The first matchup of the NFL's Christmas Day triple-header will be an NFC East rivalry game between the 4-11 Washington Commanders and the 6-8-1 Dallas Cowboys. With both teams officially eliminated from the playoffs, the most important thing on the line will be pride as Washington looks to get back at Dallas for the 44-22 domination they suffered in Week Seven.

The Commanders had an extra day to prepare for this game since they last played on Saturday in a 29-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. After going into halftime ahead 10-7, Washington was outscored 22-8 the rest of the way through.

“I thought honestly like the timing of the defensive penalties [and] not extending some of the drives offensively on third down, I thought that's kind of the story of the game within the game,” said head coach Dan Quinn after the loss. “There was a lot to like early. I told the guys, this game, we're going to have to ride violently and finish violently, and I thought [in the] first half we did do that. But it has to be for the whole time.”

Unfortunately, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is starting in place of Jayden Daniels, suffered a right hand injury and a quad injury that forced him to leave the game early. He was replaced by Josh Johnson, who went five of nine passing with 43 yards and an interception. As of this writing, his status is unclear for Thursday’s game.

“The quad and the hand happened on the same play,” Dan Quinn said on Sunday. “It was a cleat that got to his hand on the top… It's swollen, so I'd say we're gonna call it day-to-day right now, both with the hand and with the quad. So let's see what tomorrow is and the following day. Then I'd say - two days from now - we'll have a very good estimate of where he's at.”

If Mariota is unable to go, then we'll probably see Josh Johnson starting for the Commanders. This would be Johnson's first official start since 2021, when he played for the Baltimore Ravens.

“I think just his football mind, having played in so many different systems and booked so many different reps in different games and different spaces. Having to come in and play in championship games without getting reps. I think all those things have allowed him to play with a really calm mind,” explained offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. “He's [a] very accurate player, and the ball tends to go to the right spot when he's in there.”

Though this game carries no weight in the grand scheme of things and the playoff hunt, it's still an opportunity for Washington to learn and grow before the start of next season.

“I never want a season like this. Never again. But I also know that I don't want to waste it,” Quinn told reporters. “There's lessons that I want now that are going to carry over into next season, and I don't want to apply them then. [I’m] talking about playstyle and turnover margins and penalties and things. I want these lessons now. I want them learned now.”

The Cowboys have also had a disappointing season. They were eliminated from playoff contention and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Still, head coach Brian Schottenheimer wants to finish the season strong with back-to-back wins over NFC East opponents.

“We're in year one, and we've done some things that we're proud of this year. There's been, certainly not the success in the win-loss column. That's very evident. We're disappointed about that,” Schottenheimer said on Tuesday. “But again, I'm fueled by the fact that we get to play an NFC East opponent this week and then next week. We want to win and to sustain some success. We have a chance to potentially go 5-1 in the division. This is the NFC East, and that's something that motivates us.”

For Schottenheimer and the Cowboys, this will be their fourth Thursday game of the year, making them the first team in NFL history to play four Thursday games in a single season.

“The first one doesn't really count. I mean, it's the first game of the year. [It] doesn't really count, but the other ones do,” Schottenheimer explained. “You play Philly, and then you have a normal seven-day routine. Doing it every year, we know, kind of, how to process it. We know the right way to game plan and kind of how to do that… I think it's pretty cool to play in front of the world, I guess, with Netflix on Christmas Day.”

Not only is this the second straight season that the Cowboys have missed the playoffs, but this also marks 29 years since Dallas' last Super Bowl appearance. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows that a Super Bowl drought can easily be snapped.

“We work real hard. But that's not enough to work hard. We make a big effort to stay in the front of things and to stay out there and be relevant,” Jones said during a Tuesday interview. “And by the way, you [can] change that drought. [In] one year, you can change the drought, and then you're the latest to have gone to the playoffs or gone to the Super Bowl. So I don't pay any attention to 30 years this, 20 years that when I know one good year would change at all, and you'd be at the top of the list.”

Jones concluded his interview by saying the plan is for Dak Prescott and the rest of the team's starters to play the final two games of the season, even if they can be viewed as meaningless.

“The plan certainly is as we go up here in Washington. It is. And I see no reason why we can't do the same thing,” he said. “I understand the thought and understand the balances that we look at here, but we'll measure it all and keep in mind the health of a key player like Dak.”

Prediction for Dallas Cowboys (-7) @ Washington Commanders

Washington has been a defensive disaster all season, as proven by the 44-22 loss they suffered at the hands of the Cowboys earlier this year. The Commanders are 27th in scoring defense (26.9 points per game) and 31st in terms of passer rating allowed (107.6). On the other side, Dallas comes into this one with the NFL's top-ranked passing attack (274.3 yards per game). The Commanders will not be able to control Dallas' elite passing attack. At the same time, Josh Johnson won't score enough points to go toe-to-toe with the Cowboys' offense. This game will probably end up being a blowout by the third quarter.

Prediction: Cowboys 31 - 14 Commanders

How to watch Dallas Cowboys (-7) @ Washington Commanders

Cowboys @ Commanders starts at 1:00 p.m. EDT at Northwest Stadium. You can watch it on Netflix.

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