DALLAS — Throughout the lengthy history of the Dallas Cowboys versus the Washington Commanders, there hasn’t been many fourth quarters as wild as the one the two storied franchises played in Week 12.
The 34-26 win for the Cowboys ended their five-game losing streak and allowed Dallas to stick it to their former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who had taken over as the Commanders’ head coach and helped them turn around their woes until the Cowboys came to D.C. to remind them of their recent foibles.
For three quarters, the Cowboys looked a lot like the same team that had played embarrassingly sloppy football for much of the season. Along with the mistakes that made for some ugly moments, the Cowboys were also plagued by a new issue, missing field goals.
The normally automatic kicker, Bradon Aubrey, had seen one kick blocked and another bang off the upright. Those mishaps on their first two possessions felt like a signal that another long day was in store for Dallas.
Fortunately for Mike McCarthy’s team, they had two things in their favor in this game. The Commanders played just as poorly early, and the Cowboys had some fight in them in the second half for the first time in weeks.
The Cowboys played without two of their top starting offensive linemen and managed to keep quarterback Cooper Rush comfortable most of the game, only giving up one sack. There was also a more reasonable split between their run and pass play calls, which helped keep the pressure off Rush after he had attempted 55 passes in the Week 11 loss to Houston.
Through three quarters, however, it wasn’t a well-played contest, but the Cowboys managed to hold a 10-9 lead before things became unhinged in the final 15 minutes. For a team that hasn’t been exciting all season, Dallas gave their fans one of the most eventful final quarters of the year as they snapped their longest losing streak since 2015.
Holding a slim lead early in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys got a 48-yard field goal from Aubrey to take a four-point lead, force Washington’s hand and require them to drive for a touchdown to take a lead.
On the next play from scrimmage, Mike Zimmer’s defense forced their second turnover of the game, and it kicked off a sequence where the Cowboys felt like they would put the game away. A feeling that would return several times over before the clock finally read quadruple zeros.
Dallas took the turnover and scored six plays later when Rush hit wide-open tight end Luke Schoonover up the seam for a 22-yard touchdown. It was the second-year TE’s first score of the year and it put the Cowboys up 20-9 with just over five minutes left to play. Suddenly, Dallas was staring down a likely victory over a team that they were looking up at in the NFC East standings.
The game was not over, though. The Commanders marched down the field in nine plays, scored a touchdown, and tacked on the two-point conversion to pull to within three points with just over three minutes to play. A defensive stop and a field goal could have sent the game to overtime in Washington’s building.
There was no drive for the defense to stop, however, as kick returner KaVontae Turpin tried to erase any thought of another Commanders comeback when he took the ensuing kickoff 99-yards for a touchdown. The play began in near disaster when Turpin fumbled the kick, but then recovered to begin his scoring journey with a spin move and a sprint to the end zone. With the touchdown, Turpin found himself in some elite company with his third different type of 60-plus yard score on the season.
Despite everything, Turpin’s return didn’t seal the win for the Cowboys. Washington clawed back into the game by kicking a field goal with just 1:40 left to play to pull within a touchdown, and armed with two timeouts, Quinn’s team was once again eyeing a stop and chance at tying the game.
They got the stop and got the ball back at the 14-yard line with 0:33 left on the clock and their timeouts expended. It would take a miracle for the Commanders to tie the game, but with the Commanders familiar with miracle finishes this season, it took just one play for them to get it.
Washington QB Jayden Daniels found Terry McLaurin for a big gain, and all the Dallas defense had to do was tackle the wide receiver for the game to end. Instead, the entire defense watched as McLaurin ran by everyone for the 86-yard score.
In a season full of embarrassment from the Cowboys’ defense, this could’ve been their worst play if the outcome ended differently. They played so soft in coverage that they forgot that they were supposed to tackle the receiver. All the Commanders had to do to tie the game was to add on the extra point.
With a game this wild, you had to know it wouldn’t go smoothly. After a poor snap and a mistimed hold, kicker Austin Seibert botched the kick, pushing it wide left to keep Dallas ahead by a point with just seconds left on the clock. All that the Cowboys had to do was recover the onsides kick to win the game.
However, safety Juanyeh Thomas fielded the kick and returned it 43 yards for another kick return touchdown. The TD gave Dallas an eight-point lead but it also gave Washington another possession to attempt another Hail Mary miracle in a one-score game. This time, though, Daniels’ heave to the end zone was short and Dallas secured an outrageous 34-26 win.
In a season where they have struggled in the second half, the team put up 24 points in the fourth quarter, and they needed all of them to earn the victory. The Cowboys are now 4-7 during this miserable season, but at least they can claim to have put a damper on the rise of one of their longest rivals.
Just when you want to quit on the Cowboys, they remind you that giving up on them isn’t an option. Good, bad, ugly, or historic, there’s a reason that they’re America’s Team. An undermanned Cowboys reminded everyone that on any given Sunday, they can find a way to win. Even if it takes a few times in the same game, apparently.
Do you think the Cowboys will parlay their win in Washington with a Thanksgiving victory? Share your thoughts with Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.
