The Dallas Cowboys had a tough task at hand in Week 18 and it showed in a 26-6 divisional loss to a shorthanded Washington Commanders team.

Faced with a must-win scenario to improve playoff seeding while also depending on highly-unlikely results from around the league posed a difficult dilemma heading into the regular season finale in Washington.

Risk your starters and get the win? Or accept your faith as the fifth seed in the NFC and get some rest before a playoff trip to Tampa Bay?

Well, the Cowboys risked the starters. Not only did they fail to get the win, but they also looked absolutely outplayed in an effort-lacking performance in Washington.

Everything that the Cowboys could've looked for entering this game backfired. Absolutely everything.

First of all, they took an L in their win-loss record. They also risked starters and at least one defensive starter was shaken up in the second half (Jayron Kearse). The starters were given chance after chance, staying on the field even in the fourth quarter and they failed to get going.

The team didn't even get the specific morale-boosting answers they came looking for.

The commentators in FOX's broadcast mentioned head coach Mike McCarthy told them the Cowboys wanted to get some confidence in the running game before the postseason. The team averaged 2.2 rushing yards per attempt on Sunday.

Perhaps Dallas wanted to take better care of the football. Dak Prescott threw an almost-pick-six pass followed by an actual pick-six. KaVontae Turpin had a muffed punt (even if the refs should've called interference, he still failed to field the football properly).

Maybe they wanted to get defensive answers on the defensive backfield. Trayvon Mullen and Nahshon Wright got burned, highlighting the lack of a #3 cornerback.

And once more, the Cowboys failed to put together what they've been looking for since a 40-3 win over the Minnesota Vikings. A solid performance for four consecutive quarters instead of inconsistent outings in each half of football.

The Dallas Cowboys are slated to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round next weekend. The expectations will be to shake off such a horrendous performance and resemble what they're supposed to be. A contender in the NFC.

They didn't look like one on Sunday.

Featured image via Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports