Dan Quinn’s squad seeks revenge, NFC’s No. 6 seed in grudge match vs. Cowboys, a game that may be Mike McCarthy’s last in Dallas
FRISCO, Texas — Week 18 of the 2024 NFL season provides a stark contrast between NFC East rivals.
The visiting Washington Commanders (11-5) will push to solidify their place as the NFC’s sixth seed with postseason play set to begin next week while the host Dallas Cowboys (7-9) have a final chance to fight for head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff. The entirety of Dallas’ coaching staff’s contracts will expire at season’s end with owner Jerry Jones opting not to extend their original five-year contracts that began in 2020. Dallas clinched its first losing season since 2020, a year in which quarterback Dak Prescott also suffered a season-ending injury. The Cowboys went 12-5 three years in a row from 2021 to 2023, but they went 1-3 in the postseason in that span. McCarthy is well aware Sunday afternoon could be his last game at AT&T Stadium as the Cowboys’ head coach.
“I’ll be honest with you, I go to the stadium much earlier this time in my career than I used to,” McCarthy said on Thursday. “I won a Super Bowl in that home locker room at AT&T Stadium [as the Green Bay Packers head coach in the 2010 season]. So I have a very strong emotional attachment that it hits me every time I walk in there and every time I walk out. So, yeah, I’m definitely aware of it. … I’m not thinking about it right now, but, yeah, I’m definitely in tune with that.”
Dallas shocked the Commanders 34-26 in Washington back in Week 12 to snap a five-game losing streak in a game that was one of their most complete of the season. Their defense generated three takeaways — two interceptions and a fumble recovery — , quarterback Cooper Rush registered a career-high in completion percentage as a starter (75%, 24 of 32 for 247 yards and two touchdowns) and a special teams unit that returned two kickoffs for touchdowns — a 99-yarder by Pro Bowler KaVontae Turpin and a 43-yarder by defensive back Juanyeh Thomas on an onside kick by the Commanders.
Will the Commanders, powered by their top-five offense led by No. 2 overall pick quarterback Jayden Daniels, leave Dallas a sour final impression of McCarthy’s Cowboys at AT&T Stadium Sunday afternoon and clinch the sixth seed? Or will the Cowboys complete a stunning season sweep against Quinn, their former defensive coordinator, and his playoff-bound Washington bunch? Let’s take a closer look and project a victor.
Commanders vs. Cowboys where to watch
Date: Sunday, Jan. 5 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Channel: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Sports betting odds: Commanders -6.5, O/U 44
When the Commanders have the ball
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has Washington on a roll: the Commanders are averaging 28.9 points per game in his starts this season, which is the most team points per game by a rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, per CBS Sports Research. He’s also just the third quarterback to total at least 25 passing touchdowns (25) and at least 850 rushing yards (864) in a single season, joining Baltimore Ravens two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson (three times) and Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowler Randall Cunningham (1990).
Back in Week 12 though, Dallas harassed Daniels into a career-high two interceptions while sacking him four times, the fourth-highest total of his rookie campaign. Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons was at the center of the chaos Dallas’ defense created, totaling a season-high two sacks in addition to three quarterback pressures. It’s not Daniels’ fault. Parsons has been wreaking havoc all year since he returned from a four-game absence in Week 10 that was caused by a high ankle sprain. His 8.5 sacks and 45 quarterback pressures in this span are both the most in the entire league.
For the 2024 season as a whole, Parsons’ 18% quarterback pressure rate is the second-best in the NFL among 164 players with at least 200 pass rush snaps, according to TruMedia. Only reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett’s 18.6% quarterback pressure rate is higher. The keys for Daniels will be to get the ball out of his hands quickly and find top target Terry McLaurin early and often. Cowboys cornerbacks DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis took turns defending him, and he caught just four of his first five targets in the game’s first 59 minutes for 16 yards. On Washington’s final offensive play with 21 seconds to go, McLaurin did capitalize on a defensive miscommunication in zone coverage for an 86-yard receiving touchdown that ran his total for the day up to 102 receiving yards. How often Daniels can find McLaurin throughout the game will be a driving factor in Sunday’s result.
When the Cowboys have the ball
What is known about Dallas’ offense is that there will be a steady diet of run play for running back Rico Dowdle, who became the first undrafted player in Cowboys history to rush for over 1,000 yards in season. What’s unknown about the Cowboys’ offense is who will be handing the football off to him.
Despite starting eight-year, veteran backup Cooper Rush in place of an injured Dak Prescott (hamstring tear) since Week 10, McCarthy refused to name a starting quarterback for Week 18, a first this season. There’s a chance Trey Lance, the 2021 third overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, could be in the mix for a start or serious play time on Sunday. Rush, 31, and Lance, 24, are both set to be free agents in March.
“I really like what Cooper’s done,” McCarthy said Monday. “I think we all have to recognize the job that he’s done to this point. This is the time that you do think about not only the quarterback positions, all positions. We want to make sure that we do have information on our young players. Frankly, we probably have plenty because of just how much they played so. We’re not really looking to answer those kinds of questions right now, so we’ll talk about that moving forward. I’d like to be in a position where everybody plays. I think that would be practical.”
Once McCarthy was put on the spot Thursday in regards to his Week 18 starting quarterback, he ducked the question.
“I really don’t want to talk about it,” McCarthy said Thursday. “We’re looking at this as a competition between football operations. We’re going to stay the course.”
The last time Lance received an extended opportunity was Dallas’ preseason finale versus the Los Angeles Chargers. He threw for 323 passing yards, a passing touchdown and five interceptions while completing 33 of his 49 passes. Lance also ran for 90 yards and a touchdown — a 46-yard read-option sprint — on 11 carries.
“Yeah, a lot,” Lance said on Wednesday when asked how much he’s learned since the preseason finale in August. “Honestly, any time you turn the ball over that many times, it’s easier to smile talking about it now than it was going back four months ago or whatever it was. Yeah, I learned a ton from it. Made mistakes, learned from them. Some good things, some bad things that’s how it goes.”
If given the opportunity, Lance sees himself as capable of being an NFL starting quarterback.
“Yeah absolutely, no doubt,” Lance said. … “I think if you don’t think that about yourself, then you got no chance, and I truly believe that in my heart. I feel like it’s just where you draw your confidence from, what you have your faith in. I feel like I’ve worked to get to this point, and I’m not going to stop until that opportunity comes, and I’m able to make the most of it.”
Rush maintains he hadn’t been told there’s been a quarterback change, and that he hasn’t noticed a difference in terms of how the Cowboys have been operating with him as their starter since Week 10.
“I haven’t been told anything different,” Rush said. “It’s been pretty business as usual. So just going out through the week. Kind of a normal week.”
NFL Media, however, is reporting that Lance will get significant reps.
Prediction
Parsons and the Dallas defense harass Daniels enough to make things interesting early, but Washington puts the game on ice in the second quarter. Their dynamic rookie quarterback carves up the Cowboys in the second half to send their injury-plagued rivals into a much-needed offseason reset.
Pick: Commanders 30, Cowboys 20
