Game Recap Week 7 – Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys

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October 20, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

Cowboys Blow Out Commanders 44-22

First Quarter

Cowboys won the coin toss and elected to receive. KaVontae Turpin returned the kickoff 30 yards to the Cowboys 34 yard line. Daron Payne batted down the screen pass on first down but Javonte Williams ran for 9 yards on second down. CeeDee Lamb picked up 13 yards on a slant for the first down. Jake Ferguson caught a tight end screen for 5 yards. Marshon Lattimore was called for pass interference breaking up a pass to George Pickens in the end zone. Williams scored the touchdown on the next play. Bradon Aubrey kicked the extra point to give Dallas a 7-0 lead.

Luke McCaffrey returned the kickoff 34 yards out to the Washington 39 yard line. Jacory Corskey-Merritt start the drive with an 8 yard run over the left side but lost 1 yard on a swing pass. Jayden Daniels first pass attempt went wide of McCaffrey and they were called for a false start on fourth down leading to a Tress Way punt. Percy Butler downed the ball on the 1 yard line which led to safety when Payne tackled Williams in the end zone on the next play. Dallas led 7-2.

After the free kick with no return, Washington started at their 35 yard line. Croskey-Merritt ran 9 yards on first down, but Daniels was stopped for no gain on second down. Croskey-Merritt picked up the first down with a 3 yard run up the middle. On a roll out to the right side, Daniels hit Chris Moore in stride who ended up with a 44 yard reception. With first and goal from the Dallas nine, Croskey-Merritt picked up 5 yards down to the four. After a loss of one, Daniels hit Zach Ertz for the touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed. Washington took a 8-7 lead.

The ensuing kickoff went out-of-bounds giving Dallas the ball at their own forty. Dak Prescott hit Pickens for 24 yards after pushing off from Trey Amos. After an incompletion, Williams gained 7 yards, but third down brought another incompletion with Mike Sainristil breaking up the pass. Aubrey nailed a 47 yard field goal attempt, giving the Cowboys a 10-8 lead.

Another special teams mistake, tripping by Colson Yankoff, backed Washington up to their own 13-yard line. Croskey-Merritt picked up 4 yards on first down. Ertz dropped the pass on second down.  Robbie Chosen caught a 5 yard pass from Daniel but Daron Payne made a great tackle short of the first down marker, which forced another Way punt.

After the 4-yard return by Turpin, Dallas started at their own 26 yard line. With little pass rush, Prescott hit Lamb for 74 yards and a touchdown after Lattimore and Quan Martin ran into each other. The extra point was good making the lead 17-8.

McCaffrey had a 24 yard return pick the ball at the 28, but Jalin Lane dropped a sure first down reception. Daniels missed Moore on second down but Chosen had one 13 yard reception on third down to convert.  Croskey-Merritt gained one yard but Daniels missed a wide-open Ertz on second down. Chosen gained 5 yards on third down leading to another Way punt, which was a touchback this time.

Starting at their own 20, Williams gained four yards and Ferguson gained 1 yard on a dump off. Dallas got the break of another questionable call of roughing the passer by Jacob Martin but was called for offensive holding on the next play. On first and sixteen, Prescott gained one-yard on a scramble to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Jayden Blue was called for false start backing Dallas up another 5 yards. On second and 20, Lamb gained 11 yards on a wide receiver screen. Darnell Savage broke up the pass on third down forcing a punt. Lan fair caught it at the Washington 10 yard line.

Croskey-Merritt was stopped in the backfield for a 2-yard loss. Daniels scrambled on second down for 6 yards. Moving away from the pass rush, Daniels hit Lane for 35 yards. Daniels scrambled for 7 yards but on second down, Croskey-Merritt was stopped for a 2 yard loss. After a third down incompletion, the Commanders went for it on fourth down, but another incompletion and declined holding penalty on Josh Conerly, led to turnover on downs.

After a holding call backed Dallas up, Williams ran for 9 yards and Lamb caught a 7 yard pass. Dallas got another holding call. Prescott hit Ferguson for 15 yards to convert the third and twelve. Prescott fumbled the snap and threw two incompletions due to Payne tipping the ball. Aubrey came in a nailed the 61-yard field goal to push the lead to 20-8.

After another Washington penalty on the kickoff, starting at their own 10, Croskey-Merritt ran for two yards but Conerly was called for a false start on the  next play backing them up 5 yards. After an incompletion to Ertz, Jeremy McNichols gained 11 yards on third down leading to another punt.

Dallas was able to pick up a first down behind a 3-yard run by Blue, and catches of 4 yards by Pickens and 5 yards by Lamb. Frankie Luvu stopped Williams for a 3-yard loss and Dallas only gained 2 yards on the next two pass attempts. Lane returned the punt 8 yards to the Washington 32 yard line.

With 1:56 left on the clock in the half, McNichols gained 12 yards on a swing pass. Daniels scrambled around right end on a blitz for 14 yards. Washington got a free play on a Dallas offside, where Daniels threw deep to Chosen in the endzone, where it appeared he was interfered with, but the officials declined to call a penalty.  Daniels scrambled around left end for 10 yards with another 5 yard penalty added to the end of the run. Lane caught a 7 yard pass and McNichols had the best run of the game with a tackle-breaking 19 yard scamper to the Dallas one-yard line. Daniels ran it in on the next play. The extra point was good, cutting the lead to 20-15.

Turpin returned the kickoff 24 yards to the Dallas 28. Prescott was sacked for a 7 yard loss by Von Miller and Martin. Then disaster struck. Pickens caught a 44 yard bomb over Lattimore with a prefect throw by Prescott. Williams then ran for 33 yards against a shellshocked Washington defense down to the 2 yard line. Ferguson caught the two-yard touchdown pass and the extra point was good. Dallas led 27-15.

McCaffrey was injured on the kickoff trying to hurdle over a tackler. He left the field under his own power though. Washington took a knee to end the half.

Third Quarter

McCaffrey returned to the game and returned the kickoff 30 yards to the Washington 35 yard line. Croskey-Merritt ran for 3 yards and Ertz had a 5-yard catch. Daniels ran on a keeper for 3 yards and a first down. Croskey-Merritt was stopped for no gain and a second pass was incomplete. Daniels had to scramble left where he found Moore for 15 yards. Daniels was strip-sacked on the next play, and left the field injured,and  Dallas recovered.

Williams ran for 8 yards and 17 yards to start the drive. Dallas kept Washington’s defense on its heels with passing and running plays that moved the ball into the red zone at the Washington 12 yard line. Prescott scrambled for 7 yards and then threw a 5-yard touchdown to Ferguson. The extra point was good for a 34-15 lead.

The kickoff went out-of-bounds starting Washington at their own 40-yard line. Lane caught an 18 yard from Marcus Mariota to start the drive. Chris Rodriguez ran twice for 9 yards. Conerly was then called for another false start. Mariota then threw a pick 6 when he threw late to Rodriguez and Bland took it to the house for 68 yards. Extra point was good for a 41-15 lead.

McCaffrey returned the kickoff 41 yards to the Washington 47 yard line. Mariota ran 25 yards on an option play. John Bates caught a 5 yard pass and Croskey-Merritt ran for 2 yards. Washington was called for delay of game and then the pass was incomplete. On fourth down, Dallas was called for pass interference at the Dallas 12. Mariota ran for 9 yards, but Jadeveon Clowney batted down the second down pass attempt. Rodriguez ran for 3 yards but was call short of the goal line. During an injury timeout, the play was reviewed and reversed to a touchdown, extra point was good cutting the lead 41-22.

After Turpin’s 226 yard kickoff return, Williams ran for 5 yards and Prescott threw an incompletion. Lattimore picked up his second defensive pass interference call of the game for 18 yards. Turpin caught a pass and took it 17 yards up the left sideline. Williams ran for 9 yards and 3 yards down to the Washington 18-yards line to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Williams ran for 2 yards on first down. A shovel pass to Ferguson went for no gain. Bobby Wagner and Luvu held Hunter Luepke to a 2 yard catch on third down. Aubrey drilled the 29 yard field goal for 44-22 lead.

Washington turned it over on downs again with the series that featured a lot of incompletions with a 27 yard catch by Ertz and a sack by Clowney and 13-yard catch by Chosen.

Jalen Tolbert caught a 16 yard pass from Prescott. Williams was stopped for no gain and then Dallas was called for holding on a Prescott scramble. They ran Williams twice for 9 yards. Dallas punted and Lane fair caught the ball at the Washington 8 yard line.

Washington looked horrible on offense in their final possession, losing two net yards on three plays before punting. Dallas was called for holding on the punt return starting Dallas at their own 25.

The Cowboys came out running, looking to take time off the clock. Blue ran twice for 11 yards and a first down to take the clock to the two-minute warning. Two kneel downs ran out the clock.

Thoughts

Dorance Armstrong went out with an injury, and the pass rush seemed to leave with him.

The defense was horrible again, unable to consistently rush the passer or tackle.

Daniels and Mariota missed open receivers, and when they didn’t players dropped the ball.

Older players don’t always get better but they do get injured more frequently.

Penalty or no penalty? Evidently there are different standards for Dallas.

Another favorable call for Dallas?