The Dallas Cowboys began Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers with the knowledge that they were eliminated from playoff contention. That always makes things a bit wonky when it is the case.
You could argue that the Cowboys played like they were counting down the quarters for their season to end. Consider that the Chargers didn’t even punt in the first half. Heck, the Chargers didn’t kick any field goals either. They scored touchdowns on all of their possessions in the opening half (there were only 3 to be clear), but that made things a bit difficult for the Dallas offense to keep up.
In spite of this the Cowboys were down only a touchdown when the fourth quarter began, but the problem was that Los Angeles held the ball. They were able to draw a field goal to give them a 10-point lead with just under 9 minutes. Simply put, this game came down to the Cowboys needing a miracle and this season has taught us over and over and over that relying on that formula is not sustainable. To make matters worse the Chargers would go on to score again and had themselves quite the party at the Cowboys’ expense. Par for the course.
The Cowboys lost and fell to 6-8-1 on the season. Given that they and the Green Bay Packers both lost in Week 16, for the second week in a row by the way, future prospects improved relative to the spring’s NFL Draft.
There is a lot of looking to and counting on the future happening with the Cowboys these days.
Nobody can take that away from us.
First Quarter
The Chargers won the toss and deferred which put the Cowboys offense on the field first.
It was a very methodical and efficient drive for the Cowboys to get things started. Across 10 plays they traveled 79 yards and cashed in with a touchdown where Dak Prescott and Ryan Flournoy hooked up.
SCORE: COWBOYS 7, CHARGERS 0 (Dak Prescott to Ryan Flournoy touchdown)
It was seriously as ideal of a drive as you could have envisioned. Given that it was the first drive Dallas had after being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention only twisted the knife.
Up next was the first possession of the season for the Cowboys defense where coordinator Matt Eberflus was up in the booth and not on the sideline. The results were similar to many before it as the Chargers moved down the field with relative ease themselves and cashed in for a return-serve touchdown of their own.
SCORE: COWBOYS 7, CHARGERS 7 (Justin Herbert to Quentin Johnston touchdown)
The Cowboys were threatening as the first quarter came to a close. Notably, the final play of the period saw CeeDee Lamb eclipse 1,000 yards on the season.
Second Quarter
Dallas was threatening when the quarter began, but that threat was not fully realized.
Dak Prescott hit Ryan Flournoy for another touchdown, but there was a holding against Tyler Smith that wiped it out. By the way… Tyler was playing left tackle in the game. Tyler Smith was playing left tackle, to be clear.
Dallas had to settle for a field goal which gave them the lead once more.
SCORE: COWBOYS 10, CHARGERS 7 (Brandon Aubrey 33-yard field goal)
Omarion Hampton began to heat up for the Chargers on their next drive which was certainly not good news for the Cowboys. The Chargers as a whole were heating up as well and kept their foot on the gas with another touchdown.
SCORE: COWBOYS 10, CHARGERS 14 (Justin Herbert to Ladd McConkey touchdown)
The Cowboys took over trailing for the first time in the game and appeared to not exactly be rattled by that reality. They moved bit by bit and then picked up a huge chunk on the score. Dak Prescott found George Pickens for a 38-yard touchdown to be precise.
SCORE: COWBOYS 17, CHARGERS 14 (Dak Prescott to George Pickens touchdown)
The Chargers picked up where they left off to that point in the game and began moving and grooving down the field with relative ease once more. It is unfortunate how easy it looked.
It was extreme ease for the Chargers, actually. They wound up cashing in with a Justin Herbert rushing touchdown that was a little bit of a longer version than the conventional sneak or tush push, but it was a touchdown nonetheless.
SCORE: COWBOYS 17, CHARGERS 21 (Justin Herbert touchdown)
The Chargers had 3 possessions in the first half and scored touchdowns on all of them. Halftime.
Third Quarter
The Cowboys defense finally put a stop to the Chargers scoring touchdowns, but they didn’t exactly stop them from scoring entirely. Los Angeles kicked a field goal for the first possession of the second half, but progress is progress!
SCORE: COWBOYS 17, CHARGERS 24 (Cameron Dicker 37-yard field goal)
Matters turned for the worse for the Cowboys on their next possession as it was the first one of the day for them to end with no points. They punted from just behind midfield and doing so while already down a touchdown felt treacherous to say the least.
Amazingly, the punt was met with another. The Cowboys not only forced an actual stop for the first time in the game, but pitched a three and out!
This opportunity presented a chance for Dallas to draw even. They were able to find some offensive success, but unfortunately they stalled out in Chargers territory and failed when going for it on fourth and short.
The third quarter ended with Los Angeles in possession.
Fourth Quarter
It looked for a bit like the Chargers were going to score and really make things difficult for the Cowboys. To be clear they ultimately did, but it was by way of a field goal and not a touchdown so the deficit grew to double digits.
SCORE: COWBOYS 17, CHARGERS 27 (Cameron Dicker 27-yard field goal)
Hope was alive for the Cowboys, but it was faint to say the least. There were just under 9 minutes left in the game and while 2025 has featured some improbable things from them… this was a tall order.
It was made even taller when the Cowboys reached a 4th and 10 from their own side of the field. Given the circumstances they had to go for it. They failed pretty miserably.
The game was made all the more over when Chargers running back Omarion Hampton rumbled in for a game-sealing touchdown.
SCORE: COWBOYS 17, CHARGERS 34 (Omarion Hampton touchdown)
That was that. The Cowboys didn’t even score in the second half in what was the final home game of the season for them.
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