Nick Harris: What to watch in Cowboys-Commanders season finale

Yes, there is one final game still happening on Sunday afternoon!

Even with all of the buzz swirling around what will happen off the field when the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders hit triple zeroes on Sunday, the game itself is still going down at AT&T Stadium to wrap the regular season.

While the Cowboys have been removed from the playoff picture for weeks now, there will still be incentives and storylines to keep an eye on in Sunday’s game.

Rush or Lance? This one note might tell us.

Despite the potential for Trey Lance to get the start at quarterback over Cooper Rush in a game where the Cowboys have already said that there might be more of a lean toward playing younger talent, head coach Mike McCarthy has kept quiet about his intentions going into week 18.

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” McCarthy said on Thursday. “We’re looking at this as a competition between football operations. We’re going to stay the course.”

However, one key note could tell us what will happen on Sunday.

Worked into Rush’s contract is an incentive that if he plays 55-percent of the offensive snaps over the course of a season, then he earns a $500K bonus. As it currently stands, Rush has played 52.3-percent of the offensive plays. Considering the Cowboys have averaged 65 snaps a game since Rush has taken over the offense, if he were to play 65 out of 65 scrimmage plays on Sunday, his season percentage would come in right at 55.05-percent.

Starters Playing for Washington

The Washington Commanders have safely secured a playoff spot going into week 18, but a win on Sunday could offer up a smoother path in the postseason than if they were to lose.

With a win, Washington would secure the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs and would draw the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round. With a loss, the Commanders would head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles, and if they were to get through to the divisional round with a win over their divisional foe, then they would have to take on the NFC’s one-seed determined by Sunday night’s Detroit-Minnesota matchup.

“Yeah, we’re going to go after [Dallas] as hard as we can,” head coach Dan Quinn said. “I think the seeding portion of this is really important, and that’s what we discussed as a team...But we recognize having a six-seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing. And so, we’re going to fight like hell to keep that.”

In order to avoid having to go through the two best teams in the NFC, it would benefit Washington to get a win at AT&T Stadium and avenge the chaotic loss it suffered in November against these same Cowboys.

The McCarthy Era

Sunday’s game could be the final contest we see head coach Mike McCarthy as a member of the Dallas Cowboys organization, as his contract along with the entirety of his coaching staff is on an expiring deal that officially runs out when the game ends at AT&T Stadium.

While McCarthy has kept hush about his future and instead opted to look solely at the final game ahead, it’s been hard to not notice the increase and buzz and curiosity around what owner Jerry Jones and his decision makers will do come Monday morning.

“I’ve answered this question the same for however many months now,” McCarthy said earlier in the week. “So, I think the focus, I need to make sure I’m doing exactly what I’m asking everyone else to do. We need to finish the race. It’s been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches. It’s stating the obvious, but we’ll have time to talk about that next week.”

McCarthy said he will get to the stadium early on Sunday, just as he does every week, and will soak in the feelings of being in the locker room that he once won a Super Bowl in back in 2010.

Redemption for Washington

Not only will Sunday’s game serve as a return to AT&T Stadium for four former Cowboys that followed Dan Quinn to Washington over the offseason (Dorance Armstrong Jr., Dante Fowler Jr., Tyler Biadasz, Noah Igbinoghene), but Sunday will also be a chance at redemption for a wild loss that the Commanders suffered last month against the Cowboys in the nation’s capital.

Despite entering the final eight minutes of game action with Dallas leading 10-9, a wild and chaotic back-and-forth saw a KaVontae Turpin kick return touchdown, a Jayden Daniels 86-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin and an onside kick return for a touchdown make up one of the wildest sequences of the entire NFL season in a 34-26 win for the Cowboys.

While redemption from being former Cowboys will certainly linger, the fresh feeling of that November loss will be front-and-center when the two teams take the field.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously that’s not how we wanted the first game to end, but the stuff that happened, they got really good players over there,” Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels said. “Very talented players and you got to go out there and be physical with them. That’s what they’re going to do with us. So, it’s going to be a heavyweight match. It’s going to be a good one.”

Parsons’ Chase

Leading the team in sacks for the fourth time in four NFL seasons, Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons is looking to keep another streak alive to begin his already impressive career.

Sitting at 9.5 sacks on the season, just one half-sack in the game on Sunday would secure double-digit sacks for the fourth straight year. Already named to the Pro Bowl on Thursday, Parsons getting into double digits could help pave the way for his return to All-Pro consideration despite missing four games in the middle of the season.

Parsons has mentioned since his return that his goal is to get back to 10 sacks, and it will take an impressive pass rush effort against an improving Washington offensive line to do so. Fortunately for Parsons, he can carry the momentum of getting to Jayden Daniels twice in the Cowboys’ November win over the Commanders.