The Washington Commanders dropped to 7-5 with a 34-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Northwest Stadium. Here are four key moments from the defeat.
Austin Seibert misses crucial extra point: Trailing 27-20 with 33 seconds to play and no timeouts remaining, Washington got the ball back at its 14-yard line needing a miracle. It came on first down, when Terry McLaurin caught Jayden Daniels’s pass around the Washington 40, cut inside, then outside and outraced three Cowboys defenders to the end zone for an 86-yard touchdown.
All that stood between Washington and a tie game was the extra point, which was no sure thing given that Seibert, who returned to action after missing the past two weeks with a right hip injury, had missed an extra point and a field goal earlier in the game. The snap was low and Seibert hooked his attempt wide left. Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas returned Seibert’s ensuing onside kick 43 yards for a touchdown to provide the final margin in a wild game that featured 41 fourth-quarter points. The Fox broadcast noted it was the first game in NFL history to feature two kickoff returns for touchdowns, two missed extra points and a blocked punt.
KaVontae Turpin gives Dallas some breathing room: After Dallas took a 20-9 lead with 5:16 remaining, Daniels led Washington on a quick nine-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. Daniels, who was 7 for 7 on the march, capped the possession with a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz and a two-point conversion on a keeper that pulled Washington to within a field goal. With two timeouts and the two-minute warning remaining, a Commanders comeback was still very much in play.
Turpin bobbled the ensuing kickoff at the goal line before picking the ball up and jogging slowly upfield. At the Dallas 10-yard line, the third-year pro planted his left foot in the turf and executed a perfect spin move to elude Commanders special teams ace Jeremy Reaves and linebacker Jordan Magee. Turpin found daylight and ran untouched to the end zone for a 99-yard touchdown that extended the Cowboys’ lead back to 10.
Cowboys capitalize on Commanders’ turnover: Leading 13-9 with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys faced third and six from the Washington 22-yard line. Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush, who was making his third consecutive start in place of the injured Dak Prescott, took the snap out of shotgun formation and lofted a pass over the middle for tight end Luke Schoonmaker, who was wide open in the end zone after running past safety Jeremy Chinn.
Schoonmaker’s first touchdown of the season came five plays after Dallas safety Donovan Wilson punched the ball out of Commanders tight end John Bates’s grasp and linebacker Eric Kendricks recovered at the Washington 44-yard line. The Commanders finished with three turnovers, including Daniels’s second interception on a Hail Mary on the final play of the game. Rush was 24 for 32 for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
Pass interference penalty sets up a Dallas touchdown: With the Cowboys trailing 9-3 midway through the third quarter and facing third and two at the Washington 27-yard line, Rush rolled to his right and unleashed a pass toward the end zone for wide receiver Jalen Tolbert. Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene was penalized for defensive pass interference on the play, giving the Cowboys a first down at the Washington 3-yard line.
After backup quarterback Trey Lance was tackled for a loss on first down, Rush reentered the game and connected with Tolbert for a six-yard touchdown, which was the Cowboys’ first in the third quarter this season. Dallas was 2 for 11 on third down and had its own special teams miscues, including a blocked field goal and a missed field goal by Brandon Aubrey, but it benefited from eight Washington penalties to snap its five-game losing streak.