Trick Play Timing: Gut-Feel or Catching Cowboys Napping?

ASHBURN, Va. - The Washington Football Team caught the Dallas Cowboys sleeping at the wheel a few times in their Thanksgiving win, allowing WFT to sweep their rivals and jump into first place for a few days.

Whether it was the tight-end Logan Thomas throwback to Terry McLaurin on the second series, the direct-snap sneak by Thomas, or the 'Bumerooski' play with Alex Smith and J.D. McKissic that caught everyone by surprise ... everything the WFT did on Thursday turned up smelling like roses.

Was it a gut-feel? Did they plan it because Dallas had a awful short week? Yes and no.

It was just the opposite for the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy along with special-teams coordinator, John Fassel.

As we know, the Cowboys went for a fake punt on fourth-and-10 from their own 24-yard line in a four-point game early in the fourth quarter.

Was it the right timing on both sides? I asked coach Ron Rivera that question on Monday, wondering what led to the different timing of the trick plays.

Rivera thought that McCarthy was probably thinking, 'We’ve got to do something that gets the momentum,‘ and that 'if we (Dallas) can get this, man it’ll flip the motions. It’ll flip it and give us a chance.’

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that “our coaches thought we were teetering.”

Jones added: “When you’re getting gashed vertically in the run … you need to do something more drastic.”

READ MORE: McCarthy Gets Too Cute

That all sounds great except there are problems with Jerry's explanation:

One, the score was 20-16 Washington with 12 minutes left to go in regulation. Hardly 'teetering' in any reasonable definition.

Two, Jones said the Cowboys were "getting gashed vertically in the run" and that's why they needed to do something more drastic. Well.....In the first half, the Washington Football Team ran for 69 yards.

In the third quarter, Washington had three possessions and had a total of 77 yards on those drives over a total of 18 plays, ending in a field goal, interception and punt.

They ran the ball six times for 11 net yards. That's a total of 80 rushing yards and a 20-16 deficit with more than 12 minutes to go!

Where exactly were the Cowboys getting 'gashed,' as Jerry said?

The truth is, Dallas was in that game and the Cowboys tried to get cute. And it failed miserably. It was not that they were getting gashed or teetering, as Jones offered.

For the Washington side, their trick plays and bold risks made much more sense.

"As far as we were concerned, we made a couple of plays," Rivera explained to SI. "We had some momentum. We had them back on their heels. Now is the time to make the tight end pass. "

Thomas' pass on the tight-end throw-back connected for a 28-yard gain and Washington got to the Dallas-36, before eventually scoring on the drive.

As for the play that took America by surprise, a six-yard run by McKissic that was anything but a normal run: Washington was down 10-7 midway through the second quarter and they were driving.

"We got the ball down into the red zone. Now was the time to run the ‘Annexation,’ the ‘Bumerooski,’ as Rivera explained it. "So, our guys just felt that’s what it is."

He added, "Just so you know, we only practiced the 'Bumerooski' twice last week.”

Was there really any need to do either trick play? No. For Washington, both worked out and for Dallas, it failed in miserable fashion. That's how the 30 million or so viewers will judge it.

For us, the Dallas fake punt made no sense live and still makes none. For Washington, of course the creativity was welcomed but if we're being honest ....hopefully there's a day when they feel they don't have to cook so much up in the trick lab - because they'll be able to beat foes without the gimmicks.

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