Marcus Mariota came on in relief of Jayden Daniels to lead the team to a win for the second time in the ‘24 season

The Commanders and Cowboys were living out the 2024 seasons that had been imagined in the ‘24 offseason and preseason — one team was looking to reach its 12th win in the final week while the other was stumbling towards the finish line of a difficult season with a losing record already locked in. But somehow it was the Commanders looking for their 12th win while Cowboys fans worried about draft position and impending coaching changes.

What was surprising was how fortunes had changed since preseason. The Cowboys had been expected by most NFL observers to have had a good chance to achieve their 4th consecutive 12-win season, and — stop me if you’ve heard this before — some media members expected them to contend for a super bowl berth. Instead, Dallas stumbled out of the gate, opening with a 3-5 record even before starting QB Dak Prescott was lost for the season. Instead, it was the Commanders, who had had a pre-season win total over/under of 6.5, that had found ways to win and who had already locked up a playoff spot.

The Cowboys had little left to play for but pride, and that had not been enough to avoid a 41-7 thrashing at the hands of the Eagles in Philly in Week 17, despite the fact that the Dallas offense opened the game showing a bit of life.

With an NFC playoff berth already guaranteed, some might feel that the Commanders also had little to play for; however, a loss to the Cowboys would possibly see Washington fall from the 6th seed to the 7th seed in the NFC playoff bracket. The opportunity to complete a 12-win regular season for the first time since Washington’s last super bowl season might also be seen as a worthy milestone by many. Still, some observers were questioning whether the team might prioritize getting players healthy for the playoffs — that is, until head coach Dan Quinn made his thoughts on the matter clear:

“We’re going to go after it as hard as we can. I think the seeding portion of this is really important, and that’s what we discussed as a team. We thought last night — the vibe was awesome at the game — we thought we left some plays out there. And so, for us, that leveling up as we’re heading into this week with Dallas would be really important. But we recognize having a sixth seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing. So, we’re going to fight like hell to keep that.”

The Commanders had a lot to clean up to get into playoff form. They suffered 5 turnovers in the victory over the Eagles two weeks earlier and had been flagged 13 times for 108 yards in the Week 17 overtime win vs the Falcons.

Dan Quinn and the Commanders players were seeking to eliminate these self-inflicted wounds against the Cowboys, and I think it’s fair to say that they wanted to win convincingly to prove a couple of points. They would, of course, want to build confidence and momentum heading into Wildcard Weekend and a game against either the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles or the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

But they were also be keen to make amends for what had been the team’s worst showing of the ‘24 season when they were soundly beaten in Landover by the Cowboys, who were, at the time, riding a 5-game losing streak.

The Cowboys had played fairly well since that Week 12 game despite significant injuries. Starting with the road upset of the Commanders, the Cowboys had put together a 4-2 record over the past six games, losing only to the Bengals and Eagles on the road.

Washington, for its part, had won 4 straight games since that Week 12 embarrassment at home vs Dallas, and, while they would be missing a few key players due to injury, RB Austin Ekeler, one of the most productive offensive players of the season, returned for this game after spending 5 weeks on IR due to a concussion.

Washington had scored 30 or more points seven times, including three times in the last four games, and was one of only three teams to score on more than half of its drives this season.

The Commanders statistical performance seemed to belie the on the-field performance of individual players and collective units. That is, the team had good offensive and defensive rankings despite obvious issues on the field. The reason for this was the team’s mistake eraser, Jayden Daniels.

By way of example, the Commanders had the 3rd ranked rushing offense in the NFL through 17 weeks. One would expect that Washington’s running backs would have elite production, yet this is what they’d accomplished:

With less than 1,600 yards, the running backs should have ranked in the bottom third of the league in rushing production, but the team’s leading rusher was not a running back, but the team’s starting quarterback. Jayden Daniels had rushed for 864 yards at an average of 6.0 yards per carry through 17 weeks.

With his mobility, Daniels made the offensive line look better.

With his athleticism and ability to diagnose defensive schemes, Daniels had led the team to success on 19 of 22 fourth-down attempts to date — leading the league. This ability to extend drives meant that Washington ranked 7th in the NFL (30:57) in time of possession — and 4th over the previous 3 games (32:55 excluding OT), which was helping the Commanders defense.

Daniels’ processing, mobility and accuracy created opportunities for his receivers. Terry McLaurin had achieved another 1,000 yard+ season, and had a career-best 12 TDs with this Week 18 game still to play. But other players had benefited as well. Noah Brown, in 11 games before an injury put him onto IR, had 453 yards. Olamide Zaccheaus led the team in receptions and yards in recent weeks, with 13 catches for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns in the prior two games. Zach Ertz, at age 34, was on track for his second-best season since 2019 with 610 yards and 6 touchdowns in 16 games.

Unfortunately, getting the wins against the Eagles and Falcons in the previous two weeks had required Jayden Daniels to put on his Superman cape in both games.

• He averaged just over 240 passing yards and 4 TDs per game while rushing for over 100 yards per game.
• On 3rd & 4th downs in the Atlanta game, Daniels was 9-for-12, had picked up 10 first downs, and thrown three touchdowns.
• In the overtime period on Sunday Night Football against Atlanta a week earlier, Washington’s scoring drive covered 70 yards in 12 plays. Jayden Daniels rushed or passed for 69 of those 70 yards, and was so exhausted that Dan Quinn called timeout prior to the final play of the game just to let him catch his breath.

While every Washington fan reveled in JD5’s accomplishments, this reliance on one player to make everyone else right felt like an unsustainable model for a playoff contender. Washington doesn’t need to win this game to get in the playoffs, but they needed to play well and win decisively to set the stage for a successful playoff campaign.

That’s not what actually happened.

The game would ultimately be won despite Daniels having what was probably his worst day as an NFL player. He was pulled from the game at halftime, replaced by backup QB Marcus Mariota, who led the team to victory. Daniels would ultimately play well in the playoffs, erasing any doubt that his struggles in Week 18 might otherwise have raised. This victory over the Cowboys came more despite Daniels’ play than because of it.

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First Quarter

Commanders offense goes 3 & out
Washington started badly with Jayden Daniels taking a sack to start the game — Micah Parsons got credit for the takedown.

Second down went better, with Zach Ertz going for 11 yards to bring up 3rd & 3. On the key play, Daniels was blitzed and sacked by Micah Parsons for the second time in 3 plays, this time for a loss of 9 yards to force the punt.

On the return, Turpin went right, then left, but penalty flags flew. The Cowboys ended up at their own 8-yard line to start their first drive of the game, with Trey Lance at quarterback. His first start with Dallas.

Cowboys draw first blood
Following two Dowdle runs, it was 3rd & 1 at the 17 yard line. On the money down, a pre-snap false start pushed the Cowboys back to 3rd & 6. On the second attempt, Lance hit Jalen Tolbert downfield for 31 yards. This is not how this game was supposed to start.

On the next play, Lance hits Turpin wide open in the middle of the field, who catches and runs for a total gain of 33 yards. This is totally one-sided so far.

Following an ineligible receiver downfield penalty, with 15 yards to go for a first down, Dallas earned 12 yards to bring up 3rd & 3. On the third down play, Frankie Luvu dropped what should have been an interception at the 10-yard line.

The ball hit the ground and Dallas brought Brandon Aubrey on for the 34-yard field goal, which he drove right between the uprights. 3-0 Cowboys. The scoring drive covered 76 yards in 8 plays.

Washington badly needs to get the offense on track.

Four consecutive punts for the two offenses
Washington: Following a run & a pass, it was 3rd & 1 at the 39-yard line. On 3rd down, Daniels took the ball right on a zone read for 7 yards and Washington’s initial 1st down of the game.

TE John Bates got called for holding on the next play, bringing up 1st & 20 at the 36-yard line. Following a short pass and an incompletion just beyond Terry McLaurin’s reach, Washington faced 3rd & 15.

On the 3rd down play, Daniels suffered his third sack of the game by stepping out of bounds for a 4-yard loss instead of throwing the ball away,

Tress Way’s second punt was downed at the Dallas 10-yard line with about 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter.

Dallas: An immediate false start again gives Dallas a 1st & 15 at its own 5-yard line.

After two plays, the Cowboys faced 3rd & 10 at the 10-yard line. On 3rd down, Lance completed a 7-yard pass to Turpin. The Commanders defense had forced a 3 & out.

Three sacks and a penalty in two offensive drives have kept the Commanders in check. Kingsbury needs to come up with something a little different here. Daniels is 3-4 for 22 yards on his actual passes, so if he gets some protection, he should be okay.

But…not on first down.

Commanders: Daniels threw a ball quite high to McLaurin on the left sideline, but Terry couldn’t pull it in. Daniels ran the ball on a busted play on 2nd down, gaining 5 yards.

On 3rd & 5, Daniels again hit Terry in the hands but a bit too far from his body to be called a drop. Incomplete — 4th down. Another 3 & out for the Commanders. They look flat. Real flat.

Cowboys: Following a short scramble by Lance and a pass to Tolbert, the Cowboys faced 3rd & 1 at the 28-yard line. They converted it easily, as fullback Hunter Luepke took the ball for 10 yards.

On the fresh series, a loss of 5 yards on an end around was followed by a gain of 5 to bring up 3rd & 10 as the first quarter came to an end.

Dallas gained 116 yards in the first quarter; Washington gained 20. Dallas has 84 passing yards to 5 for Washington, and 32 rushing yards vs 15 for Washington. Jayden Daniels is the team’s leading rusher, with 12 yards on two carries. Brian Robinson has one carry for 3 yards.

Second Quarter

Washington opened the quarter by forcing a 3 & out with an incomplete pass to bring out the Cowboys punter.

TURNOVER on a muffed punt
On the punt reception, Luke McCaffrey ran into Jamison Crowder, forcing the return man to muff the punt. Dallas jumped on the loose ball, giving it back to Trey Lance at the Washington 22-yard line. Disastrous!

Cowboys add to their lead
Two plays later, following an 8-yard sack by Jeremy Chinn, the Cowboys faced 3rd & 15, which they couldn’t convert.

Brandon Aubrey came out for the field goal attempt. He hit the 41-yared kick to make the score 6-0. The scoring drive lasted 3 plays and covered -1 yard.

Washington & Dallas trade punts again
Commanders: Things started well with an 11-yard catch and run by Dyami Brown on a screen to the left side of the field.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 10 at the 36-yard line following a 1-yard sack on Daniels on 2nd down, but Daniels’ 3rd down pass went through Olamide Zaccheaus’ hands at the right sideline to bring Tress Way back onto the field for his 4th punt of the day.

Cowboys: Dallas earned a first down, followed by a false start to bring up 1st & 15 at the Dallas 31-yard line.

Two plays later, Dallas faced 3rd & 18; on the 3rd down play, Lance threw incomplete a yard or two out of bounds, aiming for Turpin. The Commanders have forced a punt.

The Commanders finally score
Washington took over on their own 37-yard line with 07:39 on the clock following a 23-yard return by Crowder.

They started with a quick first down followed by an incompletion thrown way downfield to OZ who was double-covered on the right sideline. Another incomplete pass to Dyami Brown, who got his hands on the ball about 30-yards downfield but well-defended by Lewis, forced 3rd & 10.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. On 3rd & 10, Jayden Daniels scrambled up the middle and then out of bounds on the right sideline for a 16-yard gain.

The next play was a trick play that ALMOST worked. Dyami Brown took a toss and threw to the end zone where Zaccheaus was wide open but couldn’t pull the ball in.

On 3rd & 2, Dyami Brown got his 3rd consecutive touch on a screen pass right, but was tackled for no gain to force 4th & 2 at the 28 yard line.

Zane Gonzalez came on for a 47-yard field goal to put 3 points on the board. With 04:40 remaining in the half, it’s 6-3 Cowboys. The scoring drive, which should have ended in a touchdown pass from Brown to Zaccheaus, lasted 9 plays and covered 34 yards.

Dallas puts together a 15-play drive, but fails to score
Dallas started what is likely their final drive of the half at their own 30-yard line.

Dallas earned a pair of first downs on 3 plays to get across midfield and faced 2nd & 6 at the Washington 42-yard line when the 2-minute warning was given.

Following the time out, Mike Sainristil broke up what would have been a completion for another first down. On 3rd & 6, Trey Lance ran left, but came up a half-yard short to force 4th & 1; Mike McCarthy left his offense on the field.

On 4th down, FB Luepke ran for 5 yards to bring up 1st & 10 at the 32-yard line. This was followed by Rico Dowdle gaining 12 yards to the 20-yard line.

Two plays later, on 3rd & 1 at the 11-yard line, Dowdle put his head down and went up the middle for 2 yards for 1st & goal at the 9-yard line. I gotta be honest, Washington doesn’t look like a playoff team here.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & goal at the 2 yard line. Lance threw to Brandon Cooks on the right side of the end zone, but Mike Sainristil did a great job in coverage to force the incompletion and bring up 4th & goal. The Dallas offense stayed on the field.

Under pressure on 4th down, Lance scrambled right and left, finally throwing to Dowdle in the end zone, bouncing the ball in front of the running back to end the drive.

Washington’s defense had held on the goal line stand!

Jayden Daniels kneeled down once to end the half.

The Cowboys will get the ball to start the 2nd half.

Halftime Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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Third Quarter

This has been an unimpressive game from both teams aside from, I guess you’d have to say, the Dallas pass rush. Washington needs to come out of the locker room for the second half with a different plan, because what they’ve done so far has been ineffective. The good news is that it’s only a 3-point lead for the Cowboys with 30 minutes of play left.

The second half started with Washington kicking off to Dallas, who started the first drive of the second half and their 7th drive of the game at the 30-yard line following a touchback.

Cowboys kick their 3rd field goal of the game
Dallas put together a successful drive that got them to 3rd & goal from the Washington 9 yard line.

On 3rd down, Washington got heavy pressure on Trey Lance who was finally sacked by Jonathan Allen to force another field goal attempt.

Aubrey hit the 36-yard kick to make it 9-3 with just under 9 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The scoring play covered 52 yards in 12 plays. The Commanders defense has given up a lot of yards but has stiffened in the end zone, giving up 3 field goals and forcing a turnover on downs at the end of the first half.

Marcus Mariota comes in an leads a touchdown drive to take the lead
Washington’s 7th offensive drive began at the 30-yard line following another touchback. Jayden Daniels stayed on the bench and Marcus Mariota came out on the field to attempt to pilot the comeback.

On 3rd & 3 at the 37-yard line, Mariota hit Austin Ekeler for a catch & run of 14 yards, then the QB showed his wheels by running for 10 yards and another 1st down at the Dallas 39-yard line.

Brian Robinson got stuffed at the line; he has 4 carries for 4 yards. Four other Commanders players, including two QBs and a WR have more rushing yards than Robinson at this point.

Finally, on 3rd & 5 from the DAL 34-yard line a pass was hauled in by Zaccheaus, who was hit in stride while tightly covered, on the right sideline for a gain of 30 yards.

Right after that, running the no huddle attack, Mariota hit Zach Ertz for a 4-yard touchdown to set the Commanders up to take the lead for the first time in the game.

Gonzo hit the PAT to make the score 10-9 Commanders. The scoring drive took 8 plays and covered 70 yards,

Cowboys are held to another field goal, but they re-take the lead
Following a first down and then a holding penalty, the Cowboys had 1st & 20 at the 30-yard line. On the next play, Mikey Sainristil blew up Jalen Tolbert on a pass at the line of scrimmage to knock the ball out for an incompletion, but on the next play, TE Fergeson got 19 yards to earn a fresh set of downs.

Deuce Vaughn, back in the game, got a good carry for 19 yards to get the ball to the Washington 40-yard line, then exploded for another 21 yards on the next three plays.

On 2nd & 6, a completion to Fergeson lost 7 yards to bring up 3rd & 13 at the Washington 35-yard line. A screen pass to Turpin on the left side got the 13-yards needed to earn 1st & 10 at the 22 yard line.

One final play in the third quarter earned 5 yards to bring up 2nd & 5 as the 4th quarter arrived.

Fourth Quarter

After changing ends of the field, Deuce Vaughn went 12 yards to the Washington 5-yard line, where it is now 1st & goal. Luvu was shaken up with a shoulder issue on the play. Dallas has spent a lot of time inside the Washington 10-yard line today.

On 2nd & goal from the 4-yard line, Jake Ferguson caught the ball at the back line of the end zone. It was called incomplete/out of bounds on the field but challenged by Mike McCarthy. Replay made it look like it was a good challenge.

The call on the the field was upheld, bringing up 3rd & goal at the 4-yard line.

On the 3rd down play, the officials ruled that Brandon Cooks was also out of bound in the left corner of the end zone. Facing 4th down, Aubrey came out for the chip shot to give the Cowboys the lead again at 12-10 with 13:53 left to play. The scoring drive had covered 66 yards in 16 plays. Again, Dallas is marching down the field, but the Commanders keep stopping them close to the goal line.

A touchdown drive by the Commanders would be welcome here.

Commanders score a 2nd consecutive TD to take the lead again
Mariota started the drive with a very nice pass completion to Zaccheaus at midfield for a 22 yard gain. Brandon Coleman got shaken up on the play, and walked off the field to be replaced by Trent Scott.

On the next play, Mariota scrambled right, threw back across the field — a beautiful pass that hit John Bates in the hands, but the TE got lit up by Malik Hooker to force the incompletion.

On 3rd & 3 from the DAL 41-yard line, Mariota hit Terry McLaurin with a non-beautiful completion for 8 yards and a first down.

Two plays later, they did it again for 10 yards. Following a completion to Zach Ertz, on 1st & goal at the 5 yard line, Mariota broke a tackle near the 8-yard line and ran the ball for a go-ahead touchdown!

With a 4-point lead, Dan Quinn called for the 2-point conversion. Mariota tried to hit McLaurin on the fade to the left corner of the end zone, but the pass was too flat and too high. The conversion failed. Score is 16-12 Commanders. The scoring drive covered 70 yards in 8 plays.

Cowboys score their only touchdown of the game to take a 3-point lead
Dallas started again at their own 30-yard line. Two plays later, on 3rd & 5 at the 35-yard line, Lance threw incomplete way downfield, but there was a flag for defensive holding against Ben St-Juste, giving the Cowboys a fresh series at the 40 yard line.

Tolbert caught a 33-yard pass on 1st down with Lance facing no pressure at all from the Commanders pass rush.

Lance then hit Flournoy for another 10 yards and another first down at the Washington 18-yard line. The 6th red zone series for Dallas today.

After a false start and an incomplete end zone shot into double coverage that drew a pass interference flag against St-Juste that looked like a bad call to me, the ball was placed at the 1-yard line.

Hunter Luepke was marked short on his 1st & goal dive.

Dowdle lost a yard on 2nd & goal.

On 3rd & goal, Dowdle punched the ball into the end zone.

After the extra point, the Cowboys led by 3 points, 19-16. The scoring drive had covered 70 yards in 8 plays. The Commanders would get the ball back with 7 minutes on the clock.

The two teams trade punts
Washington: The drive started badly with a 10-yard sack by Chauncy Golston when Marcus Mariota tripped on a turf monster.

McClaurin got 9 yards back on a screen pass to bring up 3rd & 12. Under heavy pressure, Mariota was buried under blue jersey for a 15-yard sack.

Cowboys: After the punt, Dallas had the ball at their own 44-yard line. Two plays later, it was 3rd & 1 at the 47 yard line, but Trey Lance kept the ball and was tackled for no gain to bring up 4th & 1 at the Washington 47-yard line.

Mike McCarthy sent his punter out onto the field.

Commanders drive 91 yards in 11 plays to seal the win
Following the punt, Washington came onto the field with 03:18 on the clock with the ball at the 9-yard line with 2 time outs.

They need a field goal to tie or a touchdown to take the lead.

On 2nd & 4, it looked like Marcus Mariota was sacked, but a facemask was called on the tackler — 15-yard penalty and a 1st down at the 30 yard line.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 4 at the Washington 36-yard line as the two-minute warning arrived.

Following the time out, it was another slant to McLaurin for 6 yards and a first down. A false start penalty on Nick Allegretti pushed the ball back to the 37-yard line, 1st & 15.

It’s obviously a 4-down situation for the Commanders offense.

On 2nd & 15, McLaurin came up with another great contested catch for 13 yards near midfield.

On 3rd & 2, Mariota made a huge scramble that ended up being maked just short of the line to gain.

Facing 4th & half-a-yard, wth the game on the line, Mariota faked the handoff up the middle to Brian Robinson, kept it himself, and raced 33 yards to the Dallas 16-yard line.

Quinn called timeout with 00:25 on the clock and Washington in field goal range.

1st down – 11 yards to Zach Ertz for 1st & goal

1st & goal – spike with 6 seconds left

2nd & goal at the 5 – Mariota hit Terry McLaurin on the fade to the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!! It was the same pass play that they missed on for the 2-point conversion earlier, and this gives Terry McLaurin the regular season single-season franchise touchdown record!

With 00:03 on the clock, the PAT by Gonzalez made the score 23-19 as the announcers let the TV audience know that the Bears just kicked an end-of-game field goal to beat the Packers.

Washington is 12-5 and will be the 6th seed in the NFC playoffs.

Jayden Daniels will be well rested, but the Commanders defense, who faced 75 plays will be worn out.

Washington Commanders vs. Dallas Cowboys Game Highlights | NFL 2024 Season Week 18

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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