Bad memories can create great learning lessons.
The task in front of the Dallas Cowboys is simple: win and clinch the NFC East. Their opponent is the last-place Washington Commanders, who have lost seven in a row under a lame-duck coach.
Easy, right?
It should be, and the Cowboys could be celebrating their division title in the same visiting locker room the San Francisco 49ers did when they wrapped up the conference’s top seed. But Dallas — though not in the same circumstances — got whacked 26-6 by Washington at FedEx Field a year ago in the regular-season finale, and the memory of that game and what’s at stake now is plenty of fuel not to trip up this time.