Final halftime score — the second quarter has ended.
Washington’s last drive of the half reached 1st-and-goal at the Dallas 1-yard line with 12 seconds left, but the Commanders didn’t convert. The Cowboys hold a 17-10 lead at the intermission. Here’s how the first half unfolded.
How We Got Here
Dallas started fast. On their opening drive, Dak Prescott threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb, capping a 10-play, 66-yard drive (the score came with 10:04 left in the first quarter). Brandon Aubrey’s extra point made it 7-0. After a Washington possession that didn’t produce points, Aubrey added a 25-yard field goal to make it 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Washington got on the board in the second quarter when Drew Stevens kicked a 27-yard field goal, cutting it to 10-3. Dallas answered on its next possession: Prescott found tight end Jake Ferguson for a 10-yard touchdown, Dallas’s second passing score of the half, making it 17-3.
Jayden Daniels then led Washington on a scoring drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, cutting the deficit to 17-10. Washington got the ball back and drove all the way to the Dallas 1-yard line with 12 seconds left in the half — but time ran out before they could punch it in. That’s the real story of the half for Washington: they moved the ball well enough to tie or take the lead and came away with nothing.
Dallas by the Numbers
Prescott finished the half 15 of 19 for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, a 135.7 passer rating. His only blemish was a sack for a 9-yard loss, taken down by Washington’s Javon Kinlaw. Lamb was the primary target, catching 6 passes for 94 yards, including the game’s opening touchdown. On the ground, Dallas managed just 25 yards on 7 carries (3.6 yards per attempt) — the passing game did more than six times the work. Prescott threw no interceptions, and Dallas was penalized only once, for 7 yards.
Washington by the Numbers
Washington actually out-gained Dallas in the first half, 225 yards to 171, and led in time of possession, 17:02 to 12:58, and first downs, 15 to 12. Daniels went 11 of 17 for 96 yards and a touchdown, a 99.1 passer rating, and wasn’t sacked. Washington’s ground game was the more efficient of the two, gaining 129 yards on 21 carries (6.1 yards per attempt), with a long run of 20 yards — Daniels contributed a good share of that total on scrambles.
All that yardage and possession time amounted to just 10 points. Washington was also penalized three times for 23 yards, more than triple Dallas’s total, which likely cost them field position at points in the half. Washington fumbled once but recovered it themselves, for a 13-yard loss on the play — not a turnover, but a costly negative play regardless.
Red Zone and Defense
Dallas had 4 red-zone pass attempts in the half, one of which produced the Lamb touchdown. Washington had 5 red-zone pass targets and 5 red-zone rush attempts, converting one into the Diggs touchdown but coming up empty on the final drive at the 1-yard line.
Neither team turned the ball over in the half. Dallas’s defense didn’t record a sack on Daniels. Washington’s defense hit Prescott 5 times and recorded 1 sack for a 9-yard loss, credited to Javon Kinlaw — Washington’s only sack of the half. In total tackles, Dallas’s defense was busier, with 36 combined stops to Washington’s 24. M. Bell led Dallas’s tacklers, and J. Reaves led Washington’s; neither recorded more than 6.
Special Teams and Field Goals
Both kickers went 1 for 1 in the half: Aubrey hit from 25 yards for Dallas, and Stevens hit from 27 yards for Washington. Each team punted once — Dallas’s punt netted 34 yards, Washington’s netted 38.
What Changed From the Earlier Read
Our earlier report speculated the score might change before halftime. It didn’t: Washington reached the 1-yard line with 12 seconds left but failed to score, and 17-10 stands as the final halftime margin. Daniels’s passing numbers did shift slightly as that drive played out — an earlier in-game snapshot had him at 11-of-14 for 96 yards; his final first-half line is 11-of-17 for the same 96 yards, touchdown, and 99.1 rating. Prescott and Lamb’s numbers were already locked in, since Dallas didn’t return to the field after the Ferguson touchdown.
What to Watch in the Second Half
Can Washington convert more red-zone trips into touchdowns instead of field goals or empty possessions? They’ve out-gained and out-possessed Dallas, but that hasn’t shown up on the scoreboard. For Dallas, the priority is containing Daniels in structure — he’s already shown he can extend plays with his legs, including that 20-yard scramble. Discipline relating to penalties is worth watching too: Dallas has been perfect so far, with just one penalty for 7 yards, while Washington’s three penalties for 23 yards have already cost them field position more than once.
