As it turned out the Cowboys’ result Sunday didn’t matter. They wouldn’t have won the NFC East even with a win as the Eagles beat the Giants 22-16.
The Cowboys played from start to finish as if it didn’t matter.
They saved their worst for last, getting blown out 26-6 by a Commanders team playing for next season.
Dallas finishes 12-5 and with the fifth seed in the NFC playoffs and is headed to Tampa next weekend for a wild-card game against Tom Brady and the Bucs. Brady is 7-0 in his career against the Cowboys, including a season-opening win in September.
The Cowboys had 11 three-and-outs on the day, gaining only 182 yards with 10 first downs. They also had three huge special teams miscues, with a dropped snap by punter Bryan Anger, a fumbled punt by KaVontae Turpin and a missed extra point by Brett Maher.
Dak Prescott played one of the worst games of his career, going 14-of-37 for 128 yards with a touchdown and an interception that Kendall Fuller returned for a touchdown. Dallas finally sat him with 5:19 left in the game.
The Cowboys’ vanilla offense saw 27 carries for 64 yards with Tony Pollard going for 19 yards on seven carries and Ezekiel Elliott for 10 yards on eight carries.
The Commanders had 309 yards, with rookie Sam Howell getting a win in his starting debut. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Terry McLaurin caught three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, and practice squad running back Jaret Patterson had 17 carries for 78 yards.