Cowboys at Commanders: The good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 18

If the Dallas Cowboys were hoping to build some confidence and momentum heading into the playoffs, they failed miserably at hitting that goal in the regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders in Week 18. If anything, they probably accomplished the complete opposite.

Sadly, the Dallas Cowboys may have been better off not even showing up in Week 18. Absolutely nothing went right for them Sunday afternoon and it may have done much more harm than good. This embarrassing loss could end up shaking them to their core, however, it could also serve as a much-needed wake-up call.

Before we start setting our sights on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who the Cowboys will face in the Wild Card Round as the fifth seed, let’s take a look at Dallas’ Week 18 performance to determine the good, the bad, and the ugly from this matchup. As you can imagine though, there was much more bad and ugly then there was good.

THE GOOD - Tony Pollard?

Did the Dallas Cowboys do anything good in Week 18? Absolutely not! However, since we have to choose one thing to go in this category we might as well go with Tony Pollard. He entered this Week 18 matchup needing just 12 measly yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark rushing for the first time in his career and was able to accomplish that, although just barely. His 19 yards rushing on seven carries earned him a career-best 1,007 yards rushing this year. It’s not much as far as positives go, but it is an individual accomplishment that deserves recognition despite the Cowboys deplorable play.

THE BAD - Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott may have just had the worst game of his entire career against the Washington Commanders Sunday afternoon in the 2022 regular-season finale. He only completed 14 of 37 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. If that wasn’t bad enough, he also threw yet another interception that was returned for a touchdown. That brings his INT total to 15 on the year, which is sadly a career-high for him. This is absolutely not the kind of QB play that will help the Cowboys advance past the Wild Card Round in the playoffs. This is the type of QB play that will lead them to yet another early exit if things don’t improve dramatically.

THE UGLY - Everything else

Let’s be completely honest here. This Week 18 matchup to close out the 2022 regular-season was without a doubt the worst the Dallas Cowboys have played at any point this year. Offensively, defensively, and on special teams they were never able to get anything going in any one of the three phases the game. This embarrassing performance by the Cowboys raises a lot of concerns heading into the playoffs. If they continue to play the way they did Sunday afternoon it’s hard to imagine them getting past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hopefully this was just a bad game, but one that can bounce back from.