Commanders running back Austin Ekeler returned a kickoff late in the loss to the Cowboys. He returned it 38 yards before Nick Vigil and Damone Clark converged on Ekeler with nine seconds left.
Ekeler took a hard hit and appeared to be knocked out briefly.
His teammates immediately signaled to the sideline for team medical personnel.
Coach Dan Quinn said after the game that Ekeler has a concussion.
The Commanders lost running back Brian Robinson earlier in the game with an ankle injury. Robinson tried to come back but left again and didn’t return.
Ekeler rushed for 22 yards on nine carries and Robinson 13 yards on five carries. They combined for three catches for 13 yards.
The Cowboys played their best game of the season, outdueling their former defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, and the former Cowboys he took with him to Washington.
Dallas upset Washington 34-26 to end a five-game losing streak as the Cowboys improved to 4-7 and the Commanders fell to 7-5.
A game that was tied 3-3 at halftime ended as one of the best finishes in the NFL this season with 30 points in the final 3:02.
The Commanders closed to within 20-17 with 3:02 remaining on Jayden Daniels’ 4-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz followed by Daniels’ run to the end zone on the 2-point try. But a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by KaVontae Turpin with 2:49 left appeared to ice it for the Cowboys.
The Commanders, though, got a 51-yard field goal from Austin Seibert with 1:40 left, drawing them within 27-20, and they then got the ball back with 33 seconds left. One play and 12 seconds later, the game was within a PAT of being tied.
Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin went 86 yards through the Dallas defense for an unlikely touchdown. Seibert, though, missed the extra point, his second of the day along with a missed field goal.
The Commanders, trailing by one, tried an onside kick and Juanyeh Thomas returned it 43 yards for a Cowboys touchdown. That kept the Commanders’ comeback hopes alive.
Instead of the Cowboys ending the game in victory formation if Thomas had slid down, Dallas had to kickoff.
It allowed Daniels a chance for a second Hail Mary this season, but his pass fell short of the end zone and Israel Mukuamu intercepted it to end it.
The Cowboys returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, missed a field goal, had a field goal blocked and had a punt blocked.
Cooper Rush went 24-of-32 for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and Rico Dowdle rushed for 86 yards on 19 carries. CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 67 yards.
Micah Parsons had two of the Cowboys’ four sacks of Daniels, who was 25-of-38 for 275 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. McLaurin caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys had not scored a third-quarter touchdown this season. They have Sunday, taking a 10-9 lead on the Commanders.
Cooper Rush threw a 6-yard touchdown to Jalen Tolbert with 4:40 left in the period. Brandon Aubrey, who missed a field goal and had a field goal blocked in the first half, made the PAT to give the Cowboys the one-point advantage.
Commanders defensive back Noah Igbinoghene, a former Cowboy, was called for defensive pass interference on Tolbert two plays before the touchdown. The 24-yard penalty set up Tolbert’s touchdown catch after a Trey Lance run lost 3 yards.
Rush is 17-of-21 for 173 yards with a touchdown.
The Commanders list right tackle Andrew Wylie (head) as questionable to return, and running back Brian Robinson, who returned briefly from an ankle injury, is questionable again.
The Cowboys and Commanders combined for no touchdowns and three missed kicks in the first half. They have combined for a touchdown and another missed kick in the second half.
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels ran for a 17-yard touchdown on the Commanders’ first drive of the second half. It completed a 10-play, 60-yard drive after Brandon Aubrey’s kickoff landed short of the landing zone to start the second half.
Austin Seibert, who went 1-for-2 on field goals in the first half, was wide left on the extra point.
Daniels is 11-of-18 for 77 yards and an interception and leads the team in rushing with six carries for 51 yards. It was his fifth rushing touchdown of his rookie season.
The Commanders and Cowboys are tied 3-3 at halftime in one of the uglier first halves of this NFL season so far.
The Cowboys have outgained the Commanders 176 to 113. Their only points came on a 46-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal with three seconds left in the half.
Aubrey had a 35-yard try blocked by Commanders defensive back Quan Martin and had a 42-yarder miss off the right upright.
Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle lost a fumble on another possession, and the Cowboys had a punt blocked.
The Cowboys had possessions end at the Washington 17, 24, 48 and 28.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush is 14-of-18 for 133 yards, with Jalen Brooks catching a 41-yarder and CeeDee Lamb making seven receptions for 40.
Austin Seibert kicked a 41-yard field goal for the Commanders but missed on a 51-yarder.
Jayden Daniels threw an interception to Chauncey Golston and is only 9-of-16 for 57 yards. He is the Commanders’ leading rusher with three carries for 25 yards. Noah Brown has three catches for 27 yards.
