In Dak We Trust

The Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1) visited division foe Washington (4-12) on Christmas Day and were able to coast to a win. While playoffs are off the table for the Cowboys, they are still playing for pride after a very disappointing season. Dak went off with 307 passing yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions; while Malik Davis got the call and lead rushing with 103 yards on 20 carries, and KaVontae Turpin lead receiving yards with 86. While the Dallas defense has been downright non-existent throughout the season, they showed some bright spots during this game as Jadeveon Clowney had 1.5 sacks and 3 QB hits and Reddy Stewart with half a sack.

Washington (4-12) has had an extremely disappointing season plagued with injuries, but they were able to put together a game on Christmas Day despite it not working out in their favor. 3rd string QB Josh Johnson had an outing with 198 passing yards, no TDs and no interceptions; with Jacory Croskey-Merritt lead rushing with 105 yards on 11 carries, and Deebo Samuel led receiving yards with 68. The Commanders defense got after Dak with 6 sacks and 11 QB hits, Jer’Zhan Newton leading with 3.

The Cowboys go into this offseason having to wrestle the fact that they put themselves into this position after several poor decisions in the offseason led to a depleted defense. It must be a priority for the Cowboys to build back a defense during the draft and offseason, needing help in all three levels. There are some shining factors this season showed, Brian Schottenheimer turned out to be a great fit as the head coach and the offense was the most exciting and successful in the league. A couple of offseason signings need to take place to keep the Cowboys at a level to build off of, including keeping rising star WR George Pickens and bringing back defensive weapon Jadeveon Clowney. With a fading secondary and ineffective pass rush, the Cowboys need to look to bolster their ranks.