As bad as the Washington Commanders played on Sunday, they still had several chances to win late against the Dallas Cowboys. However, various mistakes added up and proved to be too much for the Commanders, who lost 34-26 at home to the Cowboys.
One of those chances came with about three minutes left when kicker Austin Seibert's line drive kickoff hit the hands of Dallas wide receiver KaVontae Turpin at the four-yard line, which he intercepted, picked up and ran back 99 yards for a touchdown , to extend the Cowboys' lead to 27-17 with 2:49 left.
This came just seconds after Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels managed a quick touchdown drive to make another one-score game possible. With two timeouts and two minutes of caution remaining, the Commanders were in a great position to win an ugly game after such a terrible performance.
Turpin had other plans. But even after Turpin's touchdown, Daniels and Terry McLaurin still had some magic left, but it didn't matter because the Cowboys prevailed.
As for Turpin, Washington's safety – and former Pro Bowler on special teams – Jeremy Reaves blamed himself for Turpin's result. It was Reaves who missed the first tackle.
“I’ve made this play 1,000 times,” a dejected Reaves said at his locker after Sunday’s game. “A thousand times, a hundred times it is a repetition. I didn't make it today and it cost us. It's up to me, man.
Jeremy Reaves got emotional in the locker room and blamed himself:
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala)
In some ways, Reaves is right. He has performed this piece many times over the years, and not making it on Sunday was costly. However, Reaves is not responsible for the loss – quite the opposite.
You win as a team, you lose as a team. Reaves is one of the more unselfish and popular players in the locker room. He does what managers do: take responsibility. That play was one of many that added up for the Commanders on Sunday, creating a perfect storm for the heavy underdog to pull off an upset victory.
