Sportsnaut
The three-game NFL Christmas Day slate kicked off on Thursday afternoon with an NFC East battle between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders. While the rivalry game didn’t quite meet Netflix’s expectations, there were still plenty of standout performances and some lowlights, including Netflix itself.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from the Cowboys’ victory over the Commanders on Christmas Day, with Dallas winning 30-23.
With Chris Rodriguez Jr. sidelined for Christmas Day, rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt drew the start for the Commanders. Bill delivered like Santa. He popped in a short touchdown in the first half and then showed off his speed on a 72-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, slipping through a hole and outrunning the rest of the Cowboys defense. He also recorded his first 100-yard game since Oct. 5. Taken by Washington with the 245th overall pick earlier this year, Croskey-Merritt will enter Week 18 with a shot at 900 scrimmage yards and 9 touchdowns in his rookie campaign.
This certainly is not the game Netflix signed up for when it agreed to pay the NFL $150 million for the exclusive broadcasting rights to this double-header on Christmas Day. Coming into the year, a clash between Dak Prescott and Jayden Daniels with potential playoff implications seemed perfect for Netflix. Instead, it got two NFC East teams who have already been eliminated from playoff contention, with Washington starting its third-string quarterback. To make matters worse, Netflix seemed to think football fans wanted to see in-game interviews with Clinton Portis and Emmitt Smith that took attention away from the game and felt like FaceTime calls with a bad signal. Netflix got coal from the NFL this year.
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An NFL team never wants to start Josh Johnson; it is a last resort. Washington brought in the 39-year-old quarterback simply wanting him to provide some experience and mentorship in the quarterbacks room for Jayden Daniels. After all, Johnson has been a part of 14 different NFL teams, and his knowledge of offenses and reading defenses reflects that experience. With that said, there is a reason this was his 10th start since entering the league in 2008. We have to tip our cap to Johnson, though. With limited practice reps on a short week, he played relatively well and did not turn the football over. If he wants to be back in the NFL next season, a performance like this will likely get him on a team that wants that experience to tutor a rookie quarterback.
A matchup between two of the league’s worst defenses seemed perfect for a high-scoring battle, and that is exactly what we got. However, fantasy football managers with Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb, Terry McLaurin, and Jake Ferguson will likely be feeling underwhelmed. Williams (54 yards) and Ferguson (6 yards) found the end zone...
