Cowboys somehow just one game out of first place after wacky victory

If you turned off “Monday Night Football” to watch “Fargo” instead, nobody could blame you. But you missed a heck of a finish after 58 minutes of horrible football.

Washington Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson looked like a goat after his fumbled punt return set up Darren McFadden’s go-ahead touchdown for the Dallas Cowboys. Then, after a long kickoff return and a face-mask penalty, Jackson became a hero when he tied the game. And then the Cowboys had their own long kickoff return, and Dez Bryant one-upped Jackson and helped Dallas pull off a weird and wild 19-16 win and save its season.

The fact that the Cowboys’ season is alive, after losing their first seven games without Tony Romo as a starter this season, is weird and wild in itself.

Dallas kicker Dan Bailey hit a 54-yard field goal with nine seconds left to pull off the crazy win. Washington falls back to 5-7, and is tied with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants for first place in the NFC East. And the Cowboys are one game out of first place. Seriously. One game from a division title and hosting a playoff game. The Dallas Cowboys. Believe it.

For 58 minutes, Monday night was the worst game of the NFL season. Neither team scored a touchdown, and it wasn’t because of great defense. Matt Cassel struggled for the Cowboys, and ignored Bryant most of the night. Kirk Cousins was under pressure all night for Washington, and the running game didn’t do much. But in the last two minutes, things got interesting.

With both offenses stuck on no touchdowns inside of the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter, Jackson caught a punt and tried to make something happen. He ran forward to the 24-yard line, then ran all the way back to about the 2. And then he got hit and fumbled it away to the Cowboys. McFadden scored a few moments later, the first touchdown of the game, to give the Cowboys a 16-9 lead. But by scoring, instead of just getting the first down, Washington had time to put together a drive.

And Jackson tied it with a 28-yard touchdown with 44 seconds left. Bryant, sitting on the sideline, was caught by ESPN’s cameras giving a smile and a nod after watching his fellow star receiver make a big play. Then Bryant made some big plays of his own.

After a good kickoff return, Cassell hit Bryant twice for 20 yards to set up Bailey for a long field goal attempt. And Bailey came through.

If you turned off “Monday Night Football” before the final two minutes, you missed a wacky ending. If you turned the game on with two minutes left, you thought it was a classic. It was far from a classic, but it did provide one of the more memorable endings of the season.