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LANDOVER, Md. – The Cowboys’ much-maligned defense played well when it counted most in Sunday’s 24-23 season-saving win over the Commanders.
Dallas allowed Pierre Garcon to run wild with 11 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown and Alfred Morris to gain 88 yards and a TD, but it forced a punt in the fourth quarter that prevented Washington from putting the game out of reach.
Not bad for the league’s worst defense.
“We just had a sense of urgency about ourselves,” defensive tackle Jason Hatcher said. “We knew what was at stake. We had to win this one and we scratched and clawed. We made a lot of mistakes, but we played full speed and we played for each other.”
And they did it with an injury-depleted linebacker corps and defensive end DeMarcus Ware looking like a shadow of his former Pro Bowl self.
“It’s the same thing I’ve been talking about – being your best regardless of circumstances,” coach Jason Garrett said when asked about the defense’s play. “The circumstances were that they were moving the football and made some big plays in the passing game. They were running the ball, but you stick your feet in the ground and look forward to making some stops.”
The stop came when Kirk Cousins fired a pass to Garcon on a crossing route on third-and-6 from the Washington 41 with 3:53 left. It was a play that had been killing the Cowboys all afternoon, but this time Orlando Scandrick got a hand on the ball to break it up.
After the Commanders punted, Dallas drove 87 yards in nine plays for Tony Romo’s game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray on fourth and goal.
“Our guys did a good job up front,” Garrett said of the pressure-packed defensive stand. “The guys in the back end covered well and responded well and made plays. That’s what gave us a chance to win this ball game.”
Scandrick said afterward he took it upon himself to cover Garcon during the last “two or three drives” of the game. Up to that point, Garcon had been victimizing Brandon Carr, who struggled after missing practice last week with an illness.
“I just did it,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted Scandrick as saying. “My guy (Carr), man, he didn’t practice all week. Anybody who’s watched him play before can tell he was sick and he was hurting. And I mean, once they put Garcon inside, I thought they were going to motion him across and run an under again. But when I saw the final formation, I knew the play.”
Scandrick said he was certain the Commanders would go to Garcon.
“I played it a little bit low, and I undercut it,” he said.
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Dallas allowed Pierre Garcon to run wild with 11 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown and Alfred Morris to gain 88 yards and a TD, but it forced a punt in the fourth quarter that prevented Washington from putting the game out of reach.
Not bad for the league’s worst defense.
“We just had a sense of urgency about ourselves,” defensive tackle Jason Hatcher said. “We knew what was at stake. We had to win this one and we scratched and clawed. We made a lot of mistakes, but we played full speed and we played for each other.”
And they did it with an injury-depleted linebacker corps and defensive end DeMarcus Ware looking like a shadow of his former Pro Bowl self.
“It’s the same thing I’ve been talking about – being your best regardless of circumstances,” coach Jason Garrett said when asked about the defense’s play. “The circumstances were that they were moving the football and made some big plays in the passing game. They were running the ball, but you stick your feet in the ground and look forward to making some stops.”
The stop came when Kirk Cousins fired a pass to Garcon on a crossing route on third-and-6 from the Washington 41 with 3:53 left. It was a play that had been killing the Cowboys all afternoon, but this time Orlando Scandrick got a hand on the ball to break it up.
After the Commanders punted, Dallas drove 87 yards in nine plays for Tony Romo’s game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray on fourth and goal.
“Our guys did a good job up front,” Garrett said of the pressure-packed defensive stand. “The guys in the back end covered well and responded well and made plays. That’s what gave us a chance to win this ball game.”
Scandrick said afterward he took it upon himself to cover Garcon during the last “two or three drives” of the game. Up to that point, Garcon had been victimizing Brandon Carr, who struggled after missing practice last week with an illness.
“I just did it,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted Scandrick as saying. “My guy (Carr), man, he didn’t practice all week. Anybody who’s watched him play before can tell he was sick and he was hurting. And I mean, once they put Garcon inside, I thought they were going to motion him across and run an under again. But when I saw the final formation, I knew the play.”
Scandrick said he was certain the Commanders would go to Garcon.
“I played it a little bit low, and I undercut it,” he said.
Continue reading...