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By Jon Machota Dec 27, 2021
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Cowboys clinched the NFC East one hour and 20 minutes before they kicked off against the Washington Football Team on Sunday night.
Dak Prescott and several other Cowboys players insisted that they did not have that information before kickoff. Some others said they were aware. Prescott said part of his pregame message was about needing to beat Washington to secure the franchise’s fourth division crown in the past eight years.
Dallas responded like it was a win-or-go-home game, blowing out Washington 56-14 at AT&T Stadium in the Cowboys’ most dominant outing of the season. Not only did Prescott have his best game since straining his right calf in Week 6, but the defense and special teams units each scored a touchdown, too.
The score was 21-0 after the first quarter and 42-7 at halftime.
More importantly, the league’s top offense looked to finally be back in rhythm. The Cowboys (11-4) recorded 28 first downs and 497 total yards. Over the previous seven games, the offense was averaging only 19 first downs, 352 yards and 25 points per game.
The 56 points the Cowboys scored are tied for the third-most points in a game in team history. Dallas’ 42-point win is tied for the sixth-highest margin of victory in franchise history. The last time the Cowboys won by at least 42 points was in 1980, when they beat the San Francisco 49ers, 59-14.
“I’ve been No. 1 in the league in offense,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said, “that doesn’t guarantee you a championship. And when your team is lopsided that way, it’s a lot harder on the defense and the special teams. I think you’re seeing a team that’s more balanced, it’s more complementary, and has the ability to win the game in all three phases. And that’s what we want to be.
“We still have a lot of work to do and I think our guys recognize that. We want to play complementary football, this ain’t about statistics.”
The first offensive series looked similar to the last couple of months. After picking up one first down, they were soon off the field three plays later, punting from their own 32-yard line.
That’s when Washington made arguably its biggest mistake of the game, challenging Dallas Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs on a deep ball on its first offensive play. Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke was targeting standout wide receiver Terry McLaurin along the right sideline when Diggs turned and ran as if he was running the route. Diggs hauled in the pass for his league-leading 11th interception, the most in a season by any NFL player since former Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls set the franchise record with 11 in 1981.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Diggs said. “I was in my feelings. I felt like, ‘Wow, they really just did that?’ So it gave me a little bit more to go out there and put out my best.”
What was Prescott’s reaction when he saw the play from the sidelines?
“Why? Why would you try him on the first play,” he questioned. “I hope they continue to do that.”
The Cowboys offense then went 71 yards on nine plays, capping things with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott, who improved to 24-6 in his career against the NFC East, then led the offense on an eight-play, 74-yard drive on their next possession, finishing it with a 9-yard touchdown to tight end Dalton Schultz.
If Washington had any hope of making it a game, it was probably ended three plays later as defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence made a highlight tip near the line of scrimmage that he intercepted and then impressively returned up the left sideline for a 40-yard score.
“There is no ceiling (for this team),” Prescott said. “It doesn’t matter really who we’re playing, when we’re playing our best ball we’re going to be a tough group to stop on all three phases. When you see that tonight, the special teams getting a score, the defense getting a score, and our offense doing it in the different ways that we did we’re going to be tough. We got to make sure that we continue to trend in the right direction and play our best ball that we have all year long moving forward.”
The special teams score came midway through the third quarter when backup running back Corey Clement broke through the line to get a hand on a ball that rookie defensive end Chauncey Golston recovered in the end zone. Golston became the 19th Cowboys player to score a touchdown this season, extending a franchise record that was broken earlier in the game when Lawrence scored, and then added to when Prescott found backup offensive tackle Terence Steele for a 1-yard score late in the second quarter.
DeMarcus Lawrence (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
Prescott finished the night 28-of-39 passing for 330 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 131.4 passer rating without even playing in the fourth quarter. Prescott also looked more like his old self when it came to scrambling. He rushed four times for 21 yards, his second-best rushing total of the season.
Prescott became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass to a running back, tight end, wide receiver and offensive lineman in a regular-season game.
“I’m fortunate enough that I feel probably better than I have all season,” Prescott said. “I’m just continuing to work. I wouldn’t say that I was in a slump. I would also agree that I wasn’t playing my best ball. I’ve just continued to work and continued to work at the things that I know, trust the guys around me, trust the receivers. I just think that’s the process of that.”
Playing with more tempo and some new wrinkles seemed to help the offense look more like it did earlier in the year. Even when plays didn’t work, like Cedrick Wilson’s pass back to Amari Cooper on the opening series, it at least appeared like they were trying some new ideas to spark a group that has looked stagnant. Cooper, who voiced his displeasure for his lack of involvement in the offense last week, was a fan of the team’s “fastball” approach Sunday night.
“It’s just an up-tempo offense,” Cooper explained. “You’re not huddling every play. The receivers (line up) wherever they are after their previous route. In fastball, I play the Z and if he calls double routes, I’m supposed to be on the right side. But if I just ran an over-route, I have to play the X. So everybody has to know different positions. We practice so much that we all know the different positions, so after one play we can line up and get on the ball real fast. You have to be in shape for that, but defenses aren’t usually ready for it.”
Cooper finished with seven catches for a game-high 85 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets.
Defensively, the Cowboys sacked Heinicke four times, which included rookie Micah Parsons recording his 13th of the season, one and a half away from the NFL rookie record. Dallas finished with five sacks, the same total as when it defeated Washington, 27-20, two weeks ago at FedEx Field.
“I think it is just the same story it was two weeks ago,” Heinicke said. “They kicked our ass in all three phases of the game. … We are pissed off right now and rightfully so.”
The Cowboys clinched the NFC East before the game via a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas entered Sunday needing two of six teams to win their games to give the Cowboys the tiebreaker. One of those teams was the Atlanta Falcons, who beat the Detroit Lions in a noon CT game. The other was the Las Vegas Raiders, who defeated the Denver Broncos later in the afternoon, securing the Cowboys’ division title.
While several Cowboys players wore their NFC East championship hats and T-shirts during postgame interviews, it was clear that they aren’t satisfied with that achievement.
“We’re just showing that we’re staying hungry,” Parsons said, wearing his NFC East hat, “and that we’re not alligators, who get paralyzed after we eat.”
The goal has been stated many times by several different members of the organization since training camp. The Cowboys have a team capable of reaching the Super Bowl. They currently hold the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoffs with two games to go, trailing the Green Bay Packers by one game for the top spot. The division title means they will be seeded no lower than fourth.
Next Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals will be a better pre-playoff test than Sunday night’s meeting with Washington. Facing star quarterback Kyler Murray alone is going to be a tougher task than Taysom Hill, Heinicke and Mike Glennon, the quarterbacks Dallas has got the best of during its current four-game winning streak.
“We’re really just taking it one game at a time,” Lawrence said, “facing who is in front of us. It’s just all about capitalizing on that one win. Luckily, we got our win tonight and moving onto the next one.”
What is the next goal?
“Win in the playoffs,” Lawrence said. “Make it to the Super Bowl. Win the Super Bowl.”
Hell yes.
