Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys did what they set out to do against the foe Commanders on Sunday. Unlike last year, they won 38–10 at Washingtоn to end the regular season and win the NFC East title and the No. 2 place in the conference.
Two of Prescott’s four touchdowns went to CeeDee Lamb. He finished the game 31 for 36 for 279 yards, and Dallas (12-5) made sure they would play their first playoff game at home. They won 16 straight games in Dallas and went 8-0 this season. That’s a big deal for them.
Dallas has made the playoffs three times in a row with a 12–5 record, all while being coached by Mike McCarthy.
Washingtоn (4-13 overall, 0-6 in the NFC East) and Ron Rivera, who is likely to be fired, are at the other end of the scale. They tied a club record for most losses in a season with 13 losses.
The Commanders had lost eight straight games. Cowboys fans in the stands chanted “De-fense! De-fense!” when Washingtоn had the ball and “Let’s go, Cowboys!” when Dallas did. The team is 0-6 since Rivera fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and took over calling plays on that side of the ball.What’s good for the Commanders and their new boss, Josh Harris? Washingtоn will have the No. 2 pick in the April draft, which is when they might look for a quarterback to replace Sam Howell, who was picked off twice and led the NFL with 21 picks this season. He was fired four times on Sunday, giving him 65, the most in the league.
As of last year, Week 18 took place in Landover. The Cowboys needed to win to have a chance at the division title, but they lost 26–6 to Washingtоn and Howell, who was making his NFL start that day.
Prescott only completed 14 out of 37 passes, gaining 128 yards and a pick-6 in that loss at Washingtоn.
“We feel like we’re heading in the right direction,” Rivera said at the time. But that assessment was way off, and in four years with the Commanders, he has never had a winning season.
On Sunday, Rivera turned 62 years old. As an NFL head coach, he is 102-103-2, and in Washingtоn, he is 26-40-1.
Washingtоn’s оffensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, tried two trιck plays in the first quarter. He had nothing to lose and even something to win in the draft if they lost. On one, tight end Logan Thomas set up as quarterback and threw to Howell, who almost intercepted the pass but missed it. On the other, wide receiver Dyami Brown completed a 4-yard pass that Howell grabbed.
Early on, Dallas wasn’t playing its best. In the second quarter, Jalen Harris, a defensive blocker for the Commanders, blocked Prescott’s pass, letting rookie defensive back Quan Martin catch it. Joey Slye made a field goal for the Commanders, who were now ahead 10–7 in the second quarter.
But Prescott and the rest of the Cowboys quickly got back on track, scoring 31 points in a row.