The Cowboys nearly squandered a 24-0 halftime lead, letting Washington fight their way back throughout the second half. But the rally fell just short and Dallas held on for a 27-20 victory, improving to 9-4 and taking a major step forward toward winning the NFC East.
Dallas’ defense was the star today with Micah Parsons and Randy Gregory taking the lead. Parsons had two sacks in the first half, one of which caused a fumble that Dorance Armstrong returned for a touchdown.
Gregory had an interception in the first half, tipping the ball to himself and securing the catch for the takeaway. Then on Washington’s final possession, Randy all but sealed the game with a sack-fumble to end the Football Team’s comeback.
DeMarcus Lawrence and Neville Gallimore, playing in his first game this year after a preseason elbow injury, also added a sack each. The Cowboys defense only allowed 14 points and 224 total yards on the day.
Unfortunately, the offense didn’t do enough to make it a one-sided affair. Dak Prescott threw two bad interceptions, one of which was taken to the house by LB Cole Holcomb to make things scary late in the game.
Execution was still an issue, leading to just one drive that ended with an offensive touchdown. And while Greg Zuerlein commendably went 4/4 on field goals, we also also saw Bryan Anger called on for six punts; just too much work from the special teams guys.
But for once, it was the Cowboys defense that made up for the offense’s struggles. With the full compliment of defensive playmakers now available and Micah Parsons furthering his case for Defensive Player of the Year, this is a different brand of one-sided football from Dallas.
In the end, it was a major victory. It creates a three-game lead over both Philadelphia and Washington with just four weeks to go.
We’ll see these two teams again when the Football Team comes to Dallas in Week 16. If the Cowboys beat the Giants next week and Washington falls to the Eagles, Dallas will already be out of their reach.
