ARLINGTON, Texas — The moment Jayden Daniels’ left arm bent in a direction God does not intend, the Dallas Cowboys had the matchup advantage they needed, because Christian Parker is not.

The Cowboys’ first-year defensive coordinator has not inspired a lot of confidence in a fanbase that desperately wants to believe that his hiring would have a noticeable impact on one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Playing against a backup quarterback really helps.

On Sunday, the Cowboys’ defense was not that much better in its 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders than it was in its Week 1 loss to the New York Giants.

An ugly game-ending arm injury suffered by Daniels on the final play of the first half, which caused Fox Sports analyst Tom Brady to curse on air, had a catastrophic effect on the Commanders’ chances.

Daniels’ exit changed everything, and bailed out the Cowboys, who improved to 1-1. Few teams do “One and One” like the Cowboys; since 2011, the Cowboys have started the season 1-1 a total of 13 times.

Daniels’ injury derailed Washington

The Cowboys ran out to a 10-0 lead, and looked like they would cruise to an easy afternoon. Daniels and Washington woke up, and started to do what offenses do against the Cowboys — matriculate the football up and down the football field.

Washington trailed 17-10 on the final possession of the first half when its head coach Dan Quinn got cute and went for the potential tying touchdown rather than a field goal. Not sure when short field goal attempts became a sin, but this is now a trend.

With the ball at the Cowboys’ 1-yard line and three seconds remaining, Daniels stumbled as he dropped back to pass; in his attempt to not hit the ground, he used his left arm as a prop and suffered a gruesome elbow injury in the process. Quinn said after the game X-rays on Daniels’ elbow did not show a fracture.

Had Washington run virtually any other play, including a fullback dive or Daniels just takes a knee, and they don’t even try to score, Sunday’s game against the Cowboys ends differently. Maybe the Cowboys still win, but at the time Daniels suffered the injury the Commanders’ offense was rolling.

Daniels had thrown for 96 yards on 11-of-17 passing, and run seven times for 69 yards. The Washington running game was averaging well over 4.5 yards per rush.

Once Daniels left the game, and Washington put in veteran backup Marcus Mariota, suddenly the Cowboys’ defense looked much better. Washington moved the ball some, but the Commanders with Daniels at quarterback are a different team.

“I don’t know hypothetically what it [did for Washington]. He’s just an elite player,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said in the postgame press conference. “He’s a great person, and you just hate to see it.”

Cowboys’ defensive issues remain

Immediately after the game, Cowboys owner/GM/president Jerry Jones declared, “We’re better than we’ve been the last two years on defense.”

In 2024, the Cowboys’ defense allowed an average of 27.5 points per game, second-to-worst in the NFL.

In 2025, the Cowboys’ defense allowed an average of 30.1 points per game, worst in the NFL.

Here in 2026, the Cowboys’ defense is allowing an average of 24 points per game ... so technically Jerry Jones is right. The Cowboys’ defense is much better than each of the last two years.

Against Washington, the Commanders ran for 182 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per rush. Some of that was Daniels, whom the Cowboys could not contain. Once he was out, Mariota was not the threat.

Unlike last week against the Giants, whom the Cowboys could not stop at any point during the game, in Week 2 they got some stops. Some. They did force one turnover.

Washington was 8 of 14 on third downs, which is not great, but a dramatic improvement compared to the Cowboys’ Week 1 performance. The Commanders were 1 of 3 inside the red zone.

The defense generated no sacks, and offseason pass rushing acquisitions Von Miller and Rashan Gary still haven’t done much other than look cool in their Dallas Cowboys uniforms.

“We know we’re a better football team than the one that showed up in New York,” Schottenheimer said.

This is the football equivalent of getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom without falling on your face.

Overall, the biggest impact on the Cowboys’ defense wasn’t anything they did but the departure of Daniels.

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