The Dallas Cowboys are on the board in 2026.
At the end of their game against the Washington Commanders the scoreboard read 37-20 in favor of the home team, a welcome sight given the way the season opener went against the New York Giants.
It feels like the offense was the story of the day, and how could it not be on a day that Dak Prescott tied Tony Romo for the franchise lead in passing touchdowns with 248? The offense was clearly on a mission though and started off hot, potentially wanting to make
life easier for their defense.
The thing is, the defense definitely still had some issues. They were getting beat fairly often by Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, but unfortunately for him he was injured on the final play of the first half. It was hardly the same game against Commanders backup Marcus Mariota, but even he found opportunities against Christian Parker’s group.
Those are definitely things to work on across the rest of the season and definitely this coming week in preparation for the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil.
For now the Cowboys are officially winners for the first time in a long time, and that counts for a lot.
Below you will find our recap of everything as it unfolded.
First Quarter
Washington won the toss and deferred. “GOTI” was on deck to start a game for the second week in a row.
GOTI really did arrive. The Cowboys moved 66 yards in 10 plays and with extreme authority. Dak Prescott even got on the move for a big-time run at one point in time, but he capped it all off with a throw for a score to CeeDee Lamb.
The good vibes continued on the defensive side of the ball as the Cowboys pitched a three and out on their first defensive possession of the game. It was about as perfect of a start as you could have drawn up.
It was not the same sort of success for the Cowboys as they were forced to settle for a Brandon Aubrey chip shot field goal, but points are points and it was nice to get out to a 10-0 lead.
Soon on the next drive it seemed like things were snowballing against Washington. In the blink of an eye they were staring at a 3rd and 18 with the AT&T Stadium awake and alert. They converted though which was certainly frustrating.
The period ended with Washington in scoring range.
Second Quarter
As the second quarter began it looked like Washington was going to grab their first touchdown of the day. A fumble on a pitch from Jayden Daniels to Jacory Croskey-Merritt, one the Commanders recovered, moved them back considerably though, and the Cowboys were the real benefits of it as Washington wound up having to settle for a field goal to cut things to 10-3.
The Cowboys offense kept their foot well on the gas. George Pickens got more involved on this possession and even picked up a big penalty after a huge catch. Soon enough Dallas was back in the endzone, this time thanks to Jake Ferguson.
It didn’t take long for Washington finally match a score. A penalty aided things, but they moved 59 yards in 8 plays before Jayden Daniels hooked up with Stefon Diggs in the endzone. To make matters worse the Cowboys offense went three and out when they got back on offense and the Commanders started to move again as the first half was coming to a close.
Unfortunately, it was about as perfect of a drive as Washington could have drawn up. They took up all of the clock, critically as they were set to receive the ball to start the second half, and then disaster struck.
Washington gambled by going for it with 3 seconds left before halftime, clearly only enough time for a single play. Jayden Daniels appeared to get stepped on by his left guard and went down awkward and was unable to get any kind of play off. The Cowboys were fortunate within the game that the Commanders didn’t get any points, but it was a moment where Jayden’s health suddenly became the most important thing going on.
That sent the teams to halftime. As they went in Daniels was carted off.
Third Quarter
As the second half started the Commanders ruled Daniels out for the remainder of the game. Obviously our best thoughts are with him and Hogs Haven will surely cover the story as things unfold in the coming days.
Transitioning back to football after injuries like that is difficult, but the Commanders picked up where they left off as a team under new quarterback Marcus Mariota. In fact, Mariota looked to hook up with Dyami Brown for a game-tying touchdown very early into the half. While it was ruled incomplete, it looked like Brown got a knee in bounds.
Washington challenged it and, shockingly, lost. They were unable to move the chains, but they did get points by way of a field goal which left Dallas up 17-13.
This is when the game turned.
On Washington’s first play… Jaishawn Barham announced himself and forced a fumble that the Cowboys recovered. It was a huge moment that gave Dallas a chance to finish their last drive off, so to speak.
And the Cowboys did indeed finish it off. Dak Prescott found Jake Ferguson for their second touchdown connection of the day, and this one was notable as it was Prescott’s 248th passing touchdown of his career which tied him with Tony Romo for the most in franchise history.
This game also marked Prescott’s 79th with multiple passing touchdowns, a mark he also tied Romo for in terms of most in franchise history. But the game was hardly over and the Cowboys went back to work on defense. After failing on a couple, literally a pair, of trick plays the Commanders settled for a field goal attempt that sailed wide right. Dallas held a 27-13 lead as the third quarter was closing down.
Fourth Quarter
The Cowboys were able to mine out their own field goal attempt that Brandon Aubrey converted on. This gave them a 30-13 lead and established that the fourth quarter was basically a formality.
Washington was having none of that talk, though. After coming close a few times Mariota finally delivered a touchdown for Washington by way of a huge pass to Stefon Diggs. Amazingly, not really based on current times, Diggs was wide open and Washington closed the gap to 30-20.
That did not last long. The Cowboys marched down the field to put the game away and that they did… as Dak Prescott took hold of the franchise’s all-time passing touchdown record all by himself with number 249.
The game wore down at that point.
Cowboys win! 37-20!
