It’s not often that you see a player return an onside kick for a touchdown and have it end up being the wrong decision. But that’s exactly what happened in Sunday’s Week 12 game between the Cowboys and Commanders.
In an absolutely bonkers final minute, the Commanders thought they had scored a game-tying touchdown only to see the extra-point try sail wide. That forced Washington to attempt an onside kick down by one, which brought us to this decision from Juanyeh Thomas.
The Cowboys safety scooped up the kick on the bounce and immediately broke free towards the end zone. But amid that excitement of housing a kickoff return, Thomas made the wrong football play.
He should have gone down.
ONSIDE KICK RETURN FOR A TD WHY NOT?!
: #DALvsWAS on FOX
: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/DIXs64vWvP— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
By scoring that touchdown — which extended the Cowboys’ lead to eight after the extra point — Thomas gave the Commanders an opportunity that they otherwise wouldn’t have had. If he goes down shy of the goal line, the game is over after a knee.
Instead, the Commanders and Jayden Daniels had a chance to replicate their earlier Hail Mary win. Fortunately for Thomas, the Cowboys picked off that pass. But teams have lost before by taking the greedy touchdown.
He’ll probably be cognizant of that next time.
