LANDOVER, Md. — At the start of the fourth quarter, the Washington Commanders were averaging 8.8 yards per play.
It doesn’t matter what you think of the Cowboys’ defense, or their continued second-half offensive woes, that’s still way too much for a Commanders team that started 39-year-old quarterback Josh Johnson.
Despite this, the Cowboys were somehow able to hold off the Commanders and defeat their long-time NFC East rivals, 30-23, on Christmas Day at Northwest Stadium.
The Thursday afternoon contest was the first of a triple-header of NFL football and a long day and night of NBA games.
Cowboys
The Cowboys improved to 3-3 on Christmas Day. They are now 7-8-1 and need to beat the woeful New York Giants in the regular season finale to hit .500.
Here are our five thoughts on Cowboys-Commanders:
Success against the NFC East
Even though the Cowboys missed out on winning the NFC East – the Eagles have that taken care of this season – they continue to dominate the division. The Cowboys moved to 4-1 in the division this season and conclude the season at the Giants (2-13). The Cowboys are 22-7 against the NFC East the last five seasons. Kansas City (21) has the second-most wins within its division (AFC West).
Running game ups and downs
Javonte Williams has rushed for a career-high 1,201 yards with 11 touchdowns this season. After gaining 54 yards on 13 carries and a score Thursday afternoon, he was shut down. Williams is dealing with a shoulder stinger, and it made more sense to give him a break to see what Malik Davis could do. Williams didn’t play in the second half, which allowed fullback Hunter Luepke and Davis to take care of the running game. Williams was productive in the early stages of the game, scoring a touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 14-3 lead in the second quarter. Davis finished with 103 yards on 20 carries. As the Cowboys enter the final game of the season against the Giants, it might serve everyone to start Davis and to give rookie Jaydon Blue some carries. The Cowboys rushed for a season-high 211 yards as a team.
Five-for-five on fourth down
Would you say coach Brian Schottenheimer likes to gamble? Well, on Christmas Day, the Cowboys went five-for-five on fourth-down attempts in their victory. Some of the fourth-down conversions were set up by the plays on third down. In the fourth quarter, fullback Hunter Luepke caught a 14-yard pass, carrying defenders with him on a third-and-16. So on fourth-and-2, the Cowboys went for it, and Dak Prescott connected on a seven-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert, who got playing time with Ryan Flournoy out with a knee injury. The fourth-down conversion eventually led the Cowboys to a key 51-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey with 3:59 remaining that gave them a 30-20 lead.
Second-half scoring woes
The Cowboys haven’t scored a second-half touchdown in their last three games. It’s been all Aubrey, who made a 52-yarder and a 51-yarder but also missed a 58-yarder (wide left) in the second half. Aubrey’s 51-yard field goal gave the Cowboys a 30-20 lead with 3:59 to play. The Cowboys last scored a touchdown in the second half in the 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 14. Receiver Ryan Flournoy, who didn’t play Sunday, caught a 42-yard pass in the fourth quarter. After scoring 21 second-half points against the Lions, the Cowboys scored 15 in the next three games.
Clowney a keeper?
If you’re thinking about which players from this defense should return next season, maybe start and end with Jadeveon Clowney — after you scratch off DeMarvion Overshown, Quinnen Williams, Shavon Revel, Osa Odighizuwa, Kenny Clark and DaRon Bland. Clowney had 1.5 sacks against the Commanders, giving him 5.5 on the season, and he made a key tackle for loss with struggling linebacker Kenneth Murray on a third-and-3 early in the fourth quarter. Clowney was signed two games into the season. In 12 games (six starts) he is second on the team in sacks. Clowney’s presence in the locker room also shouldn’t be ignored. Bringing him back would be a smart move for the Cowboys, but at 32, it will be interesting to see if he wants to continue playing.
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