The Washington Commanders had to get this one. Their fortunes were hanging in the balance at 3-3 with a tricky schedule upcoming. What followed against the Dallas Cowboys was a humiliation that reopened old wounds.
Washington was never in the game. They might have taken the lead briefly earlier in the contest, but this was a one-sided affair from a long way out. Nothing went right, more injury problems surfaced, and the Commanders didn't have the schematic adjustments or personnel to get things trending in the right direction.
Dallas put 44 points on the Commanders, and it could have been a lot worse. This leaves Dan Quinn's squad at 3-4 with games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, and Detroit Lions upcoming. There is a very real danger they could be staring down the barrel of a 3-7 record before their trip to Spain to take on the Miami Dolphins.
This is not how fans thought the season would go. The Commanders were widely expected to be among the Super Bowl challengers after another aggressive offseason from general manager Adam Peters. That seems like a long way off, and there is just no telling where this organization goes from here.
That's for the not-too-distant future. For now, here are two winners and five losers from Washington's embarrassing defeat at AT&T Stadium.
Winners and losers from the Commanders' disgusting Week 7 loss at the Cowboys
Loser No. 1
Commanders' offensive line
The Washington Commanders' offensive line was back to being full strength thanks to the return of stud right guard Sam Cosmi. This also represented a huge opportunity to set the tone against a Dallas Cowboys defensive front that had been dominated by almost everybody through the opening six weeks of the campaign.
They crumbled at the worst possible time. Dallas seized the initiative early on, and the Commanders had no answer. Matt Eberflus knew there was nothing much to concern his defense in the passing game, so he played more man coverage and sent more from the front seven to attack quarterback Jayden Daniels. It had the desired effect.
The Commanders could not establish the run. Daniels was scrambling throughout, and he was eventually undone by a sack fumble that saw the signal-caller go out of the game with a hamstring complication.
Adam Peters invested heavily in the trenches this offseason. But if they keep coming up short like this during some tough-looking battles in the coming weeks, this season has the potential to completely spiral.