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There is no tricky way to say it: if there was a beneficiary of Alex Smith's late-season injury, it was the Dallas Cowboys.
Before Smith's brutal leg injury last week against the Houston Texans and Washington's loss, Washington led NFC East, winning four of their previous five games. But Washington lost Smith, lost to Houston, and suddenly, their Thanksgiving Day match with the Cowboys was very different.
And on Thursday, led by receiver Amari Cooper, Dallas handled the business, winning the match against 31-23 and ahead of the NFC East.
Amari Cooper gets two big touchdowns
Dallas receiver Amari Cooper had his best day as a Cowboys member on Thursday with eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns. (AP)
Receiver Amari Cooper, who was playing his fourth game with the Cowboys after being traded to Oakland last month, played his biggest game so far with Dallas and his two long quarter-final touchdowns scored the win.
Dallas was 13-13 in the middle of the third quarter and looked a little flawed in attack when they faced a double from the Washington 40. With Ezekiel Elliott on the list, it was easy to wonder, the broadcast team Fox Joe Buck and Troy Aikman did it, if the Cowboys would run it and if they got the conversion on the third try, go for the fourth.
But instead, Dak Prescott pitched a short pass to Cooper, cornerback Washington's Quinton Dunbar fell, and Cooper took off, deflecting off the defense for the 40-yard mark.
After forcing a kick in Washington, Dallas was saved in his own half. In second and ninth position out of 10, Prescott pitched again to Cooper, this time 20 yards rushing. Although there were three defenders nearby, including Fabian Moreau, who got his hands on Cooper but did not cover him, he took off.
In a few minutes, Dallas went from a three-point deficit to an 11-point lead.
Cooper finished with eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns, which largely explains why Prescott had 289 yards at the top, a high point in the season.
Officials miss personal foul against Cowboys
Washington, with Colt McCoy making his first start since 2014, did not bend and made things interesting, shooting at 31-20 with 11:43 to play in the game.
But at the end of the fourth quarter, officials missed an obvious call that could have pushed things even closer. In the third and third place in Dallas, there were only 13 seconds and 82 seconds left, McCoy threw over Jordan Reed. As the ball came in, Reed was punctured in the facial mask by safety Xavier Woods.
Incredibly, the officials did not report Woods for this personal foul. Fox's official analyst Mike Pereira said live that it was a mistake. If the flag had been thrown, Washington would have reached half the goal and got new tries to try to touch a touchdown.
Instead, they had to settle for a setback, the kick back was awarded directly to Cowboys' Allen Hurns, and Prescott knelt down to kill the remaining clock.
Reed was upset by the non-appeal. He threw his helmet on the ground and climbed behind one of the officials to express his anger. A Washington coach pulled him out.
A few minutes earlier, Woods had intercepted McCoy during a hesitant pass to Maurice Harris, McCoy's third interception of the afternoon.
Ezekiel Elliott also 100 meters away
It was Dallas' third straight win and it may not have been a coincidence – it was the third consecutive 100-yard game for Ezekiel Elliott.
Elliott had 26 runs for 121 yards and the opening touchdown.
Dallas and Washington have split their two games this season, but the Cowboys are at the top of the division standings because of their 3-1 division record (Washington is 2-1).
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