Four hours before kickoff on Sunday, former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn led Washington to an upset of Philadelphia that eliminated the Cowboys for the first time since 2020. The Buccaneers had a healthier team and everything to play for, but Dallas never trailed in a 26-24 win.
“The Cowboys finally look like a playoff team and there’s no playoffs to be had,” said insider Ed Werder after the game on the Doomsday Podcast.
“The thing that really got my attention is that these guys played with the intensity and passion of a team playing in an NFC Championship Game trying to get to a Super Bowl, not of a team trying to recover from the devastating news that you’re not going to the playoffs for the first time in four years.”
Cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who like the Dallas coaching staff is on an expiring contract, made two critical fourth-quarter plays to help thwart the Buccaneers.
Rather than sit out with an elbow injury that limited him in practice all week and coast into free agency, Lewis started in a meaningless game and delivered when Dallas needed him most. With 6:30 left in regulation, Baker Mayfield fired a deep shot into the end zone. Lewis played through intended receiver Jalen McMillan, battled him all the way to the ground and wrestled away the ball for a critical interception.
Lewis also played a big role in the takeaway that sealed the Cowboys’ win when the Bucs were poised to drive for a game-ending field goal. With Dallas clinging to a 26-24 lead and less than two minutes left in the game, his corner-blitz pressure forced Mayfield to pitch the ball forward to Rachaad White, who was stripped by DaRon Bland to ice the game.
On offense, quarterback Cooper Rush was 36 of 35 for 292 yards, no interceptions and a first-quarter touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert. CeeDee Lamb played with a painful shoulder injury but still caught seven passes for 105 yards.
“CeeDee playing with his injury and being effective,” Werder said, “and obviously a couple times over the past few weeks since he hurt the shoulder in Atlanta, he’s been tackled in a way that injured the shoulder again, caused him pain, he’s left the game, but he comes back in. And I think that sends a great message. People are like, ‘Why don’t they shut him down? Why are they allowing him to play and putting himself at risk?’ They only get 17 games and the real competitors want all 17 games if they’re healthy enough to do it.
“I think he sends a great message and he sets a standard I think for everybody else on the team. ‘Well, if CeeDee Lamb’s not going to shut it down, how can I shut it down?”
Tampa Bay (8-7) is in a difficult place after the loss, especially because Atlanta (8-7) beat the Giants on Sunday. The Falcons, who hold the key tiebreaker thanks to a sweep of their season series with the Bucs, control their own destiny in the race for the NFC South crown. Tampa Bay closes the season with home games against Carolina and New Orleans. Atlanta travels to Washington (10-5) and closes the year with Carolina.
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