Cardiac Commanders end regular season with clutch win over Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — Backup quarterback  Marcus Mariota led the Washington Commanders on three second-half touchdown drives, the last one culminating in a clutch throw-and-catch that put receiver Terry McLaurin in the franchise record book, to defeat the Dallas Cowboys, 23-19, on Sunday.

With the win, the Commanders face Tampa Bay next Sunday night in the wild-card round in a rematch of their Week 1 contest, won by the Buccaneers, 37-20.

Washington is riding a five-game winning streak and will take that momentum into its first postseason appearance in four years.

After a languid first half, Commanders coach Dan Quinn plugged in Mariota, sitting rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels after the first-year sensation complained of leg soreness at halftime with Washington trailing 6-3.

Daniels finished the game with 27 rushing yards and 38 passing yards while completing just six of his 12 attempts. 

Mariota pushed the Commanders down the field in the first drive of the second half, finding tight end Zach Ertz for a four-yard touchdown drive for a 10-9 lead. Mariota recorded 161 passing yards and two touchdowns with 56 yards on the ground in relief.

The journeyman didn’t know he’d be coming into the game until Quinn tapped him coming out of halftime. Mariota’s strong performance might have surprised Cowboys fans and the Dallas defense, but his Washington teammates said they knew he’d be ready. 

“You just [see] the intensity that he approaches every day at practice. So, when you’re out there, it’s not like the game speeds up for him,” said Ertz, who caught five passes for 44 yards. “It’s a testament to the way he works.”

Sunday’s game continued a wild few weeks for Mariota. He spent time away from the team recovering from an illness before hopping on a plane to celebrate the birth of his son on Christmas Day. 

“It’s been a very surreal couple of weeks. Very blessed to have my little son. It’s been very, very, very special for me,” Mariota said. “It’s hard to put into words.”

In his first start in more than two years, Dallas quarterback Trey Lance battled a run of not-quite touchdowns in the second half. Receivers Jake Ferguson and Brandin Cooks seemed to catch a pair of passes for touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, only to have the referees rule the potential scores incomplete after they failed to get their feet down in bounds.

Lance threw for 244 yards while completing 20 of 34 attempts with no interceptions or touchdowns. 

With the end zone proving elusive, the Cowboys settled for another Brandon Aubrey field goal — his fourth of the day — to retake a 12-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Thus began a back-and-forth final frame that featured four lead changes between the long-time rivals. 

Mariota led another touchdown drive, completing this one with a four-yard scamper to put the Commanders up 16-12 after a failed two-point attempt.

Dallas responded with its first touchdown of the game, a two-yard rush by running back Rico Dowdle, to take a 19-16 lead with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. 

After the two offenses traded three-and-outs, Mariota performed his best Daniels impression, leading Washington on a last-second scoring drive to secure the victory and the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. 

The final drive — which saw the Commanders gain 91 yards in just over three minutes — featured a 33-yard scamper by Mariota and a five-yard touchdown to McLaurin with three seconds remaining. 

The latest in a slew of last-second touchdowns  — Washington has won each of its last four games on the final scrimmage play — saw McLaurin high-point a fade over Cowboys defender DaRon Bland.

“It’s almost like when your grandma puts the cookies high so the little kids can’t get it,” the Pro Bowl receiver said, noting a defender could make a play on a low pass in the corner of the end zone. “But if you put it on the top shelf, it allows us as receivers to catch that ball and snatch it away.”

The game-sealing score marked a particularly meaningful milestone for McLaurin, who set a record for receiving touchdowns in a season by a Washington player with 13.

Washington’s leaders said seeding was secondary in Sunday’s game. In the week of practice, several players said they were looking to avenge their Week 12 home loss to Dallas, but they found a new angle after the victory. 

“You give yourself confidence. You see how deep our team is; it’s just amazing,” said linebacker Bobby Wagner, who played in a pair of Super Bowls with the Seattle Seahawks. “You always want to go into the playoffs feeling good, winning. The vibe’s just good.”