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Scott Polacek is the featured Columnist for the Washington Football Team.
AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
The Dallas Cowboys have already won the NFC East title, but they still want the top seed in the conference.
The Cowboys improved to 11-4 with a fourth consecutive victory, thanks in part to the play of quarterback Dak Prescott. They are in a three-way tie for the lead in the race for a first-round bye in the playoffs.
There are statistics and information from the ESPN Stats andInfo.
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The touchdown passes tonight have gone to:RB EzekielElliottTEDALLASSultan
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In the same game, a quarterback threw a touchdown pass to aRB,WR,TE, and OL.
Washington has lost three times in a row and is now 6-9 on the campaign.
Notable player statistics.
DAL's quarterback was 28-of-39 passing for 330 yards, 4 touchdown and 0 turnovers.
The DAL running back had 9 carries for 37 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 catch for 5 yards.
7 catches for 85 yards, 1 touchdown, by Amari Cooper.
8 catches for 82 yards, 1 touchdown, was the catch of the day by the Dallas tight end.
Taylor Heinicke was 7-of-22 passing for 121 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 turnovers.
Antonio Gibson had 6 carries for 29 yards and 2 catches for 29 yards.
Cowboys have no concern with the first half.
It was fair to wonder about the offense after it failed to score 30 points in six of the previous eight games, but the Cowboys entered Sunday's contest on a three-game winning streak and in the race for the No. 1 seed.
The home team jumped out to a commanding lead as Amari Cooper was involved in the early going, but he was frustrated with the offense's recent struggles.
It seemed as if the offensive concerns were over as Dallas hit on every cylinder while immediately seizing control of the game, with the first-quarter touchdown passes from Prescott to the three players.
In the second quarter, the Cowboys scored on a touchdown run from Elliott, a trick-play pass from Prescott to Steele, and a touchdown catch from Cooper.
The defense has been impressive, but the Dallas offense figuring things out is a scary proposition for the rest of theNFC. The depth chart is a laundry list of household names with the potential to take over at a moment's notice, and the unit's full potential was on full display in front of a national audience against Washington.
The biggest question of the second half was how long the Cowboys would stay in the game after they had done enough to win.
The moment came in the third quarter after the special teams scored to extend the advantage by even more as theNFC East champion's attention turned to the critical two-week stretch to finish the regular season before the final whistle even blew.
Washington is putting up more fight on the sidelines than on the field.
The poor play on the field wasn't the biggest concern for the Football Team, but they may have been worried about being behind by 35 points.
Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne got into an altercation on the sideline that was caught on camera. Allen retaliated by throwing a punch after Payne stuck a finger in his teammate's face.
The visitors were frustrated because of the struggles on both sides of the ball. After missing the last loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Taylor Heinicke threw an pick-six to Trevon Diggs on his first throw.
The Bleacher Report is published by Bleacher Report.
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Things were getting chippy between Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne.
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B/R gridiron
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This season, 11 int's and counting...
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You think that Diggs is in the race?
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Lawrence returned Heinicke's second pick for a touchdown. It was Dallas' sixth defensive touchdown of the year and it opened up a three-score advantage.
Washington went through one of the worst halves of football it could have ever scripted and looked like it was slipping away after a promising start, thanks to a touchdown catch and solid running by Antonio Gibson.
The second half was a complete formality for everyone but gamblers and fantasy football players, but the Football Team somehow managed to find a new low when Dallas scored on a blocked punt.
Washington will want to forget about this game as soon as possible, but the fact that it lost to the Cowboys twice in the last three weeks of the season will linger.
What's next?
The football team plays the Eagles in Week 17 while the Cowboys play the Arizona Cardinals.
