LANDOVER, Md. – The Dallas Cowboys lost on the road to divisional rival Washington Redskins 20-17, by a missed field goal in the final three seconds. What would have been a 47-yarder by Brett Maher, turned into a 52-yarder after a snap infraction call. The ball hit the uprights and bounced out. The Redskins now lead the NFC East with a 3-3 record.
After last week’s win against the Jaguars placing the Cowboys as the No.2 rushing attack in the league averaging 147.5 yards-per-game, The Redskins’ defensive line came prepared and attacked at the line of scrimmage giving Ezekiel Elliott nowhere to go. Dallas had a total of 21 rushing yards headed into the half. Adrian Peterson helped Washington control the clock but the Cowboys’ passing game took shape on Dak Prescott’s 49-yard pass to Michael Gallup late in the second. The offensive line gave Prescott plenty of time to throw the football and Gallup had a perfectly executed hitch route leaving the defensive back behind him.
The offensive performance tonight against the Redskins is not what the Cowboys wanted heading into a bye week and coming off three failed offensive road performances, but Michael Gallup is beginning to put all the pieces together and fit into Dallas’ offensive scheme connecting with Prescott. Gallup led the team in receiving yards with three receptions for 81 yards and a 27.0 average. Another knew face on the block in the receiving core this season, Allen Hurns, had a big game dominating Redskins’ CB Josh Norman on man-to-man coverage throughout the game. Hurns finished second in receiving with five receptions for 74 yards and a 14.8 average.
The Cowboys’ offense completely staled in the third quarter amassing only four total yards rushing/passing. The Redskins’ defense kept Cowboys’ offense in the trenches, and the defense could not stop RB Kapri Bibbs or Adrian Peterson on the field during the third. They needed to have been double teamed to close out their gaps and to have limited their opportunities.
Things began to click for the Cowboys’ in the fourth after the Redskins’ 25-yard field goal on the opening drive. Maher kicked a 47-yarder on the next series for the Cowboys’ bringing the score to 10-13, Dallas behind by three. Sean Lee and DeMarcus Lawrence made big tackles on the next drive for Dallas on fourth down forcing Washington to punt. Sean Lee asked to switch positions with Jaylon Smith at the line of scrimmage. It was not his gap but he knew they had run the option play in the past, assessed the field, and made the change based off his instincts. His effort is remarkable and was a key force of momentum for the defense making the stop.
At the end of the next drive for Dallas at the one-yard line, Dak was sacked and Ryan Kerrigan pushed the ball out and Preston Smith recovered the ball for the TD. The Redskins extended the lead to 21-10 with 4:55 left on the clock.
After several penalties, the Cowboys offense was able to make it down the field with Prescott’s effort after the snap and two back-to-back 11-yard rushes. He is becoming a greater threat with his legs and helped the struggling ground game with his play action bootlegs throughout the game. Prescott faked the ball to Elliott and ran the ball in for a one-yard TD rush to make it a 17-20 game.
The Cowboys’ defense stopped the Redskins with less than two minutes on the clock and forced them to punt after Lee raced across the field keeping the RB from crossing the first down marker. The Cowboys’ offense once again could not make it to the end zone and had to settle for a game-tying FG…but missed.
Prescott finished 22 of 35 for 273 yards and one touchdown. Elliott recorded 15 carries for 33 yards and a 2.2 average. The “quarterback of the defense” was back on the field after missing three games and he showed up in a big way on critical plays. He led the defense with 5 tackles and David Irving had his first sack of the 2018 season. These hotboyz were executing on the field but the offense has to figure out there on-the-road offensive struggles and minimize penalties!
