The Washington Commanders had one of the year’s most unlikely, fortunate victories earlier in the season. They may have suffered an even more unfortunate defeat on Sunday, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 34-26.
Although there were several clever moves throughout the game, the most bizarre plays of the day were reserved for the very last minute.
With 33 seconds remaining and no timeouts, the Commanders first took possession of the ball on their own 14-yard line after falling behind 27–20. The score was 27-26 when Jayden Daniels found Terry McLaurin for an 86-yard catch-and-run on the first play of the drive.
In some ways, it was the second time this season that Washington scored an unexpected touchdown in the closing seconds of a close game, evoking the Hail Mary in Daniels’ 18–15 victory over the Chicago Bears in late October.
However, in order to tie the game on Sunday, the Commanders still required an additional point. However, kicker Austin Seibert went wide left after punter Tress Way botched a snap, his second missed PAT of the day, keeping the Cowboys ahead 27-26.
Then Dallas recovered on the subsequent onside kick. However, Juanyeh Thomas returned the kick for a touchdown rather than going down on the ball and ending the game.
Daniels and the Commanders had one last possession as a result, but this time his effort at a Hail Mary was intercepted before it reached the end zone.
The last minute was a miniature version of a chaotic situation. For the first time in NFL history, the two teams combined for two missed extra points, two kick return touchdowns, a blocked field goal, a blocked punt, and two more missed field goals in a single game.
KaVontae Turpin botched the kickoff inside his own five before launching a spin move that broke him free for a touchdown, making the Cowboys’ first kick return touchdown alone one of the season’s more strange moments.
Few anticipated that the game would be so close, much less so exciting.
Dallas had only scored 16 points in their previous two games combined going into the contest, and they were on a five-game losing streak. On the other hand, quarterback Cooper Rush had his greatest performance of the year, completing 24 of 32 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, his first two-touchdown performance of the year.
With the victory, the Cowboys moved up to 4-7.
The Commanders, on the other hand, have dropped to 7-5 after losing three straight after starting 7-2.
“We didn’t give it our all. After the game, McLaurin stated, “We didn’t play complementary football.” It will come down to four quarters while you’re playing division games. Before the game, we were aware of that. We didn’t undervalue them in the least. We had to figure out how to start and maintain drives more quickly. That includes all of the offensive players and coaching staff.
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