The Dallas Cowboys lived up to head coach Mike McCarthy’s guarantee of victory as they beat the Washington Football team on Sunday afternoon .
Micah Parsons sacked Taylor Heinicke twice and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, helping the Dallas Cowboys make good on coach Mike McCarthy’s guarantee. The Dallas Cowboys held on following a late Washington surge to beat the Football Team 27-20 Sunday and snap their rival’s winning streak at four.
Dallas led 24-0 and 27-8 before Kyle Allen replaced Heinicke and led a 73-yard TD drive. Washington made it interesting when Cole Holcomb intercepted Dak Prescott and ran it back for a pick-6. Washington’s comeback bid ultimately came to an end when Allen fumbled after being hit by Randy Gregory with 2:24 remaining in the game.
The Dallas Cowboys built themselves such a big lead thanks to a big first-half showing by their defense. Dallas forced four turnovers and had five sacks. The defense was playing so well, that Fox broadcasters Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen were calling this one over with 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. They must have angered the football gods because despite the victory, it got a little too close for comfort for Cowboys fans.
Not only did the defense play well, they came up big with clutch plays when the Cowboys needed the most. Dorance Armstrong recovered a fumble on a massive fourth down Micah Parsons sack and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Armstrong and his teammates celebrated his TD with some of the many Cowboys fans in attendance for what felt like a home game for the leaders in the NFC East, complete with custom benches on the visiting sideline.Randy Gregory picked off Heinicke to go along with the game clinching sack forced fumble the day after he was activated off injured reserve.
In the aftermath of McCarthy saying, “We’re going to win this game — I’m confident in that,” his team took care of business despite sputtered late. Dak Prescott struggled in this one. He threw for 211 yards with a touchdown pass to Amari Cooper but had two uncharacteristically bad interceptions including the pick six to Cole Holecomb that nearly gave away the game late. Ezekiel Elliott ran 12 times for 45 yards while continuing to battle through a knee injury. This was a huge divisional victory and the Cowboys (9-4) distanced themselves from a Washington team (6-7) who was creeping into contention in the NFC East. Next week the Cowboys have an opportunity to wrap up the division already with a win and an Eagles loss.
The Dallas Washington rivalry has lost its luster over the years but has come alive again the last couple of years. Washington fans were chanting “We want Dallas” after winning 4 in a row leading up to this game which got the attention of Cowboys Nation. Mike McCarthy’s guarantee of victory lit a bit of fire under both teams and intensified the war of words between the teams’ fanbases. Then the cherry on top occurred when the Cowboys made themselves at home at FedEx field by ordering heated benches with the silver star logo and team wordmarks, Todd Archer of ESPN explained that this was done because the Seahawks tipped off the Cowboys that the heated benches on the visiting sideline were malfunctioning at FedEX field. The benches were rented from a local company and the logos were supposedly added as a courtesy. I wouldn’t put it past Jerry Jones though if he insisted on that extra touch. Jerry made a point his week to say the D.C. area is his team’s biggest concentration of fans outside Texas. With blue and white jerseys outnumbering burgundy and gold at FedEx Field, it is hard to argue with that.
The stage was set on Sunday for an epic division battle and the revival of an age old rivalry. Last season, the Washington Football Team obliterated the Cowboys in both meetings. In the first of those meeting last year, Washington linebacker Jon Bostic knocked out Andy Dalton on a dirty hit, forcing the then starting QB to miss several weeks with a concussion. The Cowboys were criticized heavily for not coming to the defense of Dalton in that game. That was not the case this year. Tensions boiled over with 10:29 left when Washington rookie William Bradley-King — promoted off the practice squad in the morning because of COVID-19 absences — shoved Prescott near the Cowboys sideline. Ezekiel Elliott shoved Bradley-King, and then Dallas right tackle La’el Collins came to the aid of his quarterback. Collins was ejected for his role in the skirmish but he was patted on the back by several coaches and teammates for defending his QB as he left the field.
Despite the drama leading up this game and the expectation for a hard fought battle for 60 minutes; It turned out, that it was the Dallas Cowboys defense alone who came to play. By far the biggest crowd to witness a Washington home game this season saw Heinicke get sacked four times and exit with a left knee injury. Heinicke finished 11 of 25 for 122 yards, a 43-yard TD pass to Cam Sims and a diving 2-point conversion after his miserable first half. Washington running back Antonio Gibson fumbled for the sixth time this season after Jourdan Lewis punched the ball out his hands in the third quarter. Kyle Allen didn’t fare much better than Heinicke as he went 4 of 9 for 53 yards. Washington’s four game win streak came to a screeching half after allowing 18 points in the first quarter — more than it was giving up per game over the past month.
Other News and Notes From the Game:
MIGHTY MICAH PARSONS:
Parsons became the first rookie since Jevon Kearse in 1999 and third in NFL history to have a sack in six consecutive games. His 9½ sacks over the past six games are tied for the most by a rookie in that span. He has 12 sacks on the year, which is already a franchise rookie record, and he has four games left to challenge Kearse’s single season NFL record for rookies with 13.
ZEKE GUTS IT OUT
With Tony Pollard inactive because of a foot injury, Elliott got the lion’s share of the carries before the game turned into a blowout. Zeke surpassed 1,000 scrimmage yards for the sixth consecutive season. Elliott has been hampered by a knee injury but refuses to miss a game. He was pulled earlier when the Cowboys had a big lead but came back in when the game got close and was a little nerve racking for Cowboys fans. It is fair to question whether the Cowboys are better off shutting him down and resting him up in favour of a back with fresh legs but Ezekiel Elliott’s heart and toughness cannot be questioned.
IS DAK PRESCOTT OFF?
The Dallas Cowboys offense struggled once again in this game and Dak Prescott had another poor showing for his standards. Many Cowboys fans are questioning his health because he hasn’t looked quite the same since suffering a calf injury in the overtime win against New England. Some Cowboys fans are already in full blown panic mode after a string of shaky performances by the franchise QB. I for one have faith in our quarterback. Winning games on the road, especially division games, is never something to take for granted. If the defense steps ups and wins us games like they did no Sunday, that is a good thing. Sure I want to see Dak return to the high level he was playing at the beginning of the season but the season is far from over. We know what this offense is capable of and we know how high of a level that Dak is capable of playing at. We also know that Dak can deal with adversity of epic proportions as he has done his entire life.
OUTLOOK FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON
Right now, the Cowboys are 9-4 and on the brink of winning the NFC East with 4 games still left on the schedule. They are not on the outside looking in or jockeying for a high draft pick like they were last season. Now is not the time for Cowboys fans to throw their arms up in despair just because the team has to deal with some adversity or clean some things up. Now is the time to rally behind this team and find out what they can truly accomplish. Opportunities to watch our team compete in the post season are far to rare these days for this fanbase. Enjoy the ride, hope for the best, and maybe this time around you won’t be disappointed.