Johnny Newton, Bill Croskey-Merritt, Brandon Coleman, Deebo Samuel and others play well in Commanders Week 17 loss

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Instant analysis | Commanders fall in 30-23 home finale loss to Cowboys

“Even though it was a short week, we prepared well,” Johnson said. “The things were out there that we wanted to get done. We just had a couple of plays here and there that we left on the field.”

That is perhaps the worst part of the Commanders’ 10th loss since starting the season 3-2. The Commanders were competitive, despite being down multiple starters and losing more to injury during the game itself. Johnson, who had just five days to prepare for his first start in four years, handled himself well, while the defense kept the league’s second-best offense subdued at times, or at least well enough to keep the score close.

But the Commanders, now 4-12, couldn’t find ways to finish in the game’s most critical moments, and it gave Dallas enough life to leave Northwest Stadium with a win.

“We competed to the end, but our execution, especially in the winning-time moments, it is not enough,” said head coach Dan Quinn.

Washington Post (paywall)

In Commanders’ loss to Cowboys, youth is served — and shows what it might bring in 2026

In Washington’s 30-23 defeat, young players such as Johnny Newton and Bill Croskey-Merritt demonstrate how they might fit in the future.

The Commanders (4-12) were hardly recognizable from the team that began the season. They not only had eight starters on injured reserve, but another three were inactive because of injuries: quarterback Jayden Daniels, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and defensive tackle Daron Payne. They were even without key backups such as quarterback Marcus Mariota and running back Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Late in the second quarter, center Tyler Biadasz suffered knee and ankle injuries; he wore a walking boot in the locker room after the game. Biadasz will undergo an MRI exam and testing Friday to determine the severity of the injuries.

Nick Allegretti, who started at right guard in place of Sam Cosmi, who is on injured reserve with a concussion, had to slide over to center. Altogether, the Commanders finished the game with seven backups on offense and five on defense.

Brandon Coleman

Brandon Coleman started in place of Tunsil at left tackle for the second straight week. After a strong showing against the Eagles, he put forth another one against the Cowboys.

Coleman didn’t allow a single pressure when he replaced Tunsil for 32 snaps in Week 15 or when he started last week, according to TruMedia. And while the pressure data isn’t yet available for Thursday’s game against Dallas, he didn’t give up a sack.

The one significant blunder from Coleman was a false start penalty in the fourth quarter with the Commanders trailing 27-20 and facing a fourth and three. Instead of going for it, they punted. The Cowboys went on to extend their lead to 30-20 and effectively put the game away.

The Athletic (paywall)

In a lost season, a veteran NFL QB nearing the end showed what competing really means

Josh Johnson held his head in his hands. He fidgeted at the podium. As he began, he first wished the assembled media a Merry Christmas. And he spoke from the heart, about a game that almost no one will remember, between two teams going nowhere, in two lost seasons. The “Hard Knocks” crew will make Cowboys 30, Commanders 23 look like the Super Bowl when they’re done with the highlights, but this was not the Christmas Day tripleheader kickoff that Netflix had in mind when it scheduled this game last spring.

“I’m just grateful for everybody in this organization, for supporting me in a tough situation,” Johnson said. “And, you know, it just hurts, man. S—.”

He is 39 and there aren’t many 40-year-old quarterbacks in the NFL, and certainly not many who aren’t starting. Philip Rivers coming off his couch to start for the Colts at 44 is a great story, but there’s a reason his story is so compelling — because it’s so unbelievably rare. Rivers has done everything possible the last two weeks to keep the Colts’ flickering playoff hopes alive. But Indy’s lost both of his starts. That doesn’t make what he’s done any less impressive.

In the same way, Josh Johnson’s play Thursday, for a terrible team going nowhere in a lost season, and his pain at not getting his team the win, spoke volumes about what competing really means.

Washington’s other four quarterbacks — Daniels, Mariota, newly signed backup Jeff Driskel and Sam Hartman — were with him for the morning walkthrough Thursday at 7:45, to go over everything they could to help him out.

With almost no time for Johnson to prepare, the Commanders kept things simpler than they normally do on offense. There was less tempo and fewer quick snaps, more huddling and deliberation. Knee and ankle injuries to starting center Tyler Biadasz forced even more offensive line shuffling, with Nick Allegretti spelling Biadasz for the second half. Fortunately for Washington, Johnson had been taking snaps from Allegretti as the two waited their turn all season to play.

He scrambled when he could, threw the ball away when he had to, and kept his team in the game.

But a lot of the air went out of the game afterward, as Dallas (naturally) drove 52 yards in 14 plays, and took half of the fourth-quarter clock off before Brandon Aubrey kicked a 51-yard field goal for a 30-20 Dallas lead. That was too much for Johnson to overcome, even as he completed five straight passes to set up Jake Moody’s 51-yard field goal with 2:09 left.

The Athletic (paywall)

The Commanders needed a spark against the Cowboys, and Bill was due

Croskey-Merritt’s potential for next season and beyond was evident in training camp and preseason, when he flashed his explosiveness, speed and decisiveness beyond the line of scrimmage. He had vision and instincts that can’t always be taught.

What he lacked were the skills of a complete back who can block, catch passes out of the backfield and contribute away from the ball.

Developing those parts of the game has been stressed by Washington coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. But the coaches also took note of Croskey-Merritt’s coachability. He wanted to develop those parts of his game, they said, and he put in the extra work to get there.

With nine minutes and 44 seconds left in the third quarter and the Commanders trailing the Dallas Cowboys 24-10, [Bill] Croskey-Merritt, Washington’s seventh-round rookie,” took a handoff 72 yards around the right side of the line for a touchdown, slipping through a crease and dodging a pair of tackles to reach a top speed of 21.62 mph, according to Next Gen Stats. The score was his second of the game and eighth of the season.

“I saw daylight and was like, ‘This is my chance to show when it’s an open field, I can take it the distance,’” he said afterward. “I mean, it worked out. It worked out perfect.”

Thursday’s home finale was more…baffling missed tackles and blown coverages, and repeated defensive failures on third and fourth downs. Although Washington’s pass rush was able to get home and notch a season-high six sacks (three from second-year defensive tackle Johnny Newton), the defense couldn’t get off the field. The Cowboys ran 87 offensive plays, the third-most by a team in a game this season.

Heavy.com

Johnny Newton Exuding Confidence After Breakout Game

Modesty wasn’t on the cards for Newton when he spoke to the media after the game. Instead, the player taken 36th overall in the 2024 NFL draft put it bluntly when he said, “Whenever I catch fire, it’s hard to cool me off,” per Monumental Sports Network’s Ethan Cadeaux.

The Commanders had been hoping for something to ignite Newton’s career. His potential was obvious, reflected by more than one prediction of a breakout year, but there was still wasn’t enough happening for a 6-foot-2, 295-pounder with natural versatility and exciting move skills.

Newton had appeared in all 15 games without making a single full start before the visit of the Cowboys, per Pro Football Reference. His snap count had deteriorated from 51 percent as a rookie to 34 as a sophomore.

Things changed in a big way in time for Christmas, with Newton getting maximum value from his playing time. He got to Prescott for two full sacks by himself and shared credit on two others, including this one with returning veteran edge-rusher Preston Smith in the second quarter.

Newton’s 4.5 sacks for this campaign puts him fourth on the team only underlines the lack of true game-wreckers up front.

USA Today

NFL Christmas winners & losers

Austin Ekeler

Out for the season with a torn Achilles, the Commanders running back was on the desk for the Washington-Dallas game. Good opportunity for one of the game’s self-made men and brightest dudes – and maybe the signal of a transition given Ekeler, 30, isn’t under contract for 2026 and at least needs to be taking further steps into a pending life-after-football transition … whenever it comes.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Washington’s leading rusher has had an uneven rookie season while tasked with picking up the slack for Ekeler and departed Brian Robinson Jr. But Croskey-Merritt, aka “Bill,” had one of his best games of the year, eclipsing the century mark for the second time while also posting his second two-TD game – the second one a 72-yarder that represented a new professional best. He continues to look like a player who could be ready for an even bigger role in 2026.

Netflix

For the second Christmas in a row, the streaming giant offered the gift of NFL football with the Cowboys-Commanders and Lions-Vikings games, distributed to a global audience with the assistance of CBS and NFL Network on the production side. Certainly a victory for Netflix but also a significant one for the NFL as it continues to broaden its international reach.

Riggo’s Rag

3 winners (and 4 losers) from Commanders’ painful Christmas loss to the Cowboys

Loser No. 1

Quan Martin – Commanders S

It’s easy to make Quan Martin a scapegoat. His underperformance when a breakout campaign was expected is a microcosm of how things have unfolded for the Washington Commanders this season. And he won’t want to look back on Week 17 for too long, that’s for sure.

Martin remains a weak link on Washington’s backend defense. His positional sense in coverage support is nowhere near the required standard. He’s hesitant and technically flawed in the tackling department, which opposing offenses exploit with alarming success. This was another glimpse of his failures throughout the campaign, which won’t go unnoticed by those in positions of power when the time comes to assess the roster.

The 2023 second-round pick out of Illinois might get the chance to stick around on the final year of his rookie deal. However, that shouldn’t prevent the Commanders from finding the upgrades they need to put his starting spot in serious doubt.

This isn’t what anyone envisaged for Martin, but the flaws are undeniable.

Heavy. com

Jake Moody : Converts all three FG attempts in loss

Moody went 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on point-after tries Thursday in a Week 17 loss to Dallas. Moody’s first two field goals were relative chip shots, coming from 29 and 23 yards out. However, he came through on a big 51-yarder with just over two minutes remaining in the game to keep the Commanders’ hopes of a comeback alive. Moody remains almost perfect since making his Washington debut Week 13, going 9-for-9 on FG tries and 7-for-8 of PATs. Moody’s 51-yarder Thursday was his first FG make of 50-plus yards this season.

Podcasts & videos

YOUTH ERUPTION: Johnny Newton and Jacory Croskey-Merritt WRECK Cowboys in Breakout Games

Commanders Postgame: Croskey-Merritt, Newton Flash, Commanders Fall on Christmas | Beltway Football

Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Commanders vs. Cowboys, Week 17

Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders during their Week 17 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

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