LANDOVER, Md. — The Cowboys went for the knockout blow late in the third quarter against Washington, and instead almost knocked themselves out.
After finishing off a 75-yard drive to take the lead 20-17 at FedEx Field Sunday, coach Jason Garrett inexplicably called for an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff. It did not go well, to say the least: The kick hit a Cowboy players' leg before it traveled the required 10 yards. So the fact that the Cowboys recovered it was moot.
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The penalty gave Washington the ball at the Dallas 38-yard line — as well as the momentum they had just lost. The Cowboys' go-ahead touchdown, a beautiful 6-yard scramble by Dak Prescott, assisted by a pump-fake that froze a slew of defenders, had answered a Washington go-ahead touchdown on the previous possession off the second-half kickoff.
The Cowboys, and Garrett, caught a huge break, though. Washington got to the 10, stalled, and settled for a field goal to tie it at 20.
"We just wanted to change it,''' Garrett said afterward, pointing out how the Washington offense had moved the ball so easily on the previous possessions, including the touchdown to begin the half. "We were doing a good job offensively, we wanted to steal possession right there, Dan (Bailey, the kicker) is so good at this kind of play. So we wanted to give him a chance there, and unfortunately, it didn't go far enough.''
The Cowboys, of course, eventually won, 27-23. So the blunder won't reach the heights of Garrett freezing his own kicker a few years ago. At the time, though, it seemed terribly ill-advised.