Cowboys back up guarantee
Build large lead, then have to sweat out Washington rally
LANDOVER, Md. — Beating Washington looked far from a guarantee for the Cowboys after their big lead shrunk, but coach Mike McCarthy is plenty confident winning a close game is good for his team.
Micah Parsons sacked Taylor Heinicke twice and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, helping the Cowboys make good on McCarthy’s “We’re going to win this game” guarantee by holding on to beat Washington 27-20 on Sunday to snap their rival’s four-game winning streak.
The Cowboys led 24-0 and 27-8 before Kyle Allen replaced Heinicke and led a 73-yard touchdown drive and Cole Holcomb intercepted Dak Prescott and ran it back for a picksix. Washington’s comeback bid came to an end when Allen fumbled with 2:24 remaining.
“There’s so much value in those moments,” McCarthy said. “To get where we want to go, we need to thrive in those situations. Now we created some of it today, don’t get me wrong, but there’s still benefit in adversity football.”
The Cowboys staked themselves to such a big lead thanks to a big first-half showing by a defense that forced four turnovers and had five sacks.
Doran Armstrong recovered the fumble Parsons forced and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown, and Randy Gregory picked off Heinicke and forced Allen to fumble on a sack the day after he was activated off injured reserve.
Parsons had two sacks and became the first rookie since Jevon Kearse in 1999 and third in NFL history to have at least one in six consecutive games. One came on third and another on fourth down.
“Third and four down is when you hunt,” Parsons said. “Those are the money downs.”
In the aftermath of McCarthy saying, “We’re going to win this game — I’m confident in that,” his team sputtered late but took care of business. Prescott threw a touchdown pass to Amari Cooper and two interceptions, Ezekiel Elliott ran 12 times for 45 yards through a knee injury and the Cowboys (9-4) distanced themselves from Washington (6-7) in the NFC East.
“We got high standards and high expectations for ourselves,” said Prescott, who was 23-for-39 for 211 yards. “Got going pretty early, got a big lead, but we’ve got to be able to finish it off and not let them back in the game.”
Tensions boiled over with 10:29 left when Washington rookie William Bradley-King — promoted off the practice squad in the morning because of COVID-19 absences — shoved Prescott near the Cowboys’ sideline. Elliott shoved BradleyKing, and Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins was ejected for his role in the skirmish.
By far the biggest crowd — including hordes of Cowboys fans — to witness a Washington home game this season saw Heinicke get sacked four times and exit with a left knee injury. Heinicke finished 11-for-25 for 122 yards, a 43-yard touchdown pass to Cam Sims and a diving two-point conversion after his miserable first half.
Antonio Gibson fumbled for the sixth time this season, Allen was 4-for-9 for 53 yards and Washington’s streak came to a screeching halt after allowing 18 points in the first quarter — more than it was giving up per game over the last month.
“The Washington Football Team versus Dallas should be a big game like it was today,” coach Ron Rivera said. “We’ve just got to play better.”
With Allen replacing Heinicke, Washington has had at least three quarterbacks throw a pass for the fourth consecutive season. The most recent time the organization had one QB all season was Kirk Cousins in 2017.
But there’s no controversy. Rivera said of Heinicke, “If he’s healthy, he’s our starter.”