The Commanders finally got on the board thanks to a 47-yard field goal with 4:41 left in the half. But the Cowboys were lucky they didn’t find themselves down by one. Washington pulled out its bag of tricks with a reverse to wideout Dyami Brown, who then threw a deep pass to Olamide Zaccheaus. However, despite being alone in the end zone, the receiver dropped the ball, the home side catching a break while keeping the 6-3 advantage.

Dallas nearly got across the goal line just before the end of the half after going on a 15-play drive that ate up all but the final 17 seconds of the quarter. But deciding to go for it on fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Lance escaped the Commanders’ pass rush, only to have his throw to Rico Dowdle in the end zone fall short, incomplete.

The Cowboys may not have put any points on the board on their last possession of the first half, but they did manage to do so on their first possession of the second half. The offense worked itself into the red zone again – the big play coming on a 28-yard pass from Lance to Tolbert – but it couldn’t score the game’s first touchdown. Instead, Aubrey provided a 36-yard field goal to up the margin back to six, 9-3.

With Daniels calling it a day, out came Marcus Mariota, who promptly led the visitors on an eight-play, 70-yard drive to the end zone. The backup completed all five of his passes for 60 yards, his final 4-yard connection to tight end Zach Ertz providing the touchdown and giving Washington its first lead, 10-9.

With Deuce Vaughn handling the load at running back during this series, the Cowboys came right back with their third trip to the red zone, marching 66 yards in 15 plays to the Washington 4. And tight end Jake Ferguson nearly made a spectacular touchdown catch in the back of the end zone but couldn’t quite get his toes down in bounds. Instead, the drive ended with another Aubrey field goal, a chip-shot 22-yarder, to go back in front, 12-10.

Of course, what the Cowboys needed were touchdowns, especially when Mariota made it two scores on two straight possessions at the helm. The Commanders quarterback got the scoring honors himself, wrapping up the eight-play, 70-yard drive with a 5-yard run off left end to the goal line.

The deficit now four, a field goal wouldn’t do. And once again, Lance led the offense back into the red zone, this time lining up for a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line after a pass interference penalty in the end zone on Washington. Thankfully, the third time was the charm as Dowdle slipped his way through the big bodies to pay dirt, his second rushing touchdown of the season.