National Football League
Washington 23, Dallas 19
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 5, 2025
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Temperature: Dome
Head Official: Clete Blakeman
Attendance: 91349

Marcus Mariota's 5-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with three seconds left gave the Washington Commanders a 23-19 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

The Commanders (12-5) nailed down the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and won 12 games for the first time since 1991.

Dallas (7-10) closed its season by losing three of its last five games.

Mariota kept the 11-play, 91-yard drive alive with a 33-yard carry on fourth-and-1. Three plays later, he hit McLaurin for the winning score.

Jayden Daniels played the first half and finished 6-of-12 passing for 38 yards, along with four carries for 27 yards. Mariota was 15-of-18 passing for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five carries for a team-high 56 yards and a touchdown.

McLaurin had eight catches for 62 yards. Zach Ertz had five grabs for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Trey Lance, the third pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, made his first start since Sept. 18, 2022, and was 20-of-34 passing for 244 yards for the Cowboys.

Rico Dowdle had 22 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Tolbert caught four passes for 98 yards.

Brandon Aubrey connected on field goals of 34, 41, 36 and 22 yards for Dallas. Zane Gonzalez had a 47-yard field goal for Washington. The kickers did all the scoring in the first half as Dallas held a 6-3 lead.

After five trips to the red zone led to four field goals and a turnover on downs, Dallas finally scored a touchdown when Dowdle rumbled into the end zone from the 2-yard line. The TD gave the Cowboys a 19-16 lead with about seven minutes left in the game.

On his first drive, Mariota led Washington on an eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 5-yard scoring pass to Ertz as the Commanders took a 10-9 lead with 5:07 left in the third.

Aubrey's 22-yard field goal gave Dallas a 12-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Mariota answered with a 5-yard touchdown run, capping another eight-play, 70-yard drive to put the Commanders ahead 16-12.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Washington   Dallas
Marcus Mariota Player Rico Dowdle
5 Attempts 22
56 Yards 72
11.2 Avg Yards 3.3
1 Touchdowns 1
33 Long 10
Receiving
Washington   Dallas
Terry McLaurin Player Jalen Tolbert
8 Receptions 4
62 Yards 98
7.8 Avg Yards 24.5
1 Touchdowns 0
13 Long 32
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Washington 269 113 156 3 1 0 2.0 0
Dallas 378 150 228 1 4 0 6.0 0