Cowboys News: Dallas breaks out the brooms and beats Washington 38-14

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys keep playoff hopes alive 38-14 win - Tom Ryle- Blogging The Boys
A record was set, and Dallas dominated most of the game.

It was good to see some other Cowboys have good games. La’el Collins was spotlighted by the broadcast crew for the job he was doing. Chidobe Awuzie looked good in the secondary, with more than one pass broken up. Kavon Frazier also had some strong plays, stopping ball carriers before they could do any damage.

It wasn't pretty but Dallas Cowboys got the win they badly needed-Todd Archer- ESPN
After an ugly three-game skid, Dallas pulled away for a 38-14 victory over Washington to improve to 6-6 and remain afloat in the postseason chase.

With it they ended a miserable three-game losing streak in which they were outscored, 92-22. With it they won for the first time without having Ezekiel Elliott. With it they had a veritable offense explosion (24 points) after not scoring more than 9 points in their previous three games. With it the defense was able to force four turnovers, sack Kirk Cousins four times.

5 thoughts from Cowboys' 38-14 win over Redskins: The good sign for Dallas heading into Giants game-Jon Machota- SportsDay
A highlight from Machota's game notes.

For the first time since Ezekiel Elliott was suspended, the Cowboys had an effective running game for four quarters. Alfred Morris rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown against his old team. The Cowboys rushed for 182 yards. Washington ran for 56. This is a good sign going into a game against a Giants team that is allowing over 130 rushing yards per game and appears to be mailing in their season.

Dallas Cowboys: Defense snaps sack drought -Drew Davison- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Dallas Cowboys went 30 drives without a sack until DeMarcus Lawrence notched one Thursday against the Washington Redskins. Lawrence added another early in the third quarter and now leads the NFL with 13.5.

The last sack before Thursday’s was at Atlanta when Lawrence took down Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. The sack marked a stretch of 30 opponent drives without one.

Lawrence had a second-quarter, strip-sack of Washington’s Kirk Cousins and defensive tackle Maliek Collins recovered the ball on the Washington 19.

Dez Bryant breaks franchise TD leader-Drew Davison- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant finds himself atop the franchise’s record book for most TD grabs. He hauled in his 72nd on Thursday against the Washington Redskins.

The record-breaking catch came on the first play of the fourth quarter when Bryant hauled in a 13-yard fade pass from Dak Prescott. Bryant went up and over Redskins defensive back Bashaud Breeland to make the play.

Earlier this season, Bryant referred to himself as a “scoring machine” in his ability to high-point the ball better than anyone in the end zone.

“It’s one of my biggest traits,” Bryant said. “I love it. High-pointing the ball, that’s one of the big things about my game. That’s what I do.”

Said tight end Jason Witten: “I don’t know if there’s anybody in the history of the league who can high point the football like he does. He works at it every day. I’m really proud of him to see him grow and grind it out.

“I know this year hasn’t been perfect for any of us but for him staying poised and staying with it. It was a big-time touchdown.”

Throw up the X! Cowboys WR Dez Bryant breaks franchise TD record with score vs. Redskins-Jori Epstein- SportsDay
Dez Bryant entered the game tied with great Bob Hayes on the franchise's all-time touchdown receptions record but he's all alone at the top tonight.

"You're writing the story and you've got the script down just right," Jones told sideline reporter Kristi Scales on 105.3 The Fan ahead of the last Redskins game. "We all know how hard he worked and no one deserved it more than Dez. Nobody rooting for him more than Bob Hayes, I know."

Play of the Game: Ryan Switzer scores on 83-yard punt return -Stefan Stevenson- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Switzer had a stand-out evening.

Cowboys’ rookie punt returner returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown near the end of the first half Thursday night against the Redskins.

Cowboys find missing spark to top Redskins, end three-game losing skid- USA Today
Dallas broke out of its offensive funk for a key win in the NFC playoff race.

The scoring total was the Cowboys' second highest of the season, trailing only a 40-point outburst against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7.

Dallas kept its remote chances within the NFC East alive, though the Philadelphia Eagles can claim the division Sunday with a win over the Seattle Seahawks. But Thursday's win brought the Cowboys to 6-6, just a game and a half behind the 7-4 Atlanta Falcons and Seahawks for the second wild-card spot in the NFC.