On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the division-rival Commanders in emphatic fashion, winning 30-23 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would suggest. One Dallas player in particular had a very Merry Christmas, as Cowboys RB Malik Davis enjoyed a career day and breakout performance after bouncing on and off the Cowboys’ active roster this season.
Davis got 20 carries in Washington and had 103 rushing yards for a 5.2 yards per carry average, outpacing starting Cowboys RB Javonte Williams in all categories (though Williams did rush for a touchdown and had 54 yards of his own). It’s a full-circle moment for Davis, who has been an underdog his entire professional career and is playing a regular role for the Cowboys for the first time.
Dallas Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer on RB Malik Davis’ Breakout Performance
GettyLANDOVER, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 25: Dak Prescott #4 hands the ball off to Malik Davis #43 of the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth quarter of a game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on December 25, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Davis went undrafted out of Florida in 2022 and signed with the Cowboys has an undrafted free agent. He spent his first few seasons in the league on the Cowboys practice squad, but was cut by the team back in April and went unsigned until Dallas brought him back in August when they were going through some injuries.
“When we let Malik go, we just kinda talked about, ‘Hey, maybe a change of scenery is good for you,’” Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer said on Thursday during his post-game press conference. “I mean, literally he and I had that conversation, we said, ‘Hey, change of scenery is good, and some guys figure it out.’ He went home, and he sat [at] home, and he had a couple workouts but nobody bit.”
“And when he came back Todd, he was a different person. The way he approached everything — from the preparation, from the professionalism — everything was different. And that’s the power of being on the outside looking in. And from the day he came back and walked into Oxnard, I knew it was different.”
“He’s played incredibly well, had over 100 yards today. In [the four-minute drill] I was trying to get him the ball, and literally I look over and he’s like this,” Schottenheimer said, clutching at his eye. “His eye was all swollen and he looked like he’d taken a right hand from Tyson. But again, I’m so proud of him man. He ran hard, offensive line played well, I think we had 210 rushing yards today. We ran the ball really, really well, big part of us again controlling the clock and the time of possession.”
The Dallas Cowboys can Draw Even on the Season Next Week
Even though Dallas was eliminated from playoff contention last week, with the win over the Commanders on Christmas Day, the Cowboys have a chance to get to .500 on the year in next week’s season finale against the Giants. For a team that started the year with playoff aspirations, that isn’t quite the achievement they were hoping for, but Dallas can still build some momentum for next season.
All things considered, that wouldn’t be a bad first season for Schottenheimer.
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