Commanders Eek Out Win in Rematch with the Cowboys in Last Second Thriller
With postseason seeding on the line for the Washington Commanders, it was interesting to see how they would play this game in reference to resting players to avoid injuries for the playoffs. Star cornerback Marshon Lattimore remained inactive, nursing a hamstring issue in hopes of coming back 100% for the upcoming playoff games. Lattimore has only played in two games for the Commanders since he was acquired via trade earlier in the season, so his full impact has yet to be seen. Heading into Week 18, Cooper Rush had played 52.5% of the snaps for the Cowboys this season. There is an incentive in Rush’s contract that stipulates if Rush played 55% or more of the snaps for the Cowboys this year, he would be paid an additional $500,000. While it is purely speculative whether the incentive played a part in the decision or not, Rush was sat for the Cowboys’ final game of the year in place of third-string quarterback Trey Lance. Lance made only his fifth career start since being selected number three overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
In a lackluster first half, the Dallas Cowboys entered the locker room with a measly 6-3 lead over the Washington Commanders. The second half completely made up for the dull beginning, as it was back and forth after every drive. The first true rest came for Jayden Daniels, who sat out the second half after a pretty underwhelming opening half. Daniels completed six of 12 passes for 38 passing yards and 27 rushing yards on four carries on the ground with no touchdowns or turnovers before veteran Marcus Mariota took over in the latter half. Mariota came into the game on fire, scoring two touchdowns on his first two drives. Mariota finished 15 of 18 with 161 yards passing and 56 yards rushing on five carries. He ran for a touchdown and threw for two, one of which was a go-ahead five-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with three seconds left on the clock. With that game-winning catch, McLaurin secured the Washington Commanders single-season receiving touchdown record with 13.
In yet another crushing loss for the Cowboys, Lance had an incredibly inconsistent showing, going 20 of 34 with 244 passing yards and 26 rushing yards on six carries. He finished with no touchdowns or turnovers and moved to 2-3 as a starter. Rico Dowdle fell 28 yards short of reaching 100 but did punch it in once on 22 carries. Brandon Aubrey continued to be the Cowboys MVP of the season, going four for four on field goal attempts, with the longest being 41 yards and knocking his one extra point attempt through. Those efforts came up short in a last-second 23-19 loss, ending the Cowboys season at 7-10 while the Commanders hit 12 wins and await the afternoon slate to find out where they travel for postseason play.
