The Cowboys blew their chance at the NFC East lead with a rare snap penalty

Brett Maher got screwed by his long snapper — and the Cowboys’ too-conservative play calling.

The Dallas Cowboys were on the brink of taking Washington to overtime in a game pivotal to the NFC East standings. And then a violation from the team’s long snapper led to their demise.

The Dallas defense forced a vital three-and-out with 1:09 to play, and Dak Prescott led his team to the Washington 28-yard line to set up a 47-yard field goal that would have send a 20-17 game into overtime. But before the Cowboys could get the snap off on the final play of regulation, L.P. Ladouceur flinched with the ball, drawing Washington’s defensive line forward and pushing Dallas five yards in the wrong direction.

It was a penalty that making rookie Brett Maher’s kick significantly more difficult. The Cowboys reset for the game-tying try, only to watch Maher’s 52-yard try hook to the left as it neared the goal line. The kick eventually clanged off the upright to secure Washington’s spot atop the division with a three-point victory over their longtime rival:

The long-range miss broke a streak of 16 straight field goals from the first-year specialist. He’d previously drained a kick from 47 yards to cut Washington’s lead to 13-10 early in the fourth quarter.

Maher didn’t take the miss lightly. He trudged back to the locker room without even removing his helmet.

But Maher never should have been in that position

Forget the false start that turned a makeable 47-yarder into a crushing miss from 52 — Maher should have been looking at a much more reasonable kick from the get go. The Cowboys had the ball at the Washington 46 yard line with 52 seconds to play when Prescott connected with Cole Beasley for a 9-yard gain that put the club in field goal range. Then Dallas took 24 seconds to stage their next play — a six-yard diving catch from Beasley.

The Cowboys didn’t rush up to the line to stop the clock, even as it ticked down to 20 seconds, but got a reprieve when the officials called for a review of the catch. That forced a timeout that allowed head coach Jason Garrett to coordinate his team while the replay crew confirmed Beasley’s catch.

And Garrett used that opportunity to call ... an Ezekiel Elliott run up the middle. The Cowboys were content to settle for a long field goal despite having the time to run three to four more plays while holding a timeout. Rather than eat up more yardage, the Cowboys went conservative, protecting the ball and putting the trust in their special teams to come up big.

They didn’t, and Dallas gave up its claim to the top spot in the NFC East in the process. And in a season where Garrett’s seat is hotter than ever and his playcalling is under a bigger microscope than ever before, that’s a big deal.