Good, bad, and ugly doesn’t even begin to cover everything that went down in D.C. on Sunday. To paint a true picture, one would need to invent some all-new adjectives, because wild, wacky, and completely bonkers wouldn’t even begin to do justice to the Cowboys’ stunning 34-26 win.
While Cooper Rush, Rico Dowdle, and CeeDee Lamb all had solid outings, the afternoon really belonged to the Cowboys defense, who kept Washington well-contained for the majority of the contest and- despite bending badly toward the end- managed to not break when it mattered most. There were even unexpected heroes like Josh Butler and Luke Schoonmaker, who helped come to the rescue on a day when most of the obvious Dallas playmakers were held out with injury. That motley crew of replacements gave Cowboys fans their first lead to cheer about in ages and delivered them their first victory since early October.
But it sure didn’t come easily. While special teams pulled off the two touchdowns in the final three minutes that decided things, they were also responsible for the game’s most frustrating moments leading up to the thrilling climax. Brandon Aubrey, in particular, has to be thanking his lucky stars that the Washington trip comes just once a year. Tyler Guyton added his own maddening contributions, the kind that Cowboys fans are growing well-accustomed to… and supremely tired of. And expect many of those fans to now start wrestling with whether future Cowboys’ wins are even ultimately a good thing now that many of them have bought in to the tanking philosophy.
That debate is for another day, though, as it’s a rare Victory Monday for Cowboys Nation. Here’s a look inside the wild, wacky, and completely bonkers… to the good, the bad, and the ugly that made Week 12 one to remember.
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Good: Remembering what it’s like to be on top
Cowboys fans could be forgiven for not recalling what it’s like to have a bigger number on the scoreboard than the other team. (Refresher: it’s called a lead in NFL lingo.) When Cooper Rush found Jalen Tolbert in the end zone with 4:40 to go in the third quarter, it tied the score at 9-9. When Brandon Aubrey connected on the subsequent PAT try (certainly no gimme proposition for either team’s kicker on Sunday), it not only put the Cowboys ahead 10-9, it put them in somewhat unfamiliar territory. Prior to that moment, the Cowboys had not led at any point in a game since the opening minutes of Week 9’s loss in Atlanta. And over the five full games that followed the team’s last win- in Week 5 versus Pittsburgh- the Cowboys had held a lead for a grand total of less than 20 minutes.
Bad: Tyler Guyton continues to struggle with penalties
The first-round draft pick came into Sunday’s game as the most-flagged player in the NFC, with 12 calls against him. (Not all have counted or been accepted.) He drew another four- a season-high- against Washington: holding, two illegal formation infractions, and a false start. One of those penalties wiped away a 17-yard deep-ball catch by CeeDee Lamb that would have put Dallas in the red zone early in the fourth quarter. After his false start on the very next series, coaches pulled him off the field and replaced him with Asim Richards. The big 22-year-old has shown promise in his rookie campaign and is surely developing, but his penalty problem (he’s averaging over one per game) continues to cost the team in yardage, momentum, and even points.
Ugly: Normally-reliable special teams causing high blood pressure
John Fassel’s unit has been a bright spot for most of his tenure in Dallas, despite a few high-profile miscues lately. On Sunday, they were all over the place. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked, and Brandon Aubrey missed one field goal, had another blocked, and cost the Cowboys valuable fourth-quarter field position by missing the landing zone on a kickoff. KaVontae Turpin obviously made up for a good chunk of that bad juju with his ridiculous kick return for a touchdown, and Juanyeh Thomas got into the act by racing an onside kick back for the final dagger. But even those were a mixed bag. Turpin’s return started with a scary muff and looked destined for disaster, and the smarter play by Thomas would have been to go to the ground so that the offense could kneel out the clock (instead of giving the ball back to the Commanders for that nail-biter of a Hail Mary attempt). “Bones” needs to tighten some things up with his guys for the home stretch of the season.
Good: Defense has a day
The Cowboys defense had been a liability in multiple games this season, but Mike Zimmer’s unit showed up and showed out against their former coordinator. Among the highlights: notching three takeaways (and another fumble forced), holding Washington to just 4-of-12 on third down, forcing four three-and-outs on the day (including three straight such drives in the second half), and limiting the Commanders to less than 20 yards on nearly half of their possessions. They let Jayden Daniels & Co. run a little wild in the final quarter, but got the job done in the end. Cornerback and USFL product Josh Butler had a whale of a game, leading Dallas in tackles by a wide margin and adding a sack and three passes defended. He could be the next surprise star of a Cowboys defense that suddenly made a statement on Sunday.
Bad: Nation’s capital still a nightmare for Aubrey
Since coming over from the USFL, Brandon Aubrey has been darn near automatic… everywhere except the Commanders’ home stadium. The Cowboys kicker’s only two missed field goals of the entire 2023 season came at what was then called FedEx Field- one miss and one block. It’s called Northwest Stadium now, but Aubrey missed two more in his return there on Sunday- again, one miss and one block. In his short NFL career, Aubrey is a gaudy 62-of-69 (playoffs included) on field goals; he’s missed one in New York, one in Pittsburgh, one at home in Dallas… and, incredibly, four in Washington.
Ugly: Roster questions moving forward
Things looked awfully bleak for the Cowboys at kickoff, with a significant portion of their roster sidelined by injury. Besides the obvious M.I.A.s like Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Markquese Bell, and Sam Williams, there were plenty of others. Brandin Cooks had his return delayed by at least one game, and Trevon Diggs, Caelen Carson, Zack Martin, Tyler Smith, and Jake Ferguson were all declared inactive late Sunday morning. It certainly appeared to some that the tank job was on for Dallas. But the team did have a short week to prep for this surprise win in Washington, and they’ll have even less time to reload for the Giants on Thursday. Were some of those players held out simply to give them a better shot at suiting up on Thanksgiving? Will the Week 12 win change any long-term roster strategies? A postseason berth remains highly unlikely and a top-10 draft pick still seems probable no matter what happens from here on out, but how the Cowboys manage their many rehabbing players over the next six weeks will be fascinating to watch.
