Commanders Blow Out Cowboys in Sam Howell's Debut - Live Game Log
It's the final game of the season for the Washington Commanders as they host the Dallas Cowboys this afternoon at FedEx Field.
The Commanders will give the ball to fifth-round rookie Sam Howell for his first NFL start and professional debut.
Here's a look at the Commanders inactives ...
No. 11 QB Carson Wentz
No. 31 S Kamren Curl
No. 68 G Andrew Norwell
No. 78 T Cornelius Lucas
No. 93 DT Jonathan Allen
No. 96 DE James Smith-Williams
Here's a look at the Cowboys inactives ...
No. 55 LB Leighton Vander Esch
No. 63 C Tyler Biadasz
No. 18 WR Jalen Tolbert
No. 41 SS Markquese Bell
No. 15 QB Will Grier
No. 24 FS Israel Mukuamu
No. 98 DT Quinton Bohanna
Here's a look at everything you need to know for today's game ...
WHAT: Dallas Cowboys (12-4) at Washington Commanders (7-8-1)
WHERE: FedEx Field, Landover, MD (67,617)
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, 4:25 p.m.
TELEVISION: FOX / FuboTV (try it free)
RADIO: KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan
Betting via SI SportsBook
SPREAD: Dallas Cowboys -6.5 (-118), Washington Commanders +6.5 (+100)
TOTAL: 40.5 (o -110, u +110)
MONEYLINE: Cowboys -333, Commanders +260
Make sure to follow along with in-game updates as they happen with Commander Country.
First Quarter
The Cowboys won the toss and opted to receive.
Kavontae Turpin returned the opening kickoff out across the 25, but a holding penalty on Dallas means quarterback Dak Prescott will start with the ball on his own 10-yard line.
A pair of hand-offs to running back Ezekiel Elliott netted five yards, setting up 3rd and 5 ... where Prescott found receiver Noah Brown to move the chains.
Prescott followed up with an incompletion, and a five-yard run by Tony Pollard led to another 3rd and 5 - and the Cowboys kept it on the ground, with Pollard gaining just three yards and forcing a Dallas punt.
But Bryan Anger's punt never got off, as the veteran dropped the snap and was tackled by Milo Eifler at the Dallas' 20-yard line.
Change of Possession
Jonathan Williams gets the start at running back in place of Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson, and he takes his first carry for a gain of four yards.
On 2nd and 6, the Commanders give Howell his first pass attempt ... and he hits star receiver Terry McLaurin in stride over the middle with no defenders between he and the endzone. Touchdown!
Joey Slye's extra point is good, and the Commanders take the lead after Howell's first-pass touchdown.
Commanders 7, Cowboys 0
Change of Possession
Starting at his own 25, Prescott looks for veteran wideout T.Y. Hilton - but the pass falls incomplete. On 2nd and 10, Pollard gets the handoff but only musters three yards, leading to another third down for the Cowboys offense.
Prescott takes the snap, drops back, rolls left ... and is sacked by Efe Obada with Montez Sweat not far behind!
Anger gets this punt off, and Dax Milne's short return gives the Commanders the ball at their own 38.
Change of Possession
Howell's second career pass isn't quite as exciting as his first, falling incomplete. Williams gains six on his second attempt, creating 3rd and 4.
Howell slides left and throws to McLaurin again and hits him in stride for the second time ... but the pass is dropped, and Washington will be forced to punt.
Pro Bowl punter Tress Way boots one down to Turpin ... who muffs the punt! Washington recovers at the Dallas 15-yard line!
Given good field position off a special teams mistake once more, the Commanders fail to capitalize, as a pair of runs by Williams set up 3rd and 5, and Howell is dropped for a loss of three yards on a scramble.
Slye has a 31-yard chip shot to give Washington a two-possession lead ... and he pulls it wide left. The Commanders walk away with zero points after the fumbled punt.
Change of Possession
After a four-yard completion to tight end Jake Ferguson, Prescott pitches one to Elliott, but it's behind him and nearly fumbled, leading to no gain.
Facing 3rd and 6, Prescott is forced to scramble right and can only pick up two yards, leading to the Cowboys' third punt of the game.
Milne is back to receive Anger's punt - but muffs it ... and is able to get it back. The Commanders will take over on their own 33.
Change of Possession
Commanders running back Jaret Patterson gets his first action of the day and immediately logs a two-yard reception (plus defensive holding on Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs).
Two plays later, Washington has 3rd and 11 - and Howell takes a deep shot to McLaurin downfield, which is underthrown by several yards but draws pass interference on cornerback Trayvon Mullen.
Patterson gains five more on the ground and Howell adds 10 on a scramble. It's quickly become the Patterson show, as he picks up 18 yards on three more carries, bringing the quarter to a close.
Second Quarter
On 3rd and 6, Howell goes back to McLaurin - and just gets the first down, putting Washington down to the Dallas' two-yard line.
A handoff to Williams is swarmed immediately, and he backtracks looking for a hole but can't find one, ultimately losing three yards. The next play, Howell looks for receiver Cam Sims in the endzone ... but is intercepted by Malik Hooker. A brutal turnover and second missed opportunity for Washington's offense.
Change of Possession
A four-yard run by Pollard leads to 2nd and 6 ... and Prescott is nearly intercepted by Commanders corner Kendall Fuller but evades disaster ... for one snap. The next play, Prescott looks for Noah Brown but this time is picked off by Fuller, who takes it back to the endzone for a pick-six.
Slye's extra point is ... no good, and the hectic second quarter continues.
Commanders 13, Cowboys 0
Change of Possession
Like the first drive, Dallas starts with two runs from Elliott for five yards, but Prescott's pass isn't complete on this occasion, and Anger is out to punt for the fourth time.
Milne delivers a seven-yard return and Washington starts on its own 18.
Change of Possession
Patterson starts the drive by gaining six yards. Two plays later, Howell picks up nine on a scramble, moving the sticks. He then hits rookie wideout Jahan Dotson over the middle for a 30-yard gain as the Commanders move into Cowboys territory.
Receiver Curtis Samuel loses four yards on a run and Patterson can only get two back, setting up 3rd and 12. Howell finds tight end Logan Thomas for five yards, leading to a 52-yard field goal from Slye ... which clanks off the left upright.
Slye has missed two field goals and an extra point, all consecutively, just halfway through the second quarter.
Change of Possession
A three-yard run by Pollard is followed by two incomplete deep passes from Prescott, and Dallas goes three-and-out once again.
Change of Possession
After Williams gains six yards on two carries, Howell picks up eight on a scramble to move the chains. The next play, he's dropped for a five-yard sack, and Williams can only collect one yard on a carry. On 3rd and 14, Howell finds Thomas for an 11-yard gain, but the Commanders are forced to punt.
Change of Possession
Prescott finds receiver CeeDee Lamb for pickups of five and six, respectively, to pick up a first down ahead of the two-minute warning.
Keeping the momentum rolling, Prescott hits tight end Dalton Schultz for seven and receiver Michael Gallup for 10 but follows with a pair of incompletions to Schultz.
On 3rd and 10 just past midfield, Prescott looked for Schultz again - and found him for a gain of 12. Going hurry-up, Prescott hit Hilton for 11 more as the Cowboys marched to the Commanders' 26-yard line.
After six completions in eight targets, Prescott saw two more passes to Schultz fall incomplete, setting up 3rd and 10 - where the veteran quarterback spun out of a sack, ran up field and lunged for a first down ... but was marked just shy.
Dallas kept its offense on the field for 4th and inches, and the quarterback sneak with Prescott got the job done but killed nearly 20 seconds in the process as the Cowboys are out of timeouts.
Prescott's first down pass is incomplete, leading to 2nd and 10 from the Commanders 15-yard line ... and Prescott fires a bullet to Lamb for the touchdown with just six seconds remaining in the first half.
Brett Maher's extra point is pulled wide left, and the special teams trouble continues.
Commanders 13, Cowboys 6
Change of Possession
Maher's kickoff sailed through the endzone for a touchdown, and Howell took a knee to bring the half to a close.
Halftime
Third Quarter
Patterson begins the half with a 27-yard return out to the Washington 29.
A nine-yard carry from Williams gets the Commanders ahead of the chains, but he's stopped at the line to gain on the next play and dropped for a two-yard loss after that, forcing a punt from Way.
Turpin's return brings Dallas to its own 23, where Prescott will take over.
Change of Possession
A holding penalty on Schultz is followed by an Elliott run for no gain, leading to 2nd and 20. Prescott hits Lamb for a gain of 13 to create 3rd and manageable, but Elliott wasn't on the same page as his quarterback and watched as the ball sailed behind him.
Anger's 42-yard punt resulted in a 16-yard return from Milne, giving Washington the ball just shy of midfield.
Change of Possession
Patterson picks up two yards on both of his carries, setting up 3rd and 6. Howell takes a shot downfield for Dotson ... but it falls incomplete, despite landing in the receiver's breadbasket.
Way's punt bounces into the endzone, and Dallas will start on its own 20.
Change of Possession
Pollard's carry musters just one yard, and Prescott's pass to Brown is incomplete. On 3rd and 9, Prescott targeted Gallup, but the pass was broken up by cornerback Danny Johnson.
Milne gets nine yards on the punt return, setting Washington up on its own 34.
Change of Possession
Williams loses two yards on first down but gets it back on a reception the following play. A false start on center Wes Schweitzer pushed the Commanders back to 3rd and 15, and Howell could only dump it off to Williams for a gain of 8, forcing another punt from Way, who's knocked down but doesn't draw a flag.
Commanders receiver Dyami Brown, serving as a gunner on punt coverage, immediately tackled Turpin at the Dallas' 14-yard line.
Change of Possession
Elliott loses two yards on first down as Washington continues to play suffocating run defense. Prescott's pass is in and out of the hands of Schultz, leading to 3rd and 12. The veteran signal caller loads up and launches deep for Hilton ... but it bounces off his hands and falls incomplete.
Following Anger's punt, the Cowboys have logged seven three-and-outs.
Change of Possession
Howell goes to Dotson on the first play and is rewarded, connecting for a 22-yard gain. The play after, Howell finds Thomas for 11 more, but it's called back due to a penalty on rookie offensive lineman Chris Paul.
A one-yard run sets up 2nd and 14, but Howell and Dotson connect for 20 yards and a Washington first down. The Commanders now turn to Patterson, who gets 12 yards in two carries.
Running an option on 1st and Goal, Howell keeps it - and cuts through the Cowboys defense for a touchdown. Slye's extra point is good, and the Commanders grab a 14-point lead.
Commanders 20, Cowboys 6
Change of Possession
A 29-yard return from Turpin gives Dallas the ball at its own 28.
Prescott starts the drive by targeting Brown, but it's knocked away. A handoff to Pollard, working laterally, is stopped at the line of scrimmage. On 3rd and 10, Prescott fired a bullet to Brown ... but it was nearly intercepted by safety Darrick Forrest and fell incomplete.
Anger's punt is fair caught by Milne at the Washington 33.
Change of Possession
Howell's feeling it and is getting aggressive, as he launches a downfield pass to McLaurin ... who hauls it in! It's a 52-yard bucket throw from Howell and the Commanders are already in field goal range as the third quarter comes to a close.
Fourth Quarter
A four-yard run from Patterson is followed by a pair of incompletions from Howell, the second of which was close to being defensive pass interference but wasn't called.
Nonetheless, Slye's 29-yard field goal splits the uprights, and the Commanders now have a three-possession lead.
Commanders 23, Cowboys 6
Change of Possession
After an incompletion to Elliott, Prescott found Schultz for nine and gained two with a sneak. He hit Hilton for eight and Schultz for five more while Elliott added in a two-yard run, pushing the Cowboys past midfield.
Prescott then connected with Schultz for a 20-yard gain, but it was brought back due to holding. A pass to Lamb picked up 13 yards and set up 3rd and 2, with Prescott scrambling just short of the first down.
Dallas resorted to the quarterback sneak once more - but this time, Prescott was stopped short, and Washington took over on its own 45.
Change of Possession
Williams gained seven yards on two carries, and Howell's pass to McLaurin was off on 3rd and 3. A quick, 90-second possession gives the Cowboys the ball back, but Way pins them inside their own 10.
Change of Possession
Dallas' possession lasts just nine seconds, as Prescott tosses three consecutive short incompletions.
Milne logs a 15-yard return and gives Washington the ball in Dallas territory.
Change of Possession
A seven-yard run by Patterson is followed by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams. Patterson tacked on 18 more yards across four carries and set up a 22-yard chip shot from Slye, which he converted.
Commanders 26, Cowboys 6
Change of Possession
The Cowboys have removed several starters, as Cooper Rush is in at quarterback for Prescott and Malik Davis is in the backfield instead of Elliott and Pollard.
Two runs by Rush lead to 3rd and 4, and Rush overshoots Gallup. Dallas has now logged 10 three-and-outs.
Milne twice reverses field on the punt return but gains just two total yards. Howell will take over on his own 13.
Change of Possession
Reggie Bonnafon is in at running back alongside Howell; he gets the handoff and is stopped at the line of scrimmage.
Bonnafon gets four and five yards, respectively, on his next two carries as Washington takes the clock down to the two-minute warning.
Way's 50-yard punt is fair caught by Turpin at the Dallas 29-yard line.
Change of Possession
The Cowboys run out the clock with three hand-offs to Davis, netting a total of 12 yards.
Game Over
Final Score: Commanders 26, Cowboys 6
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