Marcus Mariota threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with three seconds left to help Washington to a 23-19 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and secure the Commanders’ sixth seed in the NFC playoffs.

Mariota threw for two scores and ran for a TD after replacing Jayden Daniels. The Commanders (12-5) used their dynamic rookie quarterback at halftime with only a playoff berth on the line, and the move ultimately sparked an offense that managed just 64 yards before halftime.

It turned out that Washington didn’t need the boost to stay in sixth place, as Green Bay lost to Chicago on a late field goal.

The Commanders will visit either Tampa Bay or the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round next weekend. The Packers will face NFC East champion Philadelphia, the No. 2 seed, in the wild card round.

Brandon Aubrey kicked four field goals for the Cowboys in quarterback Trey Lance’s first regular-season start since Week 2 of 2022, when he was with San Francisco a year after the 49ers traded him third overall in the draft.

Rico Dowdle’s 2-yard TD run gave the Cowboys a 19-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Washington coach Dan Quinn already had his team in the playoffs when he returned to Dallas, where he served as defensive coordinator for the last three seasons, which also ended with 12-5 playoff teams.

The last of those failed with a disastrous wild-card home loss to Green Bay, and the coaches and players Quinn left behind had no chance of escaping the malaise in a 2024 season that was difficult from the start.

Now the Cowboys (7-10) await the fate of coach Mike McCarthy, whose contract is expiring after three winning seasons and two losing records and the club’s failure to advance past the divisional round of the playoffs for the first time since the mid-1990s.

The first comments from #DallasCowboys Owner Jerry Jones after #Cowboys The season comes to an end – with him dealing with Mike McCarthy’s future.#NFL #Dallas #JerryJones pic.twitter.com/teKVYIMLbM

– Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) January 5, 2025

Daniels was 6 of 12 for 38 yards when he went to the bench after halftime, while Mariota finished 15 of 18 for 161 yards and had a 33-yard run that contributed to the game-winning score that capped a 91-yard drive .

Lance was 20 of 34 for 244 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in his first big action since the preseason. He threw five interceptions in the preseason finale.

The Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick for Lance last year after Lance lost the battle for the backup job with the Niners. Cooper Rush started the first eight games following Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury this season.

PARSONS GETS A DOUBLE-DIGIT NUMBER AGAIN

It didn’t take long for Micah Parsons to make good on his promise of reaching 10 sacks for the fourth time in his four seasons with Dallas, despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain.

Parsons dropped Daniels for a 4-yard loss on the first play of the game and caught him again two plays later for a 9-yarder. He is the fourth player with double-digit sacks in his first four seasons. The other three are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

BRANDON AUBREY HOLDS NFL RECORD

None of Aubrey’s shots came from 50 yards, but he tied the current NFL record for most shots from that distance in a season with 14. Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn started and finished the day with 13, and Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell made a 54-yarder Saturday that also ended with 13.

What’s next for the commanders?

The Commanders are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and have a winning record in the postseason for the first time since 2015.