ARLINGTON, Texas — Instead of seizing the moment, the Redskins coughed it up.
Rather than rise to the occasion in a Thursday night matchup against the slumping Dallas Cowboys, the Redskins fumbled away a chance to save their season in an ugly and embarrassing 38-14 loss at AT&T Stadium.
Washington (5-7) turned the ball over three times in the first half to allow the Cowboys (6-6) to take the lead, then watched fill-in running back — and former Redskin — Alfred Morris run the ball down their collective throats in the second half as Dallas controlled the ball and the clock the rest of the way.
Morris, who had three 1,000-yard seasons in his four years with Washington, rumbled for 89 yards on 15 carries after halftime, including 44 on an 11-play touchdown drive that took 6:33 off the clock in the fourth quarter that gave Dallas a 31-14 lead and slammed the door on Washington’s slim comeback hopes.
The loss all but ends any chance of the Redskins getting into the playoffs, leaving them three games behind Atlanta in the loss column for the final wild-card berth with four games to play.
Two of Washington’s best offensive weapons — wide receiver Jamison Crowder and quarterback Kirk Cousins — were the focal points of the first half collapse.
After the Redskins drove the ball to the Dallas 16 on their second possession, Crowder killed a prime scoring chance by letting Cousins’ nearly perfect pass glance off his hands at the 5 and into those of safety Jeff Heath for an interception.
Crowder later fumbled a punt return, allowing the Cowboys to pin Washington at its own 1 with an ensuing punt. That field position flip led to an 11-play, 59-yard drive that ended with Dak Prescott’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten for a 7-0 Dallas lead.
The Redskins never got any closer after that.
The next time they got the ball, Cousins fumbled it away after a sack by DeMarcus Lawrence, leading to a field goal, and after a three-and-out, Dallas’ Ryan Switzer found a gaping hole in the middle of Washington’s punt coverage and used it to race 83 yards for a TD and a 17-0 lead.
Cousins threw the Redskins back into the game late in the first half in a brilliant 75-yard scoring drive — though that was almost derailed when Crowder again lost the ball on the first play. He was ruled down by contact, though just barely.
Cousins sparked the drive with a spectacular play on third-and-6 at the Washington 40, scrambling backward away from pressure and throwing an off-balance strike off his back foot to Crowder for a 33-yard gain.
Three plays later he hit Ryan Grant for a 20-yard score.
But Washington’s offense stalled in the second half while Dallas rode the running of Morris, starting in place of the suspended Ezekiel Elliott. With Morris ripping off chunks of 8 or 9 yards, the Cowboys drove 84 yards and made it pay off with Prescott’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Down 24-7, Cousins again led the Redskins down the field, capping an exquisite 87-yard drive with a pass to the end zone that Josh Doctson soared to grab over Dallas safety Byron Jones.
But it wasn’t nearly enough. With Morris carrying the load, the Cowboys relentlessly pushed down the field to close the door on the game — and on the Redskins’ season.
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