A rare win as a heavy underdog came just at the right time for the Dallas Cowboys, giving them a glimmer of hope for the playoffs in 2024.
Cooper Rush will likely need to win three more games in a row while filling in for the injured Dak Prescott, so any chance at a playoff spot is realistic.
The Cowboys (4-7) might be favored in two of those games and are already favored by four points for their annual Thanksgiving Day game against the New York Giants (2-9) on Thursday, according to BetMGM.
Also, the next four opponents for the defending NFC East champions all have losing records right now. The Cowboys, who have made the playoffs the last three seasons, still have a shot to make something out of the unexpected and wild 34-26 win at Washington that ended their five-game losing streak.
“Behind the eight ball,” said Micah Parsons, the star pass rusher, acknowledging the fact that Dallas still has a lot to prove. “Let’s see how we can handle adversity and see if we can make a playoff run. But we got a long way to go.”
It was a positive start, however, partly because of the best 55 minutes from the Dallas defense since the season opener when the Cowboys dominated Cleveland and looked like a Super Bowl contender.
The last five minutes of the game against Washington looked a lot like most of the other games after the Cowboys’ 33-17 win over the Browns — meaning not very good.
Washington’s rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, easily led them down the field for a 69-yard touchdown before throwing an 86-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds to Terry McLaurin, who avoided five defenders. A tackle there could have ended the game.
The Cowboys kept a 27-26 lead thanks to Washington kicker Austin Seibert missing his second extra point, and survived another mistake when Juanyeh Thomas returned an onside kick for a touchdown instead of just kneeling to allow Rush to run out the clock.
Despite the chaos at the end, Dallas can take pride in the fact that they held Washington’s offense, led by the rookie quarterback, to only 251 yards. This win, the biggest upset since 2010 against the New York Giants, could still mean something for their season.
“We needed it,” said coach Mike McCarthy, who has been under pressure. “It’s been frustrating, no doubt. We’ve acknowledged that. We’ve got another one right around the corner here, so we have to get some wins and get some momentum.”