Yahoo Finance Washington extends Cowboys' misery with stunning blowout
No one expected that the Dallas Cowboys would make the Washington Football Team look like a competent team Sunday, but that’s exactly what happened.
Washington annihilated Dallas 25-3 on Sunday, piling both misery and points upon the soft heads of the Cowboys. Given the opportunity to take first place in the putrid NFC East, the Cowboys buckled like a cheap folding chair. It’s probably what most fans wanted to be hit with by the end of this game.
Washington dominates in first half
It didn’t start well for either team. The Cowboys allowed Washington to march 70 yards down the field on its first drive of the game. And then Washington couldn’t break the plane despite being just a few yards from the end zone, even going for it on fourth down.
Washington found redemption soon afterward. Dallas quarterback Andy Dalton fumbled after being sacked, Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz recovered in the end zone, and he was promptly swarmed and forced to the ground for a Washington safety.
It’s a safety for @WashingtonNFL! 🙏
📺: #DALvsWAS on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/LXEQNiXMs9 pic.twitter.com/IlsSAXLDJS— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2020
It was all Washington for the rest of the first half. It had four more possessions before halftime and it scored touchdowns on three of them. The Cowboys managed to set a record, but not the good kind.
The Cowboys' defense has made some ugly history. pic.twitter.com/HnhO85bf2M
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) October 25, 2020
Offensively, all Dallas managed was a field goal. The Cowboys got close to a touchdown at the end of the second quarter, but Washington linebacker Cole Holcomb intercepted the ball off the hands of Ezekiel Elliott just yards from the end zone.
Dirty hit takes Dalton out of the game
Things got worse for Dallas in the third quarter. A late dirty hit from Washington linebacker Jon Bostic had Dalton motionless on the turf for several agonizing seconds. Dalton went to the locker room and entered the concussion protocol. Bostic was rightly ejected.
Ben DiNucci, making his NFL debut, took over. He had a fumble, a gorgeous 32-yard pass, and a sack that cost Dallas 14 yards in his first drive.
Cowboys’ problems on display
The Cowboys were carved up on both sides of the ball. The Washington defense manhandled Dallas, holding the Cowboys to 59 passing yards and 83 rushing yards. Dalton and DiNucci were each sacked three times. Every Dallas possession felt like a countdown to the inevitable punt.
Its defensive problems were also glaring. Washington was the worst rushing team in the NFL coming into Sunday’s game, averaging 82 yards per game. Despite that, the Cowboys couldn’t contain Washington. In the first half alone Washington had 125 rushing yards. Here’s another jaw-droppingly awful stat for the Cowboys.
Entering today's game against the Cowboys, Washington was the only team in the NFL without a single 60-yard rusher in a game this season
Antonio Gibson had 72 yards (and a TD) on only 7 carries ... in the first quarter.#DALvsWAS— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 25, 2020
Washington has looked bad this season, so think about how hard and how often the Cowboys had to fail to make it look like the second coming of the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead of claiming first place in the NFC East against a bad team, they made Washington look unstoppable.
How do you move on from a game like this? Perhaps by facing the struggling Philadelphia Eagles next. That’s probably no comfort to head coach Mike McCarthy, who has to spend this week answering questions about the complete disintegration of his team.
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