2024 REWIND – Week 12 – Special Teams debacles lead to Commanders stunning home loss to Cowboys

The 3rd straight loss was the low point of the 2024 regular season for the Washington Commanders

Every division game matters, but Cowboys fans seemed to have a sense of fatalism coming into this game, while Commanders fans seemed to be entering with a sense of positive inevitability despite consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in Weeks 10 and 11.

The Cowboys season was practically, if not mathematically, over, and the attention of the Dallas fan base had turned to who would be coaching the team next season, which veterans would be re-signed, and what should happen in the draft. Unfortunately for Commanders fans, the Cowboys players and coaches were still focused on trying to add wins to the team’s record.

Dallas entered with a record of 3-7 on a short week (having played on Monday night and traveled to Landover) with injuries piling up. The Commanders had a “mini-bye” following their Thursday night game, and were relatively healthy given that it was late-November. With a 7-4 record, the Commanders were all but assured of an NFC wildcard playoff berth barring a collapse in their final 6 games of the season. With one of the softest ‘strength of schedule’ paths remaining, one analyst estimated their chances of a playoff berth at 75% ahead of this game.

There was, of course, still the question of whether Washington could yet compete for the division crown. Beating Philly in Week 16 would be essential to achieve that goal, and the Commanders would need some help from at least two other teams beating the Eagles as well.

In short, this game was important to Washington. A home loss to the struggling Cowboys would be an embarrassment, and would extend the team’s losing streak to 3 games. While it wouldn’t necessarily end Washington’s chances for a wildcard seeding, such a loss would raise grave doubts about the Commanders’ legitimacy as a playoff team and would almost certainly eradicate any chance of winning the division and securing a home playoff game.

We know that, ultimately, the Commanders were the only team that would beat Philadelphia in the final 7 weeks of the regular season, and that Washington would win its final 5 games, but none of that would be enough to knock Philly out of the top spot in the NFC East.

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First Quarter

Commanders special teams gets an early win
The Commanders kicked off to Dallas; within two plays, the Cowboys had crossed midfield with a first down. After the 3rd play of the drive, the ‘Boys had another first down a the Washington 22-yard line. An offside penalty and a run picked up another first down before the Commanders finally made a play — Dorance Armstrong caught the running back for a loss to bring up 3rd & 5 from the 17-yard line.

An incomplete pass to Tolbert, covered by Michael Davis, forced a field goal attempt.

The next big play of the game was a beautiful kick block by Quan Martin. The loose ball was picked up and returned by Michael Davis, giving Washington’s offense the ball at the Dallas 40-yard line.

Commanders take the early lead
The drive opened inauspiciously as Brian Robinson was tackled for a loss and injured. He got to the bench under his own power and did not go to the locker room. After an incomplete pass by Jayden Daniels (a throwaway under pressure), it was 3rd & 2 at the 42-yard line.

On 3rd down, Daniels kept the ball himself on a called QB run, and blew through the line for a big gain and a first down at the Dallas 26-yard line.

On 3rd & 7 at the 23 yard line, Daniels missed Ertz on a pass attempt, bringing out Austin Seibert, the kicker who had missed the past two games with a hip injury, who drilled a 37-yard kick to open the scoring. Washington had the lead, 3-0.

Another Cowboys special teams failure
On 3rd & 4 at the 38-yard line, RB Rico Dowdle broke loose for a good run to pick up a Dallas first down at their 48-yard line. Three more plays earned two more 1st downs, and Dallas was in Washington territory at the 29-yard line.

Frankie Luvu knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage; then, a completion to Jonathan Mingo brought up 3rd & 1 near the 20-yard line. On the key 3rd down play, Dowdle was buried under a sea of burgundy jerseys for a 4-yard loss. Aubrey came out for another field goal attempt.

After his first FG had been blocked, his second attempt — a 41-yarder – bounced off the upright. Still no score for Dallas, and Washington took over for the Commanders second offensive drive of the game at the 32-yard line.

Commanders reciprocate with a missed field goal of their own
Brian Robinson in the meantime, had been x-rayed and found to be healthy. He carried the ball twice to get a first-down for Washington at their own 46-yard line.

On the next play, Dyami Brown got the ball on an end-around and took the ball all the way to the Dallas 40-yard line.

Kliff Kingsbury decided to stay with what was working by continuing to run. After two more runs, on 3rd & 2, Daniels passed to Noah Brown, but the pass bounced off of the receiver’s chest.

Seibert came out for a 51-yard field goal attempt that bent hard to the right and missed badly. The two kickers were now a combined 1 for 4 and the score remained 3-0.

In a mistake-filled first half, the Cowboys turn the ball over
The Cowboys took over with good field position at the Washington 40-yard line. Like the Commanders, Dallas ran the ball. At the end of the first run, Dowdle did not have the ball — Bobby Wagner did. After a pause for some video review, it was recorded as a takeaway and just that fast, the Commanders had the ball in Cowboy territory.

Commanders waste the opportunity as offense goes 3 & out
On first down, Daniels tried to hit Terry McLaurin inside the 5-yard line, but Terry couldn’t quite haul in the pass. A play later, it was 3rd & 7 as the first quarter came to an end.

Second Quarter

On the first play of the quarter, Daniels was under heavy pressure. He scrambled right and simply threw the ball away. With the ball on the Dallas 46-yard line, Tress Way came on to punt. A fair catch gave Dallas the ball a the 6-yard line.

Three straight punts
Dallas: On 3rd & 22, Luvu knocked down another pass at the line of scrimmage, forcing a punt with the ball on the 20-yard line.

Washington: Olamide Zaccheaus had a good return to give the offense good field position at the 42-yard line.

This time, the Commanders opened with a short pass, and then a false start penalty. A beautiful pass to Noah Brown for 13 yards gave the Commanders a 1st down at the Dallas 47-yard line.

An early snap caused a broken play that lost a yard; a short gain on 2nd down brought up 3rd & 9.

Daniels went deep to Noah Brown, but the ball was well defended inside the 5-yard line, bringing up 4th down and forcing Tress Way’s 2nd punt, which he put out of bounds at the 7-yard line — the Cowboys’ 2nd consecutive start deep in their own territory.

Dallas: A pair of runs brought up 3rd & 1. On the next play, Ezekiel Elliott was stuffed for a loss and a holding penalty was declined. The Cowboys had to punt from their own 17-yard line.

The Commanders special teams unit came up big again — this time with a blocked punt by Phidarian Mathis!

Washington took over in Cowboys territory at the 40-yard line.

Poor offense/good defense continues with Cowboys defensive INT
On 2nd & 10 an attempted screen pass by Jayden Daniels ended up in the hands of Cedric Golston — an interception! The Cowboys took over at the 50-yard line after the runback.

Each team punts again
Dallas: Luvu came up big again on the first play of the Dallas drive with a tackle for loss on a RB screen.

After a short pass to Cee Dee Lamb, it was 3rd & 9. On the key play, from the 49-yard line, Cee Dee Lamb was tackled by Ben St-Juste for just a 2-yard gain, bringing up 4th down and forcing the punt by Dallas.

This time, the punt got away cleanly and Zaccheaus made the fair catch at the 16-yard line. In an ugly, mistake filled game, Washington was holding on to a slender lead as the two-minute warning was called.

Washington: After the timeout, Noah Brown got a 1st down with a catch and run. Completions to McLaurin and Zaccheaus picked up another 1st down. Two Daniels carries — both run out of bounds to the right — brought up 3rd & 9 with 01:01 on the clock. Daniels ran to the right side and out of bounds for the third play in a row to bring up the 4th down punt with 00:56 on the clock. The ball was downed at the 14-yard line.

Cowboys tie the game
On the 2nd down play, things got wild with an Igbinoghene interception followed by a fumble on the return, all of which was wiped out by a pass interference penalty against Igbinoghene.

Cooper Rush, on the next play, hit Brooks for a 41-yard gain down the right sideline. With 00:07 on the clock, Aubrey came on the field to attempt a 41-yard field goal. He drilled it to tie the score 3-3.

The half came to an end with the Dallas kickoff.

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Third Quarter

Commanders score the game’s first touchdown
The 3rd quarter opened with a kickoff that landed short of the landing zone, giving Washington the ball at the 40-yard line to open the second half.

Two plays later, the Commander had a 1st down at midfield following a good reception by McLaurin in the middle of the field.

A run and a holding penalty brought up 2nd & 20 at the Washington 41-yard line. On 3rd & 17, Daniels hit Noah Brown for a 15 yard gain, and, facing 4th & 2, Dan Quinn elected to go for it from the 42-yard line. Daniels faked a handoff and kept the ball himself for 4 yard and a first down.

The first McNichols carry of the game went for another first down at the 26-yard line. For the first time today the Washington offense has appeared in sync.

Washington faced 3rd & 3 at the 17-yard line, and again Daniels kept the ball himself, and scampered around the left end for the first touchdown of the day — a 17-yard walk in touchdown.

Amazingly, Austin Seibert missed the extra point — both kickers were struggling — to leave the scoreboard at 9-3.

Dallas takes a 1-point lead
A pair of Dowdle runs earned a 1st down. A short pass & run by Tolbert, with a missed tackle, earned another. On the next play, Cooper Rush hit his tight end in the middle of the field for 17 yards to get the ball to the Washington 36-yard line. Two plays later, it was 3rd & 2 inside the 30-yard line. On the 3rd down play, Rush managed to draw the 2nd pass interference call against Noah Igbinoghene at the 3-yard line, setting up 1st & goal.

Trey Lance came in the game and was tackled for a loss by Dorance Armstrong on 1st down. Cooper Rush returned to the game and hit Tolbert in the end zone for a touchdown. With the PAT, Dallas had its first lead of the game, 10-9.

Five drives, five punts
Washington: Jayden Daniels badly overthrew an open Zach Ertz on 2nd down to bring up 3rd & 7. On an ugly 3rd down play, Daniels was unable to complete a pass.

The Cowboys had forced another punt. The coverage was excellent, and Turpin lost 2 yards on the return to give his offense the ball at their own 14-yard line.

Not only does Washington’s defense need to get another stop, but the Commanders offense needs to find some life. So far, they’ve been able to put together only one real scoring drive and have missed on a few key plays.

Dallas: The Cowboys continued with their emphasis on running the ball, with 8 yards gained by Dowdle on the drive’s first 2 plays to bring up 3rd & 2 at the 22-yard line. A holding call against the Cowboys negated what would have been a Cee Dee Lamb first down.

On 3rd & 12, Jalen Brooks was blasted by Jeremy Chinn, knocking the ball loose for an what was called an incomplete pass on the field. Dan Quinn threw the challenge flag, hoping to get the call changed to a fumble with Washington recovery.

He lost the challenge and Dallas punted. Washington took over at their own 45-yard line.

The Commanders defense had done its job and forced the punt. Now the offense needed to get on track.

It didn’t happen.

Washington: On 3rd & 7, Noah Brown was unable to make the reception, and Tress Way came on to punt again with the ball near midfield. With a 1-point lead, Cooper Rush and the Cowboys took over at their own 13-yard line.

Dallas: As time expired at the end of the third quarter, Cooper Rush completed a 10-yard pass to Cee Dee Lamb to give the Cowboys another first down at their own 23-yard line.

Fourth Quarter

In a game where the Commanders were double-digit favorites, they need big plays to stay in the game.

The final quarter opened with a bad snap. Rush fell on it for no loss. A roughing the passer call on the next play pushed the ball out to the 45-yard line with a first down.

A run by Ezekiel Elliott and an incomplete pass brought up 3rd & 9 at the 46-yard line.

With an important play coming up, Dallas used its first time out of the half. On the key play that followed, Rush tried to hit Brooks deep down the middle, but good defense by Mike Sainristil forced the incompletion and another Dallas punt. The defense continued to do its job. The offense needed to get going.

Washington: Jayden Daniels was working from deep in his own territory, with the punt downed at the Washington 5-yard line.

Two runs brought up 3rd & 4, but an incomplete pass attempt to Austin Ekeler when Daniels was under massive pressure ended the drive. This was just ugly.

Dallas scores again
Facing 3rd & 9 deep in Washington territory with 09:23 on the clock the crowd made a ton of noise. A pass was completed for 16 yards to Lamb, but the play was disallowed by an illegal formation call to force 3rd & 14. On the following play, the fullback caught a checkdown and took the ball to the 30-yard line, where Aubrey came on and drilled a 48-yard field goal.

Commanders offense turns the ball over again!
On the first play of the drive, Daniels completed a pass in the middle of the field to TE John Bates but a Dallas defender forced a fumble that Erik Kendricks recovered. Washington had given the ball to the Cowboys at their own 44-yard line. What a disaster!

Dallas scores to take an 11-point lead
In short order, the Cowboys pushed the ball into the red zone, but a false start penalty pushed the ball back to the Washington 24-yard line, 2nd & 8. After short run, it was 3rd & 6, and Cooper Rush hit a wide-open Luke Schoonmaker for a 22-yard touchdown on a totally busted defensive play by the Commanders.

Following the extra point, Dallas had an 11-point lead. The scoreboard read 20-9. This game has gone completely sideways for the home team.

The final 5min 16 sec of the game was as wild as any NFL game I can remember
Washington, needing a touchdown, opened the next offensive drive at the 31-yard line with 05:08 remaining. Jayden Daniels took to the air, and moved the ball handily. Noah Brown got the ball into Cowboys territory with a 19-yard gain to the Dallas 9-yard line, but Daniels took a sack on the next play.

On 2nd & 16, Daniels hit Dyami Brown for 20 yards in the middle of the field. This is the offense that had been missing all day. A Luke McCaffrey reception pushed the ball to the 17 yard line as the clock moved under 4 minutes.

On 1st & goal from the 19, McNichols had a 6-yard gain and got out of bounds. On 2nd down, Ertz caught a frozen-rope touchdown in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.

Of course, the Commanders went for the two point conversion. Unsurprisingly, Daniels kept the ball himself around the right end and walked in for the 2 points to make the score 20-17 with 03:02 remaining in the game. The Commanders had life!

Washington would need to kickoff to the Cowboys, get a defensive stop, and then a score to keep the game alive.

That didn’t happen.

Turpin takes the kickoff to the house!
On the kickoff, Turpin bobbled the ball around the goal line, and then picked it up and ran it 99 yards for a touchdown. In the blink of an eye, the score was 27-17, and it seemed that for all practical purposes, the game was over.

Appearances were deceiving, however, as the Commanders weren’t done scoring points.

Commanders kick a field goal to make it a one-score game
At the two minute warning, Washington faced 2nd & 10.

With 01:40 and the ball at the Dallas 33 yard line, Washington kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 7 points at 27-20.

The Commanders would still have to pull a rabbit out of the hat with an onside kick recovery.

No onside recovery, but the Washington defense held
The kickoff came with 01:40 on the clock. The ball was easily fielded by the Cowboys. With only 2 timeouts in hand, Dan Quinn would need a miracle to avoid the loss here. He nearly got it.

Cooper Rush kept the ball twice in an effort to burn the few remaining seconds off the clock and was tackled for a loss each time. On 3rd down with 01:27 remaining, Rush handed off to Dowdle for a short gain, and the Cowboys punt team came on the field.

Needing 7 points to tie the game, the Commanders score a touchdown!
The ball was punted with 39 seconds remaining. The return man, Olamide Zaccheaus, made the fair catch at the 14-yard line.

Jayden Daniels would have 33 seconds and no time outs to drive for a touchdown.

On 1st & 10, Daniels heaved a pass to Terry McLaurin, who caught the ball and wove through the defensive backfield to go 86 yards for an unbelievable touchdown to pull within a point at 27-26!!! In any other game, this would end up being the highlight of the game.

But the special teams nightmare hadn’t ended.

On the extra point attempt, Austin Seibert kicked the ball wide left, failing to tie the score!!!

The score was 27-26!

With 21 seconds left on the clock, the Commanders would need to attempt yet another onside kick.

The second Dallas kickoff return for a touchdown in the quarter
In a game defined by special teams gaffes, the Cowboys recovered the onside kick and Thomas ran it back for a touchdown! Insane!

Aubrey hit the extra point, and, with a 41-point 4th quarter explosion of crazy scoring, it was 34-26 with 14 seconds left on the clock.

It was actually just an 8-point lead, so the Commanders still had life, albeit not much. Ekeler returned the kickoff to the 36-yard line, but was injured on the play and had to be helped off the field.

Jayden Daniels would have 9 seconds to perform one more miracle on offense.

No miracle today
On the final play of the game from the Washington 42-yard line, Daniels threw the second Hail Mary pass of his short NFL career, but this prayer was not answered for the Commanders. The Cowboys intercepted the pass and it was all over.

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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