Believe it or not, Cowboys might have hope yet

FRISCO, Texas — A rare win as a double-digit underdog came just in time to let the Dallas Cowboys believe their playoff hopes aren’t completely gone in 2024.

Cooper Rush probably will need three more victories in a row filling in for the injured Dak Prescott for any postseason talk to be realistic.

The thing is, the Cowboys (4-7) could be favored in two of those games, and already are by four points as an annual Thanksgiving Day host against the New York Giants (2-9) on Thursday, according to BetMGM.

Not to mention the losing record at the moment for each of the next four opponents for the defending NFC East champions, playoff qualifiers each of the past three seasons.

The Cowboys have a chance to make something of the improbable and chaotic 34-26 win at Washington that ended a five-game losing streak.

“Behind the eight ball,” Micah Parsons said, the star pass rusher acknowledging the reality that Dallas hadn’t done much yet. “Let’s see how we can handle adversity and see if we can make a playoff run. But we got a long way to go.”

It was a start, though, powered in part by the best 55 minutes from the Dallas defense since the opener, when the Cowboys dismantled Cleveland and looked the part of a Super Bowl contender.

The last five minutes for the Dallas defense against the Commanders looked a lot like most of the nine games after that 33-17 victory over the Browns. Which is to say not very good.

Jayden Daniels easily drove Washington 69 yards to a touchdown before throwing an 86-yard scoring pass in the final seconds to Terry McLaurin, who weaved through five defenders when a tackle might have ended the game.

The Cowboys kept a 27-26 lead thanks to Austin Seibert’s second missed extra point, and withstood another blunder when Juanyeh Thomas returned an onside kick recovery for a TD rather than slide and leave one kneel-down from Rush to end the game.

Dallas will have to remember it did hold a dynamic rookie quarterback’s offense to 251 yards before the madness of the ending in the Cowboys’ biggest upset victory since 2010 at the New York Giants.

That one was too late to save the season. This one might not be.

What’s working

Rush ended a personal three-game losing streak with his best showing since the previous time he won as the replacement for Prescott, who is out for the season after surgery for a torn hamstring.

The 117.6 passer rating was Rush’s best as a starter, and the NFL’s second-worst rushing attack played a solid complementary role with Rico Dowdle gaining 86 yards on 19 carries.

What needs help

KaVontae Turpin’s electrifying 99-yard kickoff return did more than lift the Cowboys when it appeared an 11-point lead might get away in the final five minutes. It eased the worst day of special teams for Dallas since John Fassel took over that phase four years ago.

Suddenly struggling kicker Brandon Aubrey had one field-goal attempt blocked and missed another. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked.

For the second time in five games, Aubrey’s attempt to bounce a kickoff in front of the return man backfired. The ball bounced outside the landing zone, putting the Commanders at the 40-yard line to start the second half and setting up the drive to the game’s first touchdown.