Commanders injuries and inactives
With Daniels and Mariota both out, Josh Johnson gets his first start for Washington since 2018. With Chris Rodriguez inactive, we should get a heavy dose of Bill Croskey-Merritt at running back. Laremy Tunsil’s absence should mean plenty of action at left tackle for Brandon Coleman.
In the first half, the Cowboys scored 3 touchdowns on their first three possessions, then added a field goal on their 4th and final possession of the half to put up 289 yards and 24 points.
Washington’s defense showed up in the third quarter, and the Commanders out-scored the Cowboys 10-3 to reach the 4th quarter trailing 27-20.
The Cowboys burned 7:33 on a 52-yard drive that ended with a field goal to open up a 10-point lead with just 4 minutes remaining. Washington played well on both sides of the ball in the second half, but not enough to take the lead. The final score was DAL 30 – WAS 23.
Fans hoping for the best draft position will be pleased by the outcome. Other fans will feel the frustration continue to build.
Washington won the toss and deferred. The Cowboys offense got the ball first and looked like they’d gone 3 & out, but a defensive pass interference call against Noah Igbinoghene on 3rd down extended the drive.
A pair of Javonte Williams runs and an incompletion brought up 4th & 1, which the Cowboys converted on a Williams run up the middle to the DAL 48-yard line.
Malik Davis had a big run for 21 yards, but Dak Prescott was 0 for 4 on the drive through 10 plays. His first completion was to Pickens, who took the ball to the Washington 7 yard line on a 19-yard catch & run.
The touchdown came on a good pass to TE Jake Ferguson with 9:42 in the quarter. 7-0 Cowboys lead.
Josh Johnson, getting his first start since 2021, and his first start for Washington since 2018, led the Washington offense onto the field for their first drive of the game.
Trey Burks had a nice route and run after catch to get the initial 1st down for the Commanders. McLaurin got the second one at the DAL 47-yard line.
Deebo had a great catch & 41-yard run to the DAL 7-yard line, blasting the helmet off a Dallas tackler.
After a pair of runs by Bill Merritt, on 3rd & goal from the 3 yard line, Josh Johnson was sacked for a loss of 8 yards.
Dan Quinn settled for a 29-yard field goal by Jake Moody to make the score 7-3, Dallas in the lead with under 5 minutes remaining in the 1st quarter. Some nice plays, but a less than ideal finish to the drive, which covered 65 yards in 8 plays.
On their second offensive drive, a personal foul against Dallas moved the ball backwards 15 yards after the initial first down.
A defensive pass interference flag against Jonathan Jones gave the Dallas offense a fresh set of downs at the DAL 41 yard line, but Johnny Newton, who needs a good game, sacked Dak Prescott on the subsequent play. On 2nd & 18, Malik Davis gashed Washington for 16 yards on a draw play.
Dallas got stuffed on 3rd down, so Shottenheimer kept his offense on the field on 4th & 1; it was a good decision, as Dak hit Pickens for a 19-yard catch and run over the middle.
The quarter ended with a short run by Javontae Williams on 2nd & 3.
Dallas had the ball 3rd & 2 at the WAS 23 yard line to open the 2nd quarter.
Mikey Sainristil did a great job to break up the touchdown pass in the end zone.
On 4th & 2, Dallas offense stayed on the field. Dak completed a short pass to Jalen Tolbert (defended by Sainristil) to keep the drive alive.
On 3rd & 1 at the 10-yard line, Davis was stopped a yard short. Shottenheimer kept his team on the field yet again on another 4th down. Javontae Williams broke 3 tackles to earn the needed yard. 1st & goal from the 9-yard line.
On a 2nd down pass to the end zone, a flag was thrown, against Jeremy Reaves which was an utter bullshit call.
On the next play, Williams ran the ball into the end zone for a 4-yard TD. 14-3, Cowboys lead.
The drive covered 65 yards in 17 plays and included three 4th down conversions.
There was a big 27-yard pass play to Deebo Samuel, but it was hard to notice because the Netflix broadcast spent the entire Commanders offensive drive interviewing Emmit Smith instead of calling the game!
The drive stalled at the Dallas 43 yard line.
Tress Way’s punt was downed at the 3, mercifully signalling the end of the Emmit Smith middle-of-the-game interview. What a shit show from Netflix!
With 97 yards of green grass in front of the Cowboys, they move it out to the 15 yard line in 2 plays.
They finish the drive with an 86-yard pass to KaVontae Turpin, who catches the ball behind everyone on 3rd & 11.
Washington’s defense has forced four 4th downs, but has done very little else that makes it look like they belong on the field with the Dallas offense. 21-3, Dallas leads with exactly 7 minutes left in the first half.
A bad kick by the Cowboys gave Washington the ball at the 40-yard line to start the 3rd offensive drive of the day.
Deebo Samuel, who is having a great first half, ran for 29-yards on the first play of the drive.
Deebo has 97 yards from scrimmage on 3 touches so far.
With the ball at the 31-yard line, the ‘Boys were flagged for a horse collar tackle on 2nd & 10. Center Tyler Biadasz was shaken up on the play and had to be helped off the field. He was replaced by Allegretti, with Wylie moving to guard. Commanders ball at the 16-yard line, 1st & 10.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 8, Johnson targeted Deebo Samuel in the middle of the field and drew a good flag for DPI. 1st & goal at the 10-yard line.
With 3 receivers outside the numbers on the right, Bill Croskey-Merritt took the handoff straight up the middle for an easy TD.
With 4 1/2 minutes left in the half, the score is DAL 21 – WAS 10.
After 2 runs, on 3rd & 5 at the 32-yard-line, Prescott was under heavy blitz pressure. He pulled back the pass, scrambled and earned 12 yards.
After a penalty and a run, the Cowboys hit the 2-minute warning facing 2nd & 10 at the DAL 39-yard-line.
After the time out, Dak scrambled for 6 yards to bring up 3rd & 4. On the 3rd down play, Dak hit Jalen Tolbert in the middle of the field for 14 yards and a 1st down.
A few plays later, on 3rd & 5 a the WAS 20-yard line with 27 seconds on the clock, Dak Prescott was smothered by Preston Smith and Johnny Newton for a much-needed sack.
Aubrey’s 42-yard field goal was good. DAL 24 – WAS 10.
Washington’s offense took the field for the final possession of the half with just 19 ticks on the clock.
The possession went nowhere and the half ended.
The Commanders will get the ball to open the 2nd half.
Washington’s offense didn’t look too bad on its 3 possessions (not counting the 19-second drive at the end of the half), but the defense simply couldn’t stop the Cowboys. The Commanders need to score a TD on the opening possession, and then the burgundy & gold defense needs to get a stop if Washington hopes to get back in this game in the third quarter.
Croskey-Merritt, who averaged 2.6 ypc in the first half, got stuffed. Following a short scramble and an incomplete pass aimed at Ben Sinnott in the middle of the field, the Commanders punted from their own 40-yard line. Not good.
If Dallas scores here, it will be very bad. After a good punt by Pro Bowl punter Tress Way, they start at their own 12-yard line. On 2nd down, Johnny Newton got home for a sack on Dak Prescott to force 3rd & 8. FB Hunter Luepke got the needed yards, running tough to the 17-yard line.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 3, George Pickens caught the ball for the needed yards, but got called for offensive pass interference. Replay 3rd down. On 3rd & 13, Dak missed Pickens in the middle of the field to force the punt. The first stop by the Commanders defense today.
With Jaylin Lane out, River Cracraft, who was elevated from the practice squad for this game, lined up to field the punt. After a fair catch and a blocking penalty, the Commanders took over at their own 28-yard line.
Netflix decided to compound their earlier mistake by interviewing Clinton Portis during this Commanders drive.
The drive lasted only one play — Bill Croskey Merritt went 72 yards off of right tackle for a fantastic touchdown!! Clinton couldn’t even answer the first question!
After the PAT, the score stood at 24-17, Dallas lead with 9 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
After a penalty on the return, the Cowboys start at their own 12-yard line. The defense needs to step up again.
It starts badly with Pickens gaining 19 yards on a catch and run on the left sideline.
It gets better when Bobby Wagner blitzes and sacks Dak Prescott on the 2nd play of the drive.
On 3rd & 8 at the 34 yard line, Dak found a wide-open CeeDee Lamb 15-yards downfield; he added another 9 yards after the catch to put the ball in Washington territory at the 42-yard line.
Clinton Portis is being interviewed throughout the Dallas drive. I hate Netflix football coverage.
On 3rd & 9 at the 41-yard line, the Commanders rush 4 and Von Miller sacked him, BUT Frankie Luvu got flagged for hitting Dak Prescott as he got back up. A really horrible penalty.
Two plays later, on 3rd & 8, Dak runs Jalen Tolbert out of bounds for an incomplete pass.
Brandon Aubrey comes on to kick a 52-yard field goal that was created by the bad flag on Luvu. 27-17, Dallas leads with under 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Josh Johnson extended a couple of plays, but on 3rd & 10 at the 35-yard line, he threw a dart to Terry McLaurin on the left sideline covered by two defenders for 16-yards. Great play.
On the next play, Bill lined up at wildcat and tossed the ball to Trey Burks who did well to basically get back to the line of scrimmage. On the next play, Chris Moore not only caught a 15-yard pass, but also drew a sketchy facemask penalty to put the ball at the DAL 19-yard line.
On the 1st down play, Bill had an impressive run that went for 13 yards to the Dallas 6. After an unimpressive 1st half, Bill has been piling up the yards in the 3rd quarter.
A short run by Bill (1 yard) and an incomplete pass over Bill’s head brought up 3rd & goal at the 5 yard line.
On 3rd down, Johnson threw the pass to wide for Trey Burks on the right side of the end zone.
DQ sent out Jake Moody for the chip shot field goal, which he squeezed just inside the left upright. It’s a one-score game again: DAL 27-WAS 20 with 10 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.
Quinn will rely on his defense to get another stop.
The two teams have combined for a touchdown and two field goals on the last 3 offensive drives and have put up a total of 634 yards of offense in three quarters of play.
The quarter ended with a short run by Malik Davis.
The Cowboys faced 2nd & 8 at the 26-yard line to open the final stanza.
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford goes for 31 yards on the first play of the quarter. D’oh!
Jeremy Reaves made a beautiful breakup (full extension) while guarding CeeDee Lamb downfield on the next play.
On 3rd & 7, Prescott extended the play but missed Lamb low to force 4th & 7.
Aubrey came out for a 58-7ard kick that went WAY wide right.
Washington will get good field position at the 48-yard line with 13 1/2 minutes left and trailing by 7 points.
Bill opens the drive with his 10th carry of the day (105 rush yards; 2 TDs) going for 9 yards.
He ran the ball again on 2nd down but got hammered at the line of scrimmage to bring up 3rd & a long 1.Jeremy McNichols lost a yard on 3rd down.Facing 4th & 3, Coleman was flagged for a false start.
Tress Way out to punt. DQ will rely on the defense and field position with over 11 minutes remaining. Dallas will start at the 15 yard line after another good punt by the Commanders MVP.
With Javontae Williams out, Malik Davis is getting all the carries for Dallas.
After a pre-snap penalty, a short completion, and a good run, the Cowboys earn a first down at the 25-yard line.
The Cowboys stick with the run game and may be eying the clock, thinking that a long-ish drive that ends with a field goal might be enough to ice the game. Jalyn Holmes was shaken up on the play and went to the blue tent.
On 3rd & 1 near the 35-yard line, Dak ran the QB sneak to earn the fresh set of downs.
On the next play, rookie DL Ricky Barber chased down Dak Prescott for Washington’s 6th sack of the day 938 yards lost).
After an incomplete pass, on 3rd & 16 at the 31-yard line, Dak has all day to find Hunter Leupke for a 14-yard gain on tough running by the fullback.
On 4th & 2, Prescott found Tolbert on the right side of the field for 7 yards and a 1st down with just 6 minutes left to play and the ball in Washington territory.
After a penalty, the Cowboys are in field goal range at the 39-yard line with under 5 minutes to play.
On 2nd down, Jordan Magee ALMOST had an interception, which would have been a pick-6, but it ended up as a simple incompletion.
On 3rd & 8, a short run leads to 4th & 5 and another field goal attempt.
Aubrey nailed the 42-yard kick to open a 10-point lead, 30-20 with 4 minutes left on the clock.
It looks pretty grim for the Commanders right now. They need to score twice to tie or take the lead.
Third-string QB Josh Johnson will need to pull off a miracle.
Running a fast-paced no huddle, he completes two quick passes to get the ball into Dallas territory.
Receptions by McNichols and Sinnott push the ball to the DAL 32 yard line, 1st & 10 with 2 1/2 minutes left to play. So far, 4 passes, 4 completions for 40 yards on this drive against soft coverage by the Cowboys defense, who have one eye on the clock.
Needing 2 scores, DQ decides to kick the field goal here. The attempt is 51 yards. Moody nails it!
With three time outs in hand, Quinn eschews the onside kick and sends his defense out to stop the Cowboys and get the ball back for the Washington offense.
Dallas starts at their own 27-yard line with 2:04 on the clock.
After the 2-minute warning, Dallas faces 2nd & 4 at their own 33 yard line. A few good runs can end the game.
On 3rd & 1, with 1:53 on the clock, Washington HAS to get the stop. Dallas runs a play action pass that works beautifully; Prescott hits George Pickens for a 21-yard catch & run. 1st & 10 at the WAS 43-yard line with 1:42 left in the game.
After another run by Malik Davis, DQ uses his final time out with 1:38 on the clock. The chances for a win are now slim & none.
Leupke is inches short on the 3rd down play.
On 4th & inches, Prescott ended the game by earning a first down as the clock hit 00:00.
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