At last, the losing streak is finally over.
The Dallas Cowboys halted their five-game skid with an event-filled 34-26 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon at Northwest Stadium. The Week 12 contest featured an assortment of blocked kicks, turnovers and lousy football. But ultimately, it was the Cowboys who pulled away in the back-and-forth slugfest and survived a wild final sequence.
The Cowboys avoided a last-minute scare from Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who jetted for an 86-yard touchdown reception to set up the game-tying extra point attempt with less than 30 seconds remaining. However, kicker Austin Seibert’s PAT sailed wide left, allowing the Cowboys to preserve their 27-26 lead.
On the ensuing onside kickoff attempt, Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas scooped the football and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown that served as the game’s final firework.
“I don’t plan on tanking. If the higher-ups are looking for a draft pick, I hope that’s wrong because we have a lot of football left to play,” said Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, who finished with two sacks. “As long as I’m part of this team, we’re always going to fight. I’m always going to give maximum effort. This is deeper than just wins…this is about pride.
“We’re playing behind the 8 ball. Let’s see how we can handle adversity and let’s see if we can make a playoff run. We’ve got a long ways to go. We’ve got to win game after game. We need consistency to do that.”
The much-needed win ended Dallas’ longest losing streak since 2015 and marked its first win since Oct. 6. While it may serve as a temporary morale boost, the Cowboys still have less than a 1% chance to make the postseason, according to numerous playoff simulators.
Coming off consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the Commanders (7-5) lacked hunger, and surely did not look like a team in contention for a playoff spot. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer mixed his personnel and play calls to prevent rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels from establishing any rhythm or continuity.
Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson’s forced fumble with less than eight minutes left was another exclamation point for a defense that has shown improvement in recent weeks. After Commanders tight end John Bates hauled in a completion from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, Wilson chased him down and punched the football loose.
Linebacker Eric Kendricks recovered the football, and on the ensuing series, quarterback Cooper Rush delivered a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Schoonmaker to push the lead to 10.
Zimmer’s defense also benefited from some reinforcements – mainly by the way of reigning All-Pro cornerback Daron Bland, who made his season debut against the Commanders after he missed the first 11 weeks on injured reserve with a foot injury.
Bland resumed his role at outside cornerback on the opposite side of Josh Butler, and the duo proved to be effective in their first game together. Butler finished with a career-high three passes defensed, along with his game-high 10 tackles and one sack.
“Almost every play, I was going crazy for him, as if I was making the play,” Bland said of Butler. “This all feels good, but we still have to finish the season.”
Offensively, it’s become pretty apparent that the ceiling is only so high with backup quarterback Cooper Rush, who made his third start of the season in place of the injured Dak Prescott. As many have become accustomed, there wasn’t much downfield action from Rush, aside from his 41-yard completion to Jalen Brooks on a go route, which set up a game-tying field goal at the end of the first half.
Rush completed 24-of-32 passes for 247 yards with two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 117.6 passer rating.
Wide receiver Jalen Tolbert scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, when he created space off a zip route and hauled in a six-yard completion from Rush to give the Cowboys a 10-9 lead. Tolbert finished with two catches for 22 yards, while wide receiver CeeDee Lamb paced the offense with his game-high 10 catches for 67 yards.
Running back Rico Dowdle added 79 rushing yards across 18 carries.
“Ultimately, snapping this losing streak was the most important part of this whole thing,” Lamb said. “Getting back in the win column, no matter how long it took, find a way to scratch and claw.
“We’re not coming out here to really just lose every game. That’s not my mentality and I’ve never been accepting of losing. It shows the fight. It shows the character. It shows everything we’ve been working towards.”
Daniels, the NFL Rookie of the Year favorite, completed 23-of-35 passes for just 182 yards with one passing touchdown, one interception, and a 76.1 passer rating. He added 74 rushing yards on seven carries with one rushing touchdown.
IT APPEARED TO BE OVER WHEN…
The Commanders responded to Schoonmaker’s touchdown with their own late score.
But wide receiver KaVontae Turpin appeared to seal Washington’s fate with his impressive 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Turpin initially juggled and dropped the return, but then he established his footing, executed a nifty spin, and sped past everyone for the house call.
It marked Turpin’s first kickoff return for a touchdown in his three-year career. Turpin fielded four kickoffs for 179 return yards (44.8 average).
The divisional contest had more craziness in store, but Turpin’s highlight still stood as a pivotal moment.
STATS TO KNOW
Second-year kicker Brandon Aubrey was likely eager to depart Northwest Stadium after he had one field-goal blocked and another hit the right upright in the first quarter.
Aubrey later rebounded with two made field goals from 46- and 48-yards, respectively.
The Commanders’ home stadium has somewhat served as a house of horrors for Aubrey. He is now just 3-for-7 on field-goal attempts at Northwest Stadium, while he is 58-for-61 at every other NFL stadium.
“I thought I struck the ball well off the toe today,” Aubrey said. “Every kick, I kind of refocus and block out whatever happens the rest of the game. I don’t think the miss was bad kick, so I don’t want to change anything or think about it.”
INJURY REPORT
Aside from Bland, offensive lineman Asim Richards also rotated with rookie Tyler Guyton at left tackle. Richards suffered an apparent injury when he limped off the field with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Richards was evaluated by trainers on the visitors’ sideline, missed one series, and he returned later in the game.
Tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion), right guard Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder), left guard Tyler Smith (ankle), and cornerback Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) were among the team’s inactives because of injuries.
UP NEXT
The Cowboys will host the New York Giants (2-9) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday for a Week 13 matchup on Thanksgiving Day at AT&T Stadium.