Commanders Fall to Cowboys in Home Finale 30-23

There seemed to be an air of inevitability in Northwest Stadium Christmas Day.

Give the Washington Commanders players credit. To a man, not one quit playing with emotion and effort. Head coach Dan Quinn was able to motivate his undermanned team to battle an underachieving but more talented Dallas Cowboys deep into the fourth quarter before ultimately losing 30-23.

“Love our fight, but the execution, you know, just isn’t to the standard that needs to be to win
the games,” Quinn said after the game. “Give credit to Dallas [Cowboys]. Not taking away from [Dallas Cowboys QB] Dak [Prescott] and offensively any of them. They’re not the point. So, that’s where I’m at and I wanted to kind of share some of my messages with you, with the team and where we’re at.”

The Cowboys won the game on the ground, rushing for 211 yards. Quarterback Dak Prescott did his job as well, completing 19 of 37 passes for 3-7 yards and two touchdowns.

The Dallas offense was unstoppable in the first half, scoring on all four of its possessions. A 13 play, 78 yard drive that ended with a 6 yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson, a 17 play, 65 yard drive ending with a Javonte Williams touchdown run, and a 5 play, 97 yard drive highlighted by an 85 yard touchdown pass from Prescott to KaVontae Turpin. Brandon Aubrey also added a 42 yard field goal.

Washington’s only touchdown of the first half came from Jacory Croskey-Merritt who scored from the Dallas 10 yard line. The teams went to the locker room with the Cowboys holding a 24-10 lead.

Washington’s defense played much better in the second half, limiting Dallas to six points. Defensive tackle Johnny Newtown played the best game of his career recording nine tackles, three sacks and two tackles for a loss.

“They come in bunches,” Newton said. “As [DE] Jacob Martin would say, but I just had a great feeling
of the game today. Run or pass, I feel like with the film I watched, I feel like I had a great feeling of
what they were doing the whole day, so I was just reacting to the play and making plays.”

Washington cut the lead to seven in the third quarter when Croskey Merritt broke free for a 72 yard touchdown run, making the score 24-17. Merritt finished with 105 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns.

“I saw daylight, and I was like, ‘This is my chance to show when it’s open field, I can take it the
distance.’ And I mean, it worked out, it worked out perfect,” Merritt said.

“Bill goes out every day to get better,” Quinn said. “And so I’m happy for him that he got to have his moment. It’s great that people get to see his talents, and he went out there and showcased them well.”

Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter as Dallas was able to run down the clock in the fourth quarter, keeping the ball for more than 11 minutes. It will leave fans, players, and coaches alike wondering what the season could have been had injuries not decimated the roster through out the year. It also leaves the front office to figure out how much of the off season needs to focus on rebuilding and how much needs to focus on injury rehab for 2026.