NFC East Week 16 Wrap-up: Dallas, Washington Come Up Short

Let's check in with the rest of the division to see how it fared.

The New York Giants are hoping for a Christmas Day miracle against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team they haven't beaten on the road since 2013. Meanwhile, there was no such miracle for the Washington Commaders, who came up short in their attempt to overcome a 20-0 deficit against the New York Jets, or the Dallas Cowboys, who fell to 3-5 in road games following their loss to the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Eve.

Here is the rundown of the NFC East.

New York Jets offensive tackle Max Mitchell (61, center) Washington Commanders defensive end Joshua Pryor (59) as New York Jets place kicker Greg Zuerlein (9) kicks a 54-yard field goal to win the game, 30-28 in the last seconds of the game, Sunday, December 24, 2023 :: Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jets 30, Commanders 28

A 20-point comeback was all in vain for the Washington Commanders, as they lost to the New York Jets, 30-28. Losing their sixth straight game to fall to 4-11, the Commanders are also a combined 0-3 against both New York teams this year.

Washington fell behind 27-7 at halftime, but backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett led them to 21 unanswered points in the second half, taking the lead with 4:52 remaining in regulation. But the Jets put together a game-winning drive with less than two minutes left, capped off by Greg Zuerlein’s decisive 54-yard field goal.

Washington was held to just 49 total yards with Sam Howell under center but racked up 196 when Brissett entered the game; nevertheless, Washington’s league-worst defense allowed 381 yards to the Jets’ league-worst offense, which held the ball for 36:16.

Howell had possibly the worst single-game performance by a quarterback this season, completing just six of his 22 passes for a meager 56 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, finishing with a truly awful passer rating of 1.7. But Brissett was excellent in relief, completing 10 of 13 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown, with a 123.9 passer rating.

Rookie running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. enjoyed a breakout game, with 58 rushing yards and two touchdowns on ten carries. Fellow running back Antonio Gibson also chipped in 30 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin caught three passes for 50 yards, while tight end Logan Thomas had 36 yards on five receptions.

With starting quarterback Zach Wilson still injured, the Jets started backup Trevor Siemian. He wasn’t particularly impressive, completing 27 of 49 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a lost fumble, but he still managed to get the job done.

Running back Breece Hall had an incredible game with 191 yards from scrimmage; he rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, but he was also the game’s leading receiver with 96 yards on 12 receptions. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson caught nine passes for 76 yards, most of which came in the first half. Kicker Greg Zuerlein also kicked three field goals, including the 54-yard game-winner.

The Jets scored 17 points on their first three possessions, capitalizing on short fields for all three drives. First, safety Tony Adams intercepted Howell on just the second play of the game to set up a 25-yard field goal from Zuerlein. Washington went three-and-out on their next possession, but linebacker Jermaine Johnson blocked Tress Way’s punt to give New York the ball at the Washington 9-yard line; Siemian threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Jason Brownlee three plays later.

Washington kick returner Byron Pringle muffed the ensuing kickoff to pin his team at their 9-yard line. After the offense went three-and-out again, Way’s 36-yard punt (alongside a 5-yard penalty on Washington) gave the Jets excellent field position at the Commanders’ 42-yard line; Hall took off for a 36-yard touchdown run two plays later to make it 17-0 just over five minutes into the game. Before this game, the Jets offense had scored only one first-quarter touchdown all season.

The scoring pace slowed down in the second quarter, but the Jets capitalized on another Commanders miscue when punt returner Jamison Crowder inexplicably lost the ball, and Ashtyn Davis recovered; New York cashed in on their second chance with Zuerlein’s 27-yard field goal.

The Commanders finally got on the board by capitalizing on a Jets mistake; defensive lineman Casey Toohill recovered a botched snap at the New York 12-yard line, and Rodriguez scored his first career touchdown on the next play. But the Jets got those points back with an 11-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that featured a 15-yard reception by Wilson and a fourth down conversion by an encroachment penalty on Washington’s defense. Hall finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Jets up 27-7 at halftime.

After the first three possessions of the second half ended in punts, the Jets appeared to deliver the dagger when linebacker Quincy Williams intercepted a pass from Howell and returned it to the Washington 22-yard line. But three plays later, at the 6-yard line, Commanders linebacker Cody Barton flipped the game on its head by intercepting Siemian and returning it 52 yards; an additional 15 yards were added due to a horse collar tackle by Brownlee. With Brissett replacing Howell, the Commanders scored six plays later on Thomas’s 15-yard touchdown reception, and Washington’s furious comeback would begin.

The Jets would run only ten plays over their next two possessions while Washington added two more touchdowns to take the lead. First, they drove 77 yards in nine plays, featuring a 29-yard reception by McLaurin, before Rodriguez scored his second touchdown of the day to cut the deficit to six.

Then, after forcing another Jets punt, the Commanders drove 83 yards in six plays. Jahan Dotson hauled in a 21-yard pass with an additional nine yards due to a face mask penalty to move the ball inside the red zone, and Gibson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run three plays later to give his team a 28-27 lead against all odds.

Washington’s defense forced another punt to get the ball back with just 2:07 left, but the offense sputtered and only ran 26 seconds off the clock before giving the ball back to the Jets. With 1:41 left in regulation at their 33-yard line, New York drove 31 yards in eight plays for the game-winning score; the biggest play was a 14-yard reception by Hall that moved the ball inside Commanders territory. Zuerlein then kicked a 54-yard field goal that stayed inside the left upright to put the Jets ahead 30-28 with just five seconds left, and Washington could only get five yards on their final play as linebacker C.J. Mosley immediately tackled Logan Thomas to end the game.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) catches a pass in the middle of Dallas Cowboys defenders during the second half of an NFL game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Dec. 24, 2023 :: Jim Rassol / USA TODAY NETWORK

Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20

The Dallas Cowboys narrowly lost to the Miami Dolphins in a showdown between two playoff contenders, 22-20. Suffering their second straight loss, the Cowboys fell to 10-5 on the season, while the Dolphins clinched a playoff berth with their victory.

Dallas took a 20-19 lead late in the fourth quarter with a massive 17-play drive that took over seven and a half minutes. But despite this lengthy drive, they still left far too much time for the Dolphins’ high-flying offense, which put together a 12-play, 64-yard drive to set up Jason Sanders’s game-winning 29-yard field goal as time expired. It was a massive statement win for the Dolphins, who had struggled against teams with winning records before this game.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott did all he could to lead his team to victory, completing 20 of 32 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns, with a 107.9 passer rating. His top target was CeeDee Lamb, who caught six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. Dallas also had 97 rushing yards and seven different players contributing to the ground game, but Tony Pollard was the leader with just 38 yards on 12 carries.

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was up to the challenge against Dallas’s vaunted defense, completing 24 of 37 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown while posting a 98.1 passer rating. Four different receivers had at least 40 receiving yards, with Tyreek Hill leading the way by catching nine passes for 99 yards. Raheem Mostert ran back for 46 yards on 11 carries and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass. Miami’s X-factor, however, was kicker Jason Sanders, who drilled five field goals, including three from 50+ yards and the game-winner from 29 yards.

The very first possession of the game would eventually prove fatal to the Cowboys. They began the game by driving 73 yards in 15 plays, eating 7:43 of clock in the process, featuring a 20-yard reception by tight end Jake Ferguson on 4th and 2. But at Miami’s 1-yard line and knocking on the door for a touchdown, Dallas ended up with nothing when Prescott fumbled the snap, and safety Brandon Jones recovered for the Dolphins.

Miami responded with a 50-yard bomb from Tagovailoa to receiver Jalen Waddle, who set up a 57-yard field goal from Sanders. However, Dallas needed three plays to take the lead as Prescott completed a 22-yard strike and a 49-yard touchdown pass, both to Lamb. The Dolphins looked to counter by driving to the Dallas 5-yard line but turned the ball over on downs.

Dallas’s offense had racked up 148 yards on their first two possessions but would only get 16 on their last two first-half drives. Meanwhile, the Dolphins scored on their last two drives; first, a 20-yard reception by Hill set up a 52-yard field goal by Sanders before finally putting together an 8-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Tagovailoa’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Mostert.

The second half began with an exchange of punts, but only one other drive would end in a punt afterward. After forcing a three-and-out, Miami increased their unanswered scoring run to 10 points as Hill’s 17-yard reception set up a 54-yard field goal from Sanders, his third field goal from 50 yards or longer. But Dallas’s offense finally broke out of their funk, as a highlight-reel 45-yard catch by Jalen Tolbert set up a 43-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

Later in the third quarter, Tagovailoa completed an 18-yard pass to Hill and a 21-yard pass to tight end Durham Smythe, and later threw a 14-yard pass to Hill to set up Sanders’s fourth field goal. However, the Dolphins would lose Waddle to a concussion for the rest of the game, while a 22-yard scramble by Prescott allowed the Cowboys to get those points back with Aubrey’s 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Miami would go three-and-out on their next possession, while Dallas marched 69 yards in a whopping 17 plays and chewed up 7:39 of the clock. It was a bumpy journey to the end zone, as the Cowboys had to convert two fourth downs, one of them on a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone.

Lamb had a pair of receptions for 25 yards that came on third and fourth down, respectively, and Brandin Cooks finished the drive with a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown, putting Dallas ahead 20-19 with 3:27 left.

But that was an excessive amount of time for the Dolphins to drive for the game-winning score. Tagovailoa completed four passes, two of them to Hill, as Miami marched 64 yards in 12 plays; they were inside the red zone just after the two-minute warning and forced Dallas to burn all their timeouts with 1:42 left. This simply allowed Tagovailoa to kneel twice and run the clock down before Sanders kicked his fifth field goal, this one from 29 yards, to win the game.

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