 5, 2025
Sad little Eagles fan weighing in. Interesting how these profiles are always the same:
Jayden Daniels when he can’t play a terrible team. pic.twitter.com/5RDdYLNcic
— ☆𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘎𝘖𝘋☆ (@JalenCarterDPOY) January 5, 2025
Skip Bayless
What a momentum win for Jayden Daniels’ team. How can you not like the Commanders? How can you Cowboy faithful not fear them going forward???
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 5, 2025
I know Jayden Daniels isn’t winning MVP but it’s crazy he isn’t even in the discourse. This is EASILY the worst roster of all the playoff teams, maybe bottom 10 in the league, and he has them 11 wins lmao
— Deablo fan account (@DeferredWalkOn) January 5, 2025
Marcus Mariota coming into the game after not playing since October pic.twitter.com/eTJVY8p8Pg
— Nick (@That1Gu49699835) January 5, 2025
No one:
Marcus Mariota: pic.twitter.com/S9hwt7ZmSn
— Not Robert Griffin (@Pseudo_RGIII) January 5, 2025
The amount of @Commanders fans I seen hating on Mariota is alarming
Best backup in da league 💯 #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/UOeor28CV1
— Jefe 🇹🇹 (@RaiseHTTR) January 5, 2025
Marcus Mariota came off the bench today and worked his magic to lead us to victory over the Cowboys and help us clinch the 6th seed for the Playoffs! 🎉 His key play was a 33-yard run that put us in the position to throw the game winning touchdown to our Pro Bowler Terry…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 5, 2025