Quitting and tanking aren't on Dallas Cowboys agenda, they got win they deserved against Washington

For the desperate and frustrated Dallas Cowboys, old ugly is better than old nothing.

If you add it little crazy to it, even better.

And when the 3-3 first half and the worst day in the history of specials teams turned into a chaotic 41-point fourth quarter that featured two kickoff returns for touchdowns for in the final three minutes before having to survive a late attempt at a hail mary, the formerly downtrodden and seemingly forgotten Cowboys are counting it all as joy.

The 34-26 victory against the Washington Commanders (7-5) not only snapped a five-game losing streak but it has given the team a flicker of hope that the season may not yet be over.

The Cowboys (4-7) still have a long way to go but they have a chance to build a little momentum against the New York Giants (2-9) on Thursday in the annual Thanksgiving Day tilt.

Still, short handed and on a short week, the Cowboys are just happy to get a win, a much deserved and needed one at that.

“We needed it,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s been frustrating, no doubt. We’ve acknowledged that. I think everyone in our circle has been accountable for it. I think it shows who we are. We have tremendous fight. Excellent team win. It is great to see guys rewarded for staying the course and grinding it out. It’s feel good to win. It’s been a minute.

“Hopefully, we can continue to get healthy. That was a division game. We gotta win this next one. We got another right around the corner.

So many people had given up on the Cowboys and many fans were already looking forward to a high draft pick, so much so that team tank was trending on social media.

Add in the continued rash of injuries that included three Pro Bowlers in left guard Tyler Smith, right guard Zack Martin and cornerback Trevon Diggs out for Sunday game to go along with quarterback Dak Prescott, who was lost for the season three weeks ago with a torn hamstring and it appeared the Cowboys would organically fail up the draft board.

But that was never the plan or the mindset of the men inside the locker room, who refuse to quit on McCarthy, even if his fate seems to be sealed.

McCarthy is in the final year of his contract was charged with make of a deep playoff run to secure his return for 2025.

There is time for that.

Right now, the Cowboys are playing for each other and focused solely on the players are suiting up to play.

And while they are still from a good or contending team, the showed against Washington that they are one that will still fight and claw.

“It’s cool,” quarterback Cooper Rush said. “A bunch of guys getting opportunities to show who they are. Coach McCarthy talked about it earlier in the week when we found out who was going to play. I think everyone fought out there. A lot of younger guys stepped up and it was a huge.”

Certainly, Rush stepped up with his best game since taking over for Prescott.

He completed 24 of 32 pass attempts for 247 yards and two touchdowns, including a 22-yarder to tight end Luke Schoonmaker to give the Cowboys a 20-9 lead with 5:16 left in the game.

Of course that’s when all hell broke loose. Washington made it 20-17 with a touchdown pass and two point conversion.

Then KaVontae Turpin followed with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that began with him bobbling the ball then doing a spin move before smoking Washington to the end zone to make it 27-17 with 2:49 to go

A quick Washington field goal was followed by an onsides kick recovery by the Cowboys. But a three-and-out offense opened the door for a an improbable 86-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin at the :21 mark.

Commanders kicker Austin Siebert inexplicably missed the extra point, which harkened back to a first quarter that included a blocked field goal and missed field goal by Dallas’ Brandon Aubrey. Siebert also missed an extra point in the third quarter.

Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas returned the ensuing onsides kick 43 yards to the end zone. If he had fallen down, the Cowboys could have run out the clock.

A final pass from Daniels was intercepted by safety Israel Mukuamu.

In between, don’t overlook the play of back up guards T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman who helped keep Rush clean and pave the way for a season-high 86 rushing yards on 19 carries for running back Rico Dowdle.

Schoonmaker, a disappointing second-round pick of a year ago, had three catches for 55 yards and the aforementioned touchdown as he started in place of the injured Jake Ferguson.

Micah Parsons had a season-high eight tackles and two sacks.

“You know the vibe is extremely high,” Parsons said. “Everyone is upset about the end of the end of the game but just being able to find a way to win. It seems like over the last three to four weeks we’ve been finding a way to lose. We’re definitely on our way to being the team that we want to be.”

But the star of the unit was undrafted free agent cornerback Josh Butler who had 12 tackles, a sack and three pass deflections.

Tanking ain’t on Butler’s mind. He’s clawing and scratching to survive in this league.

Just like the Cowboys are in what many had already chalked up as a lost season.

“I can’t say enough about Josh Butler,” McCarthy said. “He’s earned it. Had to wait along time so you love it when these young guys get opportunities. It is rewarding for everyone who got an opportunity. I think I mentioned it last night that this game was going to be about not complaining and doing the things we need to do to in. This game will not be about the guys who are not here. It’s why you play the game. I think our guys do a great job just staying the course.”