Commander Country

Washington ‘Got Our Ass Whooped’ by Cowboys, Admits Taylor Heinicke

On a night when the bottom dropped out for WFT, we have 10 observations

Richie Whitt

The Washington Football Team goes down to Texas … and goes down, 56-14. Our 10 observations …

10. EARLY TKO - Two weeks ago in Washington the Cowboys jumped to a lead of 18-0 in the first quarter. Sunday night at AT&T Stadium it was 21-0 just 13 minutes into the game. The Cowboys scored three touchdowns before WFT picked up its third first down. Ouch.

Said QB Taylor Heinicke: “We got our ass whooped.”

9. NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT - We can call shame on the Cowboys for calling a punt block up 35 points and then throwing passes for the end zone leading 49-7, but no way around it - this was one of the lowest points in Washington Football Team history. Worse, it happened in prime time on a Sunday night. For a while there we were worried the infamous 1948 loss of 73-0 to the Chicago Bears was in jeopardy. The 42-point margin is the seventh-worst defeat in Washington history and the worst since 2007.

8. SLIVER OF SILVER LININGS - Antonio Gibson caught a touchdown pass, Taylor Heinicke threw a 48-yard bomb to Dyami Brown and WFT had three sacks (one each by Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis and De'Jon Harris). That's it. Otherwise, Sunday night in North Texas was wholly forgettable.

7. DAK DOMINATION - Let's face it, Dak Prescott owns Washington. The Cowboys' quarterback not only set an NFL season-high with 321 passing yards and four touchdowns in the first half, he improved to 9-1 all-time against WFT. After this cakewalk win, make it 15-1 for the Cowboys in their last 16 NFC East games with Prescott at quarterback. That includes 5-0 this year by a combined 189-81. 

6. DEPLETED DEFENSE - It's not an excuse, but more a rational reason. The Cowboys cut through Washington's defense like a knife through hot butter because it was missing its top two tacklers - Landon Collins and Cole Holcombe - along with starting cornerback William Jackson III thanks to COVID. 

5. NFC LEAST - Still hard to believe coach Ron Rivera's team won this division with a 7-9 record in 2020. Because in 2021, the Cowboys have 11 wins and are flirting with being the best team in the NFC. With Dallas' title, the NFC East has a different champ for the 17th consecutive season. No other NFL division has gone longer than three without a team winning it in back-to-back years.

4. HISTORIC HAPPENNG - In 1,008 games over 62 seasons, Sunday night was the first time the Cowboys had touchdowns scored by an offensive and defensive lineman and a special teams player in the same game. Gotta believe it's been a while - if ever - that Washington surrendered such a trifecta. But truth is we're too depressed to dig deep and look it up.

3.  REVOLTING REVERSAL - On its way to the NFC East title in 2020, Washington went 2-0 against Dallas by a combined 66-19. This year, the Cowboys won both games to the tune of 83-34.

2. NAIL IN THE COFFIN - Sure Washington still mathematically - five percent - has a chance to make the playoffs, but who are we kidding? At 6-9 and considering this embarrassing, primetime loss, this season is kaput. If you're still holding out hope, a loss by the Saints Monday night would increase WFT's chances to a whopping seven percent.

1. HOT SEAT - Ironic that Washington stole the Cowboys' idea and imported its own heated benches to Arlington. First of all, the roof was closed on a balmy, 75-degree night. Secondly, tempers flared on the bench in the first quarter when WFT defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Payne got into a physical altercation. During heated words, it appeared Payne shoved his index finger into Allen's forehead and Allen responded with a punch. One day the Ghosts of Christmas Past will haunt Washington fans with lowlights from this game.

Antonio Gibson
NBC Sports Washington
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Ron Rivera
AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
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Published
Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

Richie has been a multi-media fixture in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex since his graduation from UT-Arlington in 1986, with his career highlighted by successful stints in print, TV and radio. During those 35 years he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbeldons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL from every angle since 1989.

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