Cowboys corral Commanders in wild final seconds, blast Washington playoff hopes

There’s been plenty of late-game drama in the DMV, but there was no Daniels Miracle Victory on Sunday. Dallas and Washington combined to score 31 points in the feverish final three minutes but thanks to a pair of improbable kickoff-return touchdowns, the Cowboys ultimately prevailed, 34-26.

After KaVontae Turpin’s dizzying, 99-yard kickoff return gave Dallas (4-7) a 27-17 lead with 2:49 remaining. That’s when the Commanders answered, Jayden Daniels efficiently moving Washington 37 yards in six plays to set up Austin Seibert’s 51-yard field goal to make it a one-score game. Then, after Washington stonewalled the Cowboys, Daniels hit Terry McLaurin on the first snap of the ensuing possession for an 86-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left.

But Seibert somehow missed an extra-point kick for the second time in the game, preserving a 27-26 Dallas lead. And dumping a truck full of salt in the Commanders’ wound, backup safety Juanyeh Thomas scooped up the onside kick and raced 43 yards for another touchdown. It marked the first time in Cowboys history that the team returned multiple kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game. Seibert missed the previous two games with a hip injury, connected on two of three field goals, missing a 51-yarder short of the crossbar earlier in the game.

Turpin, who actually muffed the catch on his touchdown before recovering the loose ball, gathering himself and finding a seam in Washington’s kickoff coverage, told NFL Network’s Jane Slater afterward he was proud of how the Cowboys battled.

“Up and down but we fought to the end,” he said. “I’m happy the way we fought at the end of the game.”

Dallas (4-7) beat its former defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, and several other familiar faces. Pivotal in the win was starting quarterback Cooper Rush, who was 24 of 32 for 247 yards and no interceptions, with touchdown passes to Luke Schoonmaker and Jalen Tolbert. Now, the Cowboys are looking at the Giants (2-9), Bengals (4-7), Panthers (3-8) and Buccaneers (5-6) over their next four games.

Washington (7-5), which has now lost three straight games after a resounding 7-2 start, looked like a playoff lock entering November. Now, the Commanders face a challenge to avoid a four-game losing streak before their late-season bye, hosting a Tennessee club (3-8) next week that upset Houston.

For more information on the Cowboys and Commanders, visit the Dallas and Washington team pages at ProFootballPost.com.