Well, the Dallas Cowboys managed to get the win on the road despite being huge underdogs to Dan Quinn and his Washington Commanders. They did so in the most bizarre way, with an explosive fourth quarter for both sides. That complicates some rating scales here, but it was a good outing overall for Dallas.

Quarterback

Cooper Rush just had his best game of the year, although that’s not saying much. Still, Rush completed 75% of his passes for 247 yards, an average of 7.7 yards per attempt. He also threw two touchdowns and didn’t convert them for the first time since becoming a starter.

Rush’s production wasn’t all dink-and-dunk football, either. Rush had a handful of deep shots, including one completion of 41 yards to Jalen Brooks that set up the tying field goal just before halftime. It wasn’t a perfect game from Rush, but it was damn close.

Grade: A

Running backs

Overall, Rico Dowdle played a very productive match. He finished the day with 86 rushing yards on 19 carries, averaging a very healthy 4.5 yards per carry. His only real flaw was a fumble, but outside of that, Dowdle had several explosive and powerful runs.

Outside of Dowdle, however, the Cowboys didn’t get much production from their run game. Ezekiel Elliott added six yards on three carries and CeeDee Lamb’s lone carry was stopped for a gain of one. Trey Lance came in for one play, a speed right, and he was tackled for a loss of three.

Grade: B+

Passengers passing

The Cowboys made a point of getting CeeDee Lamb involved early, with five of his 12 targets on the day appearing on the game’s first two drives. Lamb was also productive, with 10 catches for 67 yards and a slew of chain-moving receptions.

That also opened the way for others. Jalen Tolbert caught a touchdown, Jalen Brooks had a huge reception and both Luke Schoonmaker and Brevyn Spann-Ford made some big plays here and there. However, there were still several drops and plays on the field that prevented this group from getting a better grade.

Grade: C+

Offensive line

The Commanders came into this game as a defense that didn’t generate pressure at a very high rate, but did convert that pressure into sacks at one of the best rates in the league. Then the Cowboys were down two starters at both guard spots.

So the fact that Rush was only sacked once with only two knockdowns is impressive. Likewise, the offensive line did a good job of creating some gaps for Dowdle, although they were also badly outscored on several stuffed run plays. All in all it was a good day for the unit, although they can do better.

Grade: B

Run defense

The Commanders came into this game as one of the better rushing teams in the league, which isn’t surprising with their three-headed monster of Jayden Daniels, Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler. But Dallas did a good job of bottling up the run, as Washington’s running backs totaled just 57 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Daniels, on the other hand, was a little harder to control. The sensational starting quarterback led the team in rushing with 74 yards on just seven carries, although 25 of those yards came on two scrambles. On designed runs, Daniels still averaged 9.8 yards per carry, which isn’t exactly ideal.

Grade: B

Pass quickly

Daniels’ mobility makes him a very difficult quarterback to run against. Only nine quarterbacks have faced less pressure entering this game than Daniels, whose ability to evade rushers has helped this offense immensely.

Consider it a huge victory that Dallas managed to sack Daniels four times, and they routinely got in his face with eight knockdowns. Especially in the first half, Mike Zimmer had Daniels’ head spinning with his wide variety of simulated pressure looks. This was a glimpse of the potential of this defense under Zimmer.

Grade: A+

Pass coverage

Finally, DaRon Bland made his season debut, and it helped the Cowboys put together a great game in the secondary. Daniels rarely went Bland’s way, instead targeting Josh Butler. Butler was up for the challenge, though, forcing a handful of incompletions and nearly coming away with an interception on a deep shot.

The defense also picked off Daniels twice in this game, although one was the result of a shocking hit from Chauncey Golston, while the other came on a Hail Mary at the end of the game. Still, Daniels struggled to stretch the field the way he likes to do. The only thing keeping the Cowboys from a perfect grade here is their poor coverage of the Hail Mary to Terry McLaurin.

Grade: A

Special teams

In the first half, the special teams unit was on its way to an F grade. Brandon Aubrey’s first field goal attempt was blocked and his second attempt just missed. Bryan Anger also had a punt that was blocked. And Aubrey was even assessed a penalty early in the third quarter for not kicking the ball into the landing zone, giving Washington a short field.

But this unit came out big in the second half. Aubrey hit two field goals and, unlike the Commanders kicker, made all of his extra points. KaVontae Turpin returned a 99-yard kickoff for a score at a crucial moment of the game. And Juanyeh Thomas recovered an onside kick before returning it for another touchdown, icing the game. It was a very uneven match from this group, so I can’t give them top marks, but the good definitely outweighs the bad here.

Grade: B+

Coaching

Mike McCarthy followed up one of his worst game plans ever with one of his best. He had Rush in this game and Dowdle had one of his best games of the year. The opportunity to feed Lamb early opened things up for others the rest of the game, and McCarthy knew exactly where to attack his former coordinator’s coverage.

Defensively, Mike Zimmer’s unit was excellent in their pass-rush scheme and did an admirable job against the run and through the air. They came away with a total of three points and sacked Daniels four times, the second most he has had in a game all year. The only real criticism here is the way the coaches handled things in crucial time, especially when Dallas tried to run out the clock and then the coverage decisions on that Hail Mary. Yet these are nits that need to be picked at a later time.

Grade: A