Marcus Mariota takes off on fourth and one late in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys. / NFL / YouTube

The Washington Commanders beat the Dallas Cowboys 23-19 in Week 18. The Commanders had to score on three of their final four possessions, including an 11-play, 91-yard drive that culminated in a Terry McLaurin touchdown to take the lead with three seconds left on the clock.

The Cowboys almost stopped the Commanders at midfield, but Mariota took the ball on 4th-and-one at midfield and ran for a game-saving 33 yards to set up that touchdown. Dallas briefly looked like it had the play stuffed, as evidenced by safety Malik Hooker raising his arm in triumph in the middle of the play before quickly realizing that Mariota had the ball and was running by him.

Malik Hooker, what are you doing!?! 😂 #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/bH20BQMGlo

— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) January 5, 2025

You can watch the full HD clip on the NFL’s YouTube channel.

Now, in Hooker’s defense, this was not his fault. He still recovered and made the tackle and he wasn’t the one who took down the the player who didn’t have the ball (Micah Parsons) or over-pursued into the backfield and let Mariota escape (Marist Liufau).

Plus you throw in the part where the game didn’t matter and it’s really no big deal. Just another humorous blooper to cap a very bad season in Dallas.