Roger Goodell and the NFL delivered a lump of coal back this past spring by announcing that the Dallas Cowboys would be playing the Washington Commanders on Christmas Day.
Since then, Jerry Jones has been the Grinch, all but stealing the anticipation of the 2025 season with his mismanagement of the team.
Still, the Cowboys are going to have to saddle up and hit the road in Week 17. Their most hated rival will be waiting for them when they hit the end of the trail.
Unlike the Cowboys, the Commanders’ entire organization is trending in the right direction as the season nears.
Unless the holiday season starts on September 4th, and Dallas receives some early gifts, this might be one year without a win on both holidays in Dallas.
- Who: Washington Commanders
- Where: at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland
- When: Dec. 25th, Noon (CST)
- How (to watch): NETFLIX
All-Time Marks
The Cowboys come into this season with an impressive 79-49-2 all-time record against Washington. That number will change after the two teams meet in Week 7 at AT&T Stadium.
When it comes to playing in the nation’s capital, the Cowboys are just 36-31 against the Commanders.
That’s with the Cowboys winning the last two meetings in 2023 and 2024, and nine of the last 12 overall, in D.C.
After winning a wild game in D.C. last year, the Cowboys hosted Washington in the season finale. That game ended Trey Lance’s Cowboys’ career with a 23-19 loss.
While this will be the first Christmas Day game in the series, the two teams are familiar foes on Thanksgiving Day.
Dallas is 9-2 all-time against Washington on Thanksgiving Day.
Ho-Ho-Ho, Y’all
The Cowboys have played on Christmas Day before.
In 1971, they defeated the Vikings, 20-12, in a Divisional round playoff game in Minnesota.
They have played three regular-season games on the holiday. In 1995, they defeated Arizona, 37-13, before losing to the Titans, 31-0, in 2000.
The last time Dallas played on Christmas day was a 27-26 loss to Arizona in 2010.
All three regular-season games were played on the road, as this year’s game will be, as Dallas tries to win for the third time in five tries on Christmas.
Week 17 History
The Cowboys are just 14-22 since the 17th week was added to the regular season slate. They are 6-17 when playing away from Dallas.
The Cowboys are 4-5 all-time against Washington in Week 17 games, and won the last Week 17 meeting back in 2019 at AT&T Stadium.
The Prediction
If the predictions so far hold, Dallas will be at 5-10 when this game kicks off. One wonders if this team would have the grit to play spoilers at this point.
Or, already in double-digits in losses for the second straight year, would this team just throw in the towel?
Nothing about this game, or the history attached to it, bodes well for Dallas.
Prediction: Commanders 34, Cowboys 17 (Predicted record so far: 5-11)
