LANDOVER, Md. — Of course, kids took the lead on Christmas Day.
The Washington Commanders are playing out the string in this coal-in-stockings season, but they showed fight (without getting into one) against the Dallas Cowboys in Thursday’s Netflix spectacular. Any scoreboard result mattered little in the big picture. Once again, the good guys came up short — but the youngest players played tall.
We’ve seen rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt deliver in spots this season. Break free for a 72-yard touchdown? No — until now.
Second-year defensive tackle Johnny Newton teased his pass-rushing talents earlier this season, but lacked consistency. One game doesn’t flip that narrative, but setting career highs with three sacks and nine tackles in a rare sunlight game at Northwest Stadium can make the imagination run wild.
“Whenever I catch fire, it’s hard to cool me off,” Newton said postgame, smiling proudly.
Let’s get the primary business out of the way. The Cowboys dominated the first half, executed five scoring drives of at least 11 plays, converted all six of their fourth-down opportunities, and kept the plucky Commanders at arm’s length down the stretch, handing Washington a 30-23 loss in its first 1 p.m. home kickoff since September.
The Commanders, now 4-12, have dropped 10 of their last 11 games with only the Week 18 finale at Philadelphia remaining. That sourness is long-baked into this inedible cake, especially with quarterback Jayden Daniels and other starters sidelined with injuries. The oddity of 39-year-old Josh Johnson starting at QB could not spread enough cheer onto the scene, though the third-stringer held up well.
What matters now is assessing the active players, particularly the youngest members of the league’s oldest roster. Leaning into the roster’s youth — or rather, Washington’s decision not to use its youngest available quarterback, Sam Hartman, in its penultimate game — created confusion and heated debates outside the building.
Regardless, that’s a matter of the margins involving a player the staff doesn’t see as depth chart help. Possible future core pieces grabbed the spotlight against the Cowboys.
Croskey-Merritt, perhaps the backfield’s 2026 lead option, had primary duties with Chris Rodriguez (illness) a late scratch. We’ve seen the seventh-rounder pop this season. Thursday’s work was more than that. Croskey-Merritt rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries and scored two touchdowns. Averaging 9.5 yards per carry means some highlight plays occurred.
Touchdown number one, a 10-yarder up the middle in the second quarter, was of modest length with extra effort. Actually, “Bill” constantly keeps his legs moving, one of the reasons he’s a constant threat to break a long run or, in this instance, shed tacklers.
The home run came after halftime.
Croskey-Merritt’s longest run of the season entering Thursday — 42 yards against the New York Giants in Week 1 — felt distant. Trailing 24-10 early in the third quarter, Croskey-Merritt attacked a lane on the right side, created by blocks from first-round tackle Josh Conerly Jr., guard/center Nick Allegretti and wide receiver Treylon Burks.
“I saw daylight,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I was like, this is my chance to show if it’s the open field, I can take it the distance.”
There have been ebbs and flows in his first NFL season. Croskey-Merritt had four touchdowns in his first five games, with two in a Week 5 road win against the Los Angeles Chargers and 150 scrimmage yards. As receiver injuries mounted and defenses clogged run lanes, his numbers dipped, and Rodriguez’s power game became featured.
Regardless, the energy and insatiable desire to please remained. Croskey-Merritt entered Week 17 leading the league in rushing success rate, a metric from Pro Football Reference that tracks yardage thresholds for each down.
Quinn said Croskey-Merritt spends his early mornings prepping for the upcoming game plan. On this short week, the rookie was the one answering blitz pick-up questions in the running back meetings.
“The sky is the limit for Bill,” Johnson said. “Bill can be as great as he wants to be.”
Newton’s upside remained in check for much of his nearly two seasons due to surgeries on both feet last year and playing behind Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw this campaign. With Payne (back) inactive, Newton used the extended reps to unleash his pass-rushing explosiveness.
“He prepares the right way. He goes about the game the right way for sure,” Kinlaw told LMS. “He’s got a lot of talent in his body. It was a good day to see it come out.”
Two of Newton’s sacks were solo efforts. His first-quarter takedown demonstrated perseverance as he fought through the fray with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott unable to find open receivers. Newton split sacks with Preston Smith and Bobby Wagner along the way to reach 5.5 on the season, tying Dorance Armstrong and Jacob Martin for second on the team.
The nine tackles — three solo — nearly equaled one-third of his season total (29) entering Thursday.
“Run or pass, I feel like with the film I watched, I had a great feeling of what they were doing the whole day,” Newton said.
Unlike the behemoths Payne and Kinlaw, Newton’s weight — 295 pounds — is on the lighter side for defensive tackles, but “when you watch him out there, he’s super explosive,” Kinlaw said. “He plays well with his hands, so the older he gets in this league, the more that’s gonna really play into his favor.”
Another lineman with Newton’s size also had one of Washington’s six sacks. Undrafted rookie Ricky Barber, elevated from the practice squad with Payne out, dropped Prescott in his NFL debut.
“Ricky’s been out there practicing his ass off, preparing the offense,” Kinlaw said. “Man, I’m super happy for those guys.”
Other kids made some noise. Second-year tight end Ben Sinnott, one candidate to replace injured free agent Zach Ertz next season, caught three passes for 29 yards. Athletic linebacker Jordan Magee had a tackle-for-loss and a pass deflection. Kicker Jake Moody, playing his fifth game since signing with Washington, made all three field-goal attempts, including a season-long 51-yarder. He is 9-of-9 with the Commanders.
Quinn chose a field goal on third-and-goal with 2:09 remaining to help preserve time before the two-minute warning. Dallas sealed the win with a pair of first downs, finishing with a staggering 87-41 play advantage. Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns. His 86-yard strike to KaVontae Turpin put the Cowboys up 21-3 before they entered halftime with a 24-10 lead.
Washington’s veterans also had their fun. Deebo Samuel delivered a physical, yards-after-the-catch performance the Commanders imagined when trading for the versatile receiver. Injuries to Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown changed Samuel’s role. Perhaps he took out frustrations in the first quarter when he trucked a Cowboys defensive back at the end of a 40-yard catch-and-run. Samuel finished with 93 scrimmage yards.
Von Miller recorded his team-high eighth sack, raising his career total to 137.5, tying Richard Dent and John Randle for 10th on the league’s all-time list. McLaurin caught five passes for 63 yards.
Now, let’s be clear: the men involved were not happy postgame, even if Croskey-Merritt and Newton helped make Washington’s future look a shade brighter. Johnson completed 15 of 23 passes for 198 yards without an interception and few “uh-oh” throws in his 10th career start and first since 2021. The ultimate journeyman said the loss is “going to sit on me for a couple of days.”
Quinn’s initial postgame comments focused on “winning time” moments his team fell short. Offensively, Washington settled for a 29-yard field goal despite Samuel’s long reception, creating a first-and-goal at the Dallas 6-yard line.
Trailing 27-20 midway through the fourth quarter, the defense allowed Dallas to wiggle out of a third-and-16 hole with a 14-yard completion and then a seven-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert on fourth down.
“Love the fight, but the execution just isn’t to our standard,” Quinn said.
He’s right, ideally. Habits learned today can carry over to next season. Considering the expected significant roster turnover, the better bet is on talent. Washington has numerous roster debates awaiting this offseason, but perhaps a few fewer, thanks to some kids growing up.