LANDOVER, Md. — At the start of the fourth quarter, the Washington Commanders were averaging 8.8 yards per play.
It doesn’t matter what you think of the Cowboys’ defense or their continued second-half offensive woes, that’s still way too much production for a Commanders team that started 39-year-old quarterback Josh Johnson.
Despite this, the Cowboys were somehow able to hold off the Commanders and defeat their long-time NFC East rivals 30-23 on Christmas Day at Northwest Stadium.
The Thursday afternoon contest was the first of a tripleheader of NFL football and a long day and night of NBA games.
Cowboys
The Cowboys improved to 3-3 on Christmas Day. They are now 7-8-1 and need to beat the woeful New York Giants in the regular-season finale to hit .500.
“We talk about relentless play style, and we talk about that all week on a short week because we knew we couldn’t get pads popping during the week,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “We knew we had to play a physical game.”
Here are our five thoughts on Cowboys-Commanders:
Success against the NFC East
Even though the Cowboys missed out on winning the NFC East – the Eagles took care of that – they continue to dominate the division. The Cowboys moved to 4-1 in the division this season and conclude the season at the Giants (2-13). The Cowboys are 22-7 against the NFC East the last five seasons. Kansas City (21) has the second-most wins within its division (AFC West) over that span.
Game 2 with Eberflus in the box
In his second game in the coach’s box, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus saw his defense struggle. Edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney had 1 1/2 sacks to go with four tackles and three quarterback hits. He was the lone bright spot. The Commanders scored on a 72-yard touchdown run, one of five plays that went for 25 or more yards. Quarterback Josh Johnson, in his first start since 2021, wasn’t intercepted and completed 15 of 23 passes for 198 yards. Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, 72 yards of that total came on one play. The other positives: cornerbacks Reddy Steward and Shavon Revel each had a pass breakup.
6 for 6 on fourth down
Would you say Schottenheimer likes to gamble? Well, on Christmas Day, the Cowboys went 6 for 6 on fourth-down attempts in their victory. Some of the fourth-down conversions were set up by the plays on third down. In the fourth quarter, fullback Hunter Luepke caught a 14-yard pass, carrying defenders with him on a third-and-16. So on fourth-and-2, the Cowboys went for it, and Dak Prescott connected on a 7-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert, who got playing time with Ryan Flournoy out with a knee injury. The fourth-down conversion eventually led the Cowboys to a key 51-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey with 3:59 remaining that gave them a 30-20 lead.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Cowboys’ six fourth-down conversions are the most in the franchise’s past 45 seasons.
Aubrey misses again in Landover
What is it about kicker Brandon Aubrey and Northwest Stadium? Aubrey went 3 for 4 on field goal attempts on Thursday. Aubrey was wide right on a 58-yarder.
Aubrey is one of the best kickers in the NFL, but at the Commanders’ stadium he’s a little off. He’s 6 for 11 on field goal attempts in his three seasons at Northwest Stadium. In his rookie season, Aubrey went 1 for 3 on field goal tries and in 2022 converted 2 of 4 attempts. The miss Thursday pushed Aubrey to 8 of 12 on the year on kicks between 50-59 yards.
Tolbert responds
The Cowboys’ No. 3 receiver is now Ryan Flournoy. But with Flournoy missing Thursday’s game with a knee injury, Jalen Tolbert returned to the lineup and caught four passes for 31 yards. He made a 14-yard reception on a third-and-4 late in the first half to keep a drive alive. Tolbert was targeted eight times, second most in the game behind CeeDee Lamb.
Coming into the season, Tolbert was the No. 3 wideout, but his struggles and the emergence of Flournoy have made him a healthy scratch. He missed the last three games as Flournoy got more snaps in the offense.
Last season, Tolbert caught a career-high 49 passes for 610 yards with seven touchdowns, also a career high. But he has just 18 catches for 203 yards and one touchdown this season. That’s his lowest output since he caught two passes for 12 yards in eight games as a rookie.
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