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LANDOVER, Md. – They walked off the field through the tunnel stunned. They sat at their lockers stunned.

"Just when you think you've seen everything there is to see," Cowboys linebacker Akin Ayodele said, shaking his head and then asking for a moment inside the quiet locker room.

As they walked to the buses, they were still stunned. And their mood worsened while sitting on the tarmac at Baltimore/Washington International Airport for three hours, waiting for a different plane to take them home.

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The Cowboys' trip to the midway point of the season ended bizarrely Sunday at FedExField when Nick Novak slipped a career-long 47-yarder just inside the right upright with no time left – giving Washington an improbable and surreal 22-19 victory.

"We keep talking about how it's a long season, but we've played eight games and it's almost over," linebacker Bradie James said of the Cowboys' 4-4 record. "At some point we have to get over the hump as a team, and time is money. So we have to make it happen."

If the Cowboys fall short of the playoffs, they will look back at Sunday's loss as a killer.

Only moments before Novak's kick, the Cowboys thought they were going to leave with a season sweep of their rivals.

With 31 seconds to play, Novak missed a field goal try from 49 yards. Then Tony Romo, in only his second start as Cowboys quarterback, directed a four-play drive to the Washington 17. He connected on three of four passes, the last to Jason Witten, his roommate on road trips, for a 28-yard gain.

The Cowboys called their final timeout with six seconds to play and had Mike Vanderjagt, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, on the field for a 35-yard try.

"Everybody's excited," center Andre Gurode said. "We make the field goal, there's no time left on the clock."

Eleven times in his career, Vanderjagt had nailed a game-winner in the final 15 seconds or overtime. This would be his first with the Cowboys. L.P. Ladouceur's snap was perfect. Romo's hold was, too.

"Witt was talking before the kick," Washington safety Troy Vincent said. "He was happy. He just caught a big pass."

But Vincent, signed by the Redskins on Oct. 16 and added to the field goal block team Saturday, burst through Witten and Marc Colombo on the left side of the line and blocked Vanderjagt's attempt without breaking stride.

They can talk about the season-high 11 penalties for 153 yards, Terrell Owens' drop of what would have been a touchdown catch or Roy Williams' pass interference penalty, which ignited Washington's stagnant offense. But those were not the big plays, according to the Cowboys' coach.

BRAD LOPER / DMN Mike Vanderjagt's field-goal attempt was blocked with six seconds left.

"We had our chance to win the game right there," Bill Parcells said. "We just had to execute one play, and we didn't do it."

After the block, Redskins safety Sean Taylor scooped up the ball and was immediately walled off but reversed field. Guard Kyle Kosier got a hand on his face mask, but couldn't take him down. He was eventually stopped at the Dallas 44, and Washington got 15 yards closer on Kosier's penalty.

On came Novak for an untimed play, but only after Washington called a timeout. His bid from 49 yards had missed wide right. His try from 47 yards fluttered a bit but was good, setting off an electric celebration. The turn of events may have saved the Redskins' season and severely injured the Cowboys'.

"It was in our hands, and we couldn't take it," said Witten, whose arms were scraped and bloodied. "We let it go."

The Cowboys' record is one-game worse than at the midway point last season – when they failed to make the playoffs – so they cannot afford to let many more games (if any) go.

They are tied for second in the NFC East, two games behind the New York Giants, as they prepare for next Sunday's game at Arizona. That's followed by home games against Indianapolis and Tampa Bay (on Thanksgiving). As James said, time is running out.

"When you've got that much going for you and you screw it up like that," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, "it's how you end up 4-4."

E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com