The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Washington Commanders 38-10 on Sunday at FedEx Field to end the 2023 regular season. With the win, Dallas improves to 12-5 and wins the NFC East, while clinching the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Commanders finished the season 4-13 and lost their last eight games. The only positive for Washington is the loss secures the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The Commanders were competitive until late in the second quarter when a pair of Dallas touchdowns in the last four minutes of the first half gave the Cowboys a 21-10 lead going into halftime.
Washington had trailed 7-0 before rookie defensive end Joshua Pryor blocked a field goal, allowing cornerback Jace Whittaker to return it 66 yards. A few plays later, quarterback Sam Howell found Brian Robinson Jr. for a touchdown to tie the game.
Commanders rookie defensive back Quan Martin intercepted Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott on the next drive, giving Washington excellent field position. Howell drove Washington into the red zone, and it looked like he found Curtis Samuel for a touchdown, giving the Commanders the lead. However, officials ruled Samuel didn’t get both feet down.
Washington settled for a field goal. Unfortunately for the Commanders, that would end their scoring for the day.
After Dallas took over at the end of the first half, the Cowboys didn’t look back, scoring two more touchdowns in the second half. Prescott completed 31 of 36 passes for 279 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb caught 13 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Dallas finished the game with 440 total yards, while Washington had just 180 total yards. Howell completed 19 of 27 passes for 153 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
In some good news, wide receiver Terry McLaurin had 56 receiving yards, giving him 1,002 on the season, meaning it was the fourth consecutive season in which he went over 1,000 yards. It’s the first time a receiver has done that in Washington’s franchise history.
Sunday’s game is also expected to be Ron Rivera’s final game as head coach after four seasons.