Even in a season finale in which an expected loss was just fine- since it would bring an improved draft pick- the Cowboys managed to find a way to break their fans’ hearts by doing just enough to notch a feel-good win… and then falling flat anyway in the final moments. The 23-19 Washington win cemented Dallas’s record at 7-10 and helped the team lock in the 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft, but it ultimately left more of a bad aftertaste to linger through the offseason than anything.
There were scant bright spots- Micah Parsons came out of the box hot to secure a place in the NFL history books- but most of the rest of Sunday’s season-ending loss fell into the category of things that Cowboys fans are ready to leave behind as the new year begins in earnest.
From the team’s infuriating red-zone ineptitude to Trey Lance’s total lack of accuracy, Malik Hooker’s premature celebration to Brandon Aubrey taking out a cheerleader from distance, a phantom face mask call that proved costly to letting a lowly backup be the hero, here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the last chapter of a 2024 season that- appropriately enough- was mostly the latter two things.
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Good: Parsons leads strong defensive statement early
Parsons wasted no time reaching double-digit sacks for 2024, dropping Jayden Daniels for a loss on the very first play from scrimmage on Sunday. That made him just the fourth player in league history to hit 10+ in each of his first four seasons. He added another just two snaps later, leaving him alongside Reggie White as the only men credited with a dozen sacks or more in each of their first four years. The entire Dallas defense got off to a hot start in Week 18, forcing Washington to punt on each of their first four possessions and allowing just 21 net yards. While Mike Zimmer’s unit couldn’t sustain that effort, giving up three touchdown drives of 70-plus yards in the second half, their early work helped keep the Commanders off the field (just 22:57 worth of possession overall) and the Cowboys in front on the scoreboard for much of the afternoon.
Bad: Falling behind just as Washington concedes
Dan Quinn pulled Daniels after halftime, seemingly content to take the season-ending L and prepare for the postseason. Only no one told Marcus Mariota. The 31-year-old veteran backup promptly punched the Cowboys right in the mouth, leading the Commanders on their best drive of the game to reach the end zone and take their first lead of the day. Mariota turned in a brilliant performance, going 15-of-18 passing, throwing two touchdowns, running for another, and ending with a 141.0 passer rating (the sixth-best of his 10-year career).
Ugly: Trey Lance’s accuracy
Lance finally made a regular-season start in a Dallas uniform… and many Cowboys fans quickly realized why it might have taken so long. While the 24-year-old is a dynamic athlete capable of doing real damage with his legs, his accuracy and decision-making as a passer is often tough to watch. Lance missed receivers all day, showing himself to be off-target on short-, middle-, and long-range balls equally. Perhaps no incompletion was more maddening than the fourth-down dud to an open Rico Dowdle that, after an impressive scramble to set up the toss, fell harmlessly at the running back’s feet in the end zone. Of his career-high 34 pass attempts, Lance connected on just 20 (also a personal best). That 58.82% completion rate is actually Lance’s second-best in games where he’s logged double-digit throws… but there are only four of those since he was drafted in 2021.
Good: Defense rallies after Commanders’ would-be TD
Washington nearly blew things wide open midway through the second quarter. A first-down play from the Dallas 36 saw Daniels flip the ball to wide receiver Dyami Brown, who stopped mid-run and heaved a beautiful bomb to fellow wideout Olamide Zaccheas all alone in the end zone. The Cowboys had been caught napping, with both DaRon Bland and Malik Hooker reacting way too late to the trick play. But despite a perfect pass that hit him in the hands, Zaccheaus couldn’t reel in the easy touchdown. Rather than let the close call shake their confidence, the Dallas defense stiffened, with Bland and Hooker getting in on the next two plays to stop the Commanders and hold them to just a field goal. Given how close they had just come to giving up an embarrassing seven points, it was a win.
Bad: Phantom facemask call keeps Washington alive late
Clinging to a 19-16 lead with under three minutes to play, the Dallas defense hoped to shut things down one last time. Donovan Wilson notched what looked to be a sack on second down for a 10-yard loss, but officials called him for a facemask grab. Replays seemed to clearly show that Wilson palmed the crown of Mariota’s helmet in pulling him toward the ground, but he was nowhere near the facemask or any helmet opening. Instead of 3rd-and 14 from their own 5-yard-line, the Commanders got walked up to the 30. The phantom penalty also gifted them a new set of downs, sending them on their way to what proved to be a game-winning touchdown.
Ugly: Aubrey’s kickoff turns into head shot on cheerleader
Aubrey’s long-range kicking skills have given him a reputation as one of the league’s top legs, but one of his boots on Sunday also may have given one Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader a serious headache. While attempting what looked to be some sort of squib kick early in the second quarter to force a return try on a short-field kick, Aubrey’s offering sailed well out of bounds. An NFL media member tried to stop the errant ball with his outstretched hand, but it drilled rookie cheerleader Michelle Siemienowski in the back of the head while the squad was performing. It was one of Aubrey’s few misses of any sort this season. Despite the scary-looking head shot, Siemienowski posted later on social media, “I’m all right everyone!”
Bad: Red zone offense
The Cowboys entered the season finale just 22-of-44 on red zone touchdowns, but they were even worse than that on Sunday. Out of a season-high six trips inside the opponent’s 20, Dallas managed to hit paydirt just once. That dropped the team’s red-zone success rate on the year to a putrid 46.0%, second-lowest in the league. Of all the Cowboys’ on-the-field problems that must be addressed for 2025, this one may be the most infuriating; Dallas had the best red-zone offense in all of football just two seasons ago.
Ugly: Celebrating prematurely while Mariota converts 4th down
The Cowboys defense had a very real opportunity to seal the win with a fourth-down stop with about 30 seconds to play. Chauncey Golston and Eric Kendricks had kept Mariota just short of moving the chains on a third-down run, and after back-to-back timeouts from each side, it looked like they had done it again… at least to Malik Hooker. Most of the Dallas defense keyed on the backfield handoff, including Hooker, who raised one fist in celebration from the secondary as his teammates converged on running back Austin Ekeler. Unfortunately, Mariota had kept the ball for himself. He raced for end zone, going untouched for 33 yards until Hooker was able to finally snap back to reality and catch up to him. The game-winning touchdown didn’t officially come until 20 seconds later, but Mariota’s surprising scramble put the writing on the wall for the Cowboys, with Hooker’s premature celebration standing as a lasting symbol of a head-shaking season in Dallas.
