Written by Nick Shook at NFL.com
The Dallas Cowboys (4-3) outlasted the Washington Redskins (3-4) in a rain-soaked NFC East battle that came down to field goals and who had more towels readily available. Here’s what we learned from the Cowboys’ 33-19 win:
1. Was it raining down the entire East Coast of the United States on Sunday? It was pouring in Philadelphia during the Eagles’ win over the 49ers, in New York during the Falcons’ win over the Jets, and again in Landover. It made for a trio of soggy, mistake-filled games. Fumbles seemed only a moment away on almost every play, and for Washington, the wet conditions caused two of their own. Dallas turned those mistakes into six points, though it should have been more if an Ezekiel Elliotttouchdown wasn’t called back on a bogus holding call on Tyron Smith, who had his hands inside the frame of his opponent and drove him into the ground, but was flagged for it. Cousins tossed what looked like an interception twice on a late drive, but again thanks to the conditions, they ended up being incompletions. That wasn’t the case when the Redskins got the ball with less than a minute remaining and 88 yards to tie the game. That drive ended in a Byron Jones pick-six.
2. The Cowboys played about as sloppily and ineffectively as they could without being the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and yet, they entered halftime with a 14-13 lead. Sometimes, that’s the way things go in this weird-yet-amazing sport. Even on a drive that only covered 27 yards in eight plays, Dallas still managed to come away with three points early in the third. As the rain refused to relent in the second half, Dallas leaned on its ground game to burn plenty of clock, but repeatedly couldn’t turn drives into touchdowns, only field goals. That allowed Washington to remain in the game, but the competition ultimately became a battle of two sloppy teams playing in sloppy conditions, with the winner being just a little less sloppy.
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