Nov 24, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) runs with the ball en route to a touchdown as Dallas Cowboys cornerback Josh Butler (31) chases during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium. Nov 24, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) runs with the ball en route to a touchdown as Dallas Cowboys cornerback Josh Butler (31) chases during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium. Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
By Sam Neumann on

Greg Olsen played in countless games during his 14 NFL seasons. Since transitioning to the broadcast booth, he’s called his fair share, too — first alongside Kevin Burkhardt and now with Joe Davis on Fox’s No. 2 team.

But nothing — and we mean nothing — could have prepared him for the insanity of Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys-Washington Commanders game.

“I think it’s safe to say it’s right at or near the top,” Olsen told Dan Patrick on The Dan Patrick Show Monday. “And, especially, I think it was really just the contrast of that fourth quarter — 41 points. How those 41 points were scored, it was absolute chaos. But it really came after a pretty pedestrian two and a half, three quarters. Nobody could really get anything going. It was red zone field goals that were a circus to begin with. We couldn’t make field goals, couldn’t make extra points leading up to that.”

“And then the fourth quarter just got insane,” Olsen continued. “Special teams plays — both good and bad. 86-yard, in essence, Hail Mary-type plays in desperation mode that go for touchdowns. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a sequence of events that culminated with an ending like that, all in one quarter, all down the stretch, maybe ever, at least in a game that I can remember.”

Here’s a taste of some of the aforementioned chaos Olsen described:

Olsen summed it up perfectly: “I’m not even sure what we just watched.”

No one was.

Washington didn’t lose this game; they gave it away. A missed field goal. A botched PAT. A near-fumble on a kickoff by Austin Ekeler. And then, somehow, a special teams collapse capped by Dallas’ KaVontae Turpin running free for a game-changing 99-yard return touchdown.

Even after all that, Washington still had a chance to tie it up late.

Terry McLaurin’s 86-yard catch-and-run brought them within a point with 12 seconds to play. But when Austin Seibert lined up for the PAT, Olsen and Davis already knew what was coming.

“Before anyone on Washington gets too fired up, remember, we’ve seen a missed PAT already,” Olsen cautioned.

And sure enough, Seibert missed.

Was it an announcer jinx? Maybe. But then again, if you want to pin the blame on Olsen (and Davis), for that matter, neither of them could’ve written a script as good as the insanity that transpired in Landover, Maryland.

Olsen could rack his brain for hours on end, thinking of all the finishes in his illustrious football career. And even then, the sheer, utter chaos of Sunday’s NFC East showdown would still be impossible to top.

[The Dan Patrick Show]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann