Cowboys drop season finale to Commanders in final seconds to finish season 7-10
The season is done for the Dallas Cowboys, as the Trey Lance-led squad couldn’t survive a back-and-forth second half against the Washington Commanders, losing 23-16 in the season finale.
For Lance, it was a healthy effort despite the loss in his first start since 2022, and defensively Micah Parsons had a big day with 2.5 sacks.
The Cowboys finish the season 7-10. Here are the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s finale.
Trey Lance’s day
Much like his three preseason starts, the day from Trey Lance saw some flashes and it saw some lulls.
The bright spots saw him flash his athleticism on a handful of scampers outside the pocket for first downs. His long strides and quick ability to evade pressure and get out of the pocket helped extend Dallas drives throughout the day. He also made some nice throws across the middle of the field.
The lows saw him under throw a wide open Rico Dowdle for a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal and miss some receivers outside the hashes.
On the day, Lance finished 20-of-34 passing for 244 yards and zero touchdowns. On the ground, he added 26 rushing yards.
The consistency hasn’t always been there for Lance, but there are improvements you can see with every snap he takes. Is the progression happening fast enough to justify his return for the foreseeable future? Time will tell as he heads into free agency.
Winning in the trenches
From the opening possession, Dallas had the advantage over Washington in the trenches.
With Parsons getting to Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels for two sacks in the first three plays from scrimmage, the defensive line set the tone from the start against a beaten up Washington front that was missing starting center Tyler Biadasz, a former Cowboy. In the run game, the Commanders put together just 79 yards on the ground.
On the offensive side, it will be tough to find a better game this season for the interior trio of left guard Tyler Smith, center Cooper Beebe and right guard Brock Hoffman, as they each helped pave the way for the Dallas running game while also keeping Lance from dealing with interior pressure. In all, the Dallas rushing attack accounted for 150 yards.
It was a welcomed sight for a Dallas team that has dealt with injuries on both the offensive and defensive lines this season to see both units finish on a high note in week 18.
Addressing Guyton
Despite the rookie roller coaster that 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton has ridden at left tackle this season, Mike McCarthy and his staff have continued to praise his ceiling and have been patient with the lows — with one caveat: penalties.
“It has to stop,” McCarthy said on Nov. 25. “He knows it. He feels sick about it. But we just got to get it corrected, those are penalties that potentially took points off the board and an opportunity to score more points. We got to get it corrected. We’re far enough down the line, he understands it.”
On Sunday, two penalties in the first half led to him getting replaced by Asim Richards in the second quarter. It moved his season total to 14 flags, tied for the second-most in the NFL. Heading into the offseason, cleaning up the penalties with Guyton has to be the biggest emphasis. Everything else with his development follows.
Skills challenge
The Cowboys spent most of the game on Sunday figuring out what they have at the offensive skill positions, as Lance got his full opportunity at quarterback, Deuce Vaughn got some burn at running back and Jonathan Mingo had his most successful outing since being acquired midseason.
There will have to be a lot of questions answered over the offseason at each position group. At quarterback, which backup does the team invest in to be insurance for Dak Prescott? At running back, does Rico Dowdle come back and is there confidence in anyone behind him to return in 2025 as well? At receiver, can there be a pulse outside of CeeDee Lamb?
There will be a point in the offseason when the front office will wish it had a game to see from the skill position group, and Sunday served that exact purpose.
The Deuce got loose
It took two complete NFL seasons, but running back Deuce Vaughn got his first full opportunity to manage the load offensively with a string of carries in the second half.
In his six carries, he far exceeded his previous career high of 16 yards by running for 37 yards with his opportunities on Sunday. It comes just five days after the team released Ezekiel Elliott, who in his 15 games this season exceeded Vaughn’s 37 yards just once.
While it took until Sunday to see Vaughn’s first signs of life during regular season action since he was drafted in 2023, it’s still safe to say that he will have an opportunity to make the team in training camp in 2025. What the position room looks like around him will be the question.
This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 3:28 PM.
