Cowboys, Commanders out of playoffs ahead of their matchup

Dallas (6-8-1) at Washington (4-11)

Thursday, 1 p.m. EST, Netflix.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Cowboys by 6 1/2.

Against the spread: Cowboys 7-8; Commanders 5-10.

Series record: Dallas leads 80-49-2.

Last week: Cowboys lost to the Chargers 34-17; Commanders lost to the Eagles 29-18.

Last meeting: Dallas beat Washington 44-22 on Oct. 19.

Cowboys offense: overall (2), rush (17), pass (1), scoring (5).

Cowboys defense: overall (30), rush (20), pass (32), scoring (31).

Commanders offense: overall (20), rush (4), pass (24), scoring (24).

Commanders defense: overall (31), rush (29), pass (26), scoring (27).

Turnover differential: Cowboys minus-8; Commanders minus-12.

WR CeeDee Lamb. He's looking for a strong finish despite Dallas being out of the playoff chase. His career low for touchdowns is five from his rookie season in 2020, and he needs two TDs to reach that number. Lamb also needs 168 yards over the last two games to surpass last season’s total of 1,194 yards receiving despite essentially playing in two fewer games this season.

RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The guy everyone calls “Bill” is worth keeping an eye on to see whether he gets more touches as Washington begins to think about which players could get bigger roles next season. The seventh-round pick has scored six TDs as a rookie, including one each of the past two games.

Hard to think of anything in this game as “key,” given these are two teams playing out the string. One thing to keep an eye on is whether Dallas will go a third game in a row with zero sacks, despite getting to face a backup quarterback and with at least one, and possibly two, of Washington's starting offensive linemen out.

Cowboys: LB DeMarvion Overshown got a concussion last week. He missed the first nine games recovering from his second major knee injury in his first two NFL seasons. … DT Quinnen Williams missed a game with Dallas for the first time since the November trade with the New York Jets. He seemed to be progressing in his recovery from a concussion when a neck issue arose before the Chargers game. … Coach Brian Schottenheimer isn’t ruling out the return of T Tyler Guyton, who has missed the past four games with a sprained ankle.

Commanders: QB Marcus Mariota is coming off hand and leg injuries in Week 16. If he can't go, the other QBs on the roster are Josh Johnson, Jeff Driskel and Sam Hartman. ... LT Laremy Tunsil (oblique) missed last week's game. ... RG Sam Cosmi (concussion), WR-PR Jaylin Lane (ankle) and DT Eddie Goldman (concussion) went on IR this week.

The Cowboys’ win in the season’s first meeting was their 80th in the series, their most against the three NFC East opponents.

Even though they’re already eliminated from the playoffs, the Cowboys can finish 5-1 in the NFC East with victories over the Commanders and New York Giants in Weeks 17 and 18. They would also be the second team to finish 8-8-1 since the NFL went to 17 games in 2021. Washington did it three years ago. … QB Dak Prescott has tied Tony Romo for the most 4,000-yard seasons in franchise history with four. Prescott enters Thursday 727 yards from his career high of 4,902 in 2019. … Prescott is one of eight QBs in NFL history with at least 35,500 passing yards and 240 touchdown passes in their first 10 seasons. ... WR George Pickens has five games with at least 130 yards receiving this season, most in club history. … Dallas has gone without a sack in consecutive games for the first time since 2017. James Houston leads the team with 5 1/2 sacks. If that holds up, it would be fewest for the team leader since sacks became an official stat in 1982. ... Washington has lost nine of its past 10 games and wasn't even competitive in more than half of those losses, getting defeated by at least 21 points five times. ... This comes after coach Dan Quinn's debut with the team last season, when AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels led Washington to a 12-5 regular-season record and a berth in the NFC championship game. ... Daniels only appeared in seven games this season because of knee, hamstring and left elbow injuries and has been shut down for the season. ... He is one of six members of the ideal offensive lineup that has missed significant time; that includes RG Sam Cosmi, who went on IR this week.

Any of the talented receivers on either team — Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel on Washington; CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens on Dallas — could have a big day, considering how poor both pass defenses and pass rushes are.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (22) celebrates after his touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Adoree' Jackson during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) prepares to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) makes a catch next to Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (24) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)

An explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away.

An official from Ukraine’s military intelligence, known as GUR, told The Associated Press that the attack had been carried out as part of an agency operation. Another official from the agency said the police officers had taken part in Russia’s war in Ukraine, without providing details. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Russian authorities did not comment on who may be behind the attack. Since Moscow invaded nearly four years ago, Russian authorities have blamed Kyiv for several assassinations of military officers and public figures in Russia. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of them.

On Wednesday, two traffic police officers were approaching a suspicious individual when a device detonated, Russia's Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. The officers and another person standing nearby died from their injuries.

The Interior Ministry named the officers as Lt. Ilya Klimanov, 24, who joined the Moscow police in October 2023, and Lt. Maxim Gorbunov, 25. Gorbunov had a wife and a 9-month-old daughter, the statement said.

The blast took place in the same area of the Russian capital where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed by a car bomb on Monday. Sarvarov was the head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff.

Investigators have said they are looking into whether Ukraine was behind that attack, which was the third such killing of a senior military officer in just over a year. Ukraine has not commented on it.

Ukraine — which is outnumbered by Russia’s larger, better equipped military — has frequently tried to change the course of the war by attacking in unexpected ways.

In August last year, Ukrainian forces staged a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region even as they struggled to stem Russian offensives elsewhere. Moscow’s troops eventually drove them out, but the incursion diverted Russian military resources and raised Ukrainian morale.

In June, swarms of drones launched from trucks targeted bomber bases across Russia.

Moscow has also blamed assassinations on Ukraine. Just over a year ago, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. Kirillov’s assistant also died. Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for the attack.

In April, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car parked near his apartment building just outside Moscow..

Days after Moskalik’s killing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received a report from the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency on the “liquidation” of top Russian military figures, adding that “justice inevitably comes” although he didn’t mention Moskalik’s name.

Meanwhile, Western officials have accused Russia of staging a campaign of disruption and sabotage across Europe as part of an effort to sap support for Ukraine. Moscow has denied the claims.

Associated Press writer Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.

This undated photo, distributed by official telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, shows official portraits of Russian police officers Lt. lya Klimanov and Lt. Maxim Gorbunov, who were killed in an explosion in Moscow, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Official telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia via AP)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)