Cowboys end five-game skid in wild finish against Commanders, 34-26

In one of the strangest — and at times ugliest — games you will see all season, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to the nation’s capital and ended their five-game losing streak with a win over the Washington Commanders, 34-26.

Defensively, the Cowboys made life difficult for Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels for the first three quarters and hung on in the fourth, while the offense and special teams did their part when needed.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Cowboys got back in the win column in a big way with a victory over their division rivals. Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s victory.

Take it how you can get it

You have to give the Cowboys credit. Against the feel-good story of the NFL season in the Washington Commanders, the Cowboys scratched and clawed their way to an ugly win — but a win, nevertheless.

They overcame missed opportunities in the first half (more on that later) and survived a flurry of wild plays late to secure the win.

How wild?

With Dallas ahead 20-9 late in the fourth quarter, Washington moved downfield and scored on a 4-yard-pass from Daniels to Zach Ertz, then made the two-point conversion.

Score: Dallas 20, Washington 17, with 3:02 left.

On the ensuing kickoff, Kavontae Turpin fumbled the ball between his legs, picked it up and made a serious spin move and streaked untouched for a 99-yard touchdown. It took 13 seconds.

Score: Dallas 27, Washington 17, with 2:49 left.

After a Dallas kickoff, Washington ran a handful of plays before kicking a a 51-yard field goal to make it a one-score game.

Score: Dallas 27, Washington 20, with 1:40 left.

After the Cowboys got the ball back and eventually punted, Washington scored on an 86-yard pass and run from Daniels to Terry McLaurin. The Commanders kicker then missed his second PAT of the game.

Score: Dallas 27, Washington 26, with 21 second left.

Washington then tried an onside kick, which was snagged by Dallas’ Juanyeh Thomas, who returned it 43 yards for a TD and the PAT was good.

Final score: Dallas 34, Washington 26.

While the win only puts Dallas at 4-7, Sunday’s win should do a lot for the psyche of this Cowboys team, and more importantly for Mike McCarthy who gets back into the win column in a pivotal year in his five-year tenure with the Cowboys.

In talking with Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass after the game — both of whom made spot starts in place of Zack Martin and Tyler Smith — Hoffman characterized it as “ugly.”

“That’s just the way we like it,” Bass said.

Fulfilled opportunities

The Commanders simply begged the Cowboys to take control of this game in the first half. The first five drives for Washington resulted in just 84 total yards and 3 points despite an average starting field position of right around midfield (Washington 45-yard line). Dallas squandered two scoring opportunities, turning them into a blocked field goal and a missed field goal.

However, in the second half, the offense finally came through.

Two touchdown passes from Cooper Rush extended the lead to two possessions and allowed for both sides of the ball to take in a short breath of fresh air for the first time in weeks.

Whether it was Luke Schoonmaker hauling in the second touchdown grab, Josh Butler making plays defensively or Asim Richards playing quality snaps at left tackle in his opportunities, the fulfilled chances for certain individuals in the depth of the Cowboys allowed the whole team to push ahead in the end.

“We’re going to go home and celebrate this win,” Butler said after the game. “We got Thanksgiving coming up. We’ll celebrate this win and get ready for our next game.”

Quality defensive effort

As we’ve gotten used to saying since the bye week, the defense’s performance in the first half was solid. Dallas only surrendered 113 total yards to Kliff Kingsbury’s high-flying offense and kept Washington out of the red zone.

However, the second half began with an opponent scoring on its opening drive of the third quarter for the ninth time in 11 games against the Cowboys defense. This time around, the offense was able to keep a pulse going and answered with a score of its own to take the lead. Later, the offense finished it after the defense maintained the lead.

“We trust in the process,” cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. “Understanding what Coach Zim wants us to do, keeping our head down and grinding out there to get those stops. Every time we go out there, we gain confidence.”

Even with the crazy finish and highest scoring fourth quarter (combined 41 points) in the NFL since 2013, there was evidence of the defense showing up.

Whether it be reliable faces such as Micah Parsons and Jourdan Lewis or new faces such as Butler making multiple pass breakups, Mike Zimmer’s unit is starting to play as a whole the further they go into the season.

Special teams a mixed bag

The special teams unit for the Cowboys has been under a microscope after two failed fake punt attempts since the bye week, and those problems were amplified on Sunday — especially on field goal attempts.

In the first half, Brandon Aubrey had a field goal blocked, missed another and started the second half with a kickoff out of bounds. It didn’t stop with Dallas’ All-Pro kicker, as Bryan Anger had a punt blocked in the first half that allowed for a momentum opportunity for Washington.

Fortunately, Turpin’s 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the game’s final minutes helped Dallas win, and Thomas’ kick return for a TD sealed the deal.

All-Pro performances

With multiple All-Pros missing from the Cowboys roster for the road trip to Washington — Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, Trevon Diggs, Tyler Smith just to name a few — the other All-Pros showed up.

Parsons was a frequent visitor in the backfield with two sacks and eight tackles. CeeDee Lamb hauled in 10 receptions for 67 yards. DaRon Bland was elite in his first game back from injury at cornerback.

“With a game like that, it felt real good,” Bland said. “We were just real neutral. Never got too high, too low. We had to come together and play for each other, and that’s what we did tonight.”

If the Cowboys want to make a push toward the end of the season, they will need these guys to continue to show up. Even if they do not, these stacked performances from Dallas’ best players will offer more confidence toward what the product could look like in 2025 and beyond.