SportsQuest
All games

Week 18, Sun, Jan 10, 1:00 PM local

Dallas Cowboysat Washington Commanders

Northwest Stadium, Landover. Fly into DCA.

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The matchup

Form, ESPN's model and the stat leaders
Form

The Cowboys are 1-2 after 3 games, 3rd in the NFC East.

They are 0-1 on the road.

The Commanders are 1-2 after 3 games, 4th in the NFC East.

They are 1-0 at home.

What we know about Northwest Stadium

Where visiting fans stay

From a specialist guide
  • Capitol Hill / Navy Yard, Washington D.C.. Metro Blue or Silver Line to Morgan Boulevard, then a 1-mile / 20-minute walk. Stay in Washington and treat the stadium as a day trip. That is the settled answer for Landover. Navy Yard and Capitol Hill sit on the Metro, with an easy Blue/Silver Line ride east, and they give you a real sports bar district around Nationals Park and Barracks Row for the night before and after the game, which Landover cannot match.
  • Downtown D.C. / Penn Quarter. Metro Blue or Silver Line to Morgan Boulevard, then a 1-mile / 20-minute walk. You get the most hotels, a direct Blue/Silver Line ride to Morgan Boulevard with no transfer, and the shortest ride from DCA airport. If you want to sightsee around the game, stay here.
  • Largo / Woodmore. 20 min. walk from Largo-area hotels, or Metro from Downtown Largo. This only makes sense if a short trip to the stadium matters more than anything else to you. Residence Inn Largo is 0.8 miles away and WoodSpring Suites is 0.6 miles away, and Woodmore Town Center off Landover Road has chain restaurants. But the area is mostly office parks, and you will spend your Saturday night in a strip mall.

Around the stadium

From a specialist guide
There is no walkable bar or restaurant cluster at Northwest Stadium. The area is described as dominated by office parks with limited options, plus a small strip mall at Landover Road and Brightseat Road, and Woodmore Town Center, which is a drive away and has Carolina Kitchen, Copper Canyon Grill, and Jasper's American Grill. None of it is walkable from the stadium. This is the detail that settles it: do not stay near the stadium, stay in Washington.

Getting in from the airport

From a specialist guide
DCA, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, is 15 minutes from the Metro station inside the terminal to Metro Center on the Blue or Yellow Line.

Getting to the stadium

Checked at the source
Take the WMATA Metrorail Blue or Silver Line to Morgan Boulevard. It is a 1-mile walk, about 20 minutes, uphill in places, through residential streets and then into the parking lots. There is no shuttle. Take the WMATA Metrorail Blue or Silver Line to Downtown Largo. Plan on a long walk either way. WMATA says the walk between Northwest Stadium and the Morgan Boulevard and Downtown Largo stations can take more than 20 minutes, depending on crowds and other factors. After the game, Morgan Boulevard and Downtown Largo are the only two stations open for entry. Every other nearby station is exit only.

Tailgating

Checked at the source
There is no organized tailgate village at Northwest Stadium. Every tailgate is private and car-based, set up in a parking lot. But if you're on foot with a game ticket, you can still join one. Commanders guest services confirmed that fans with a valid ticket can walk into the lots and join tailgating without a vehicle or parking pass, and the written policy backs that up: every tailgating fan must have a valid ticket or parking pass. Anyone without an event ticket who stays in the lots after the game starts is treated as a trespasser. Tailgating is allowed in every lot except H-Burgundy and the team and staff lots. Keep your expectations in check: it's a 1-mile, 20-minute walk from Morgan Boulevard station into a field of strangers' tailgates, with no host and nothing for sale.

Getting in

Checked at the source
  • Bag policy: You can bring one bag if it is clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC and no bigger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches, or a one-gallon clear freezer bag, plus a small clutch bag up to about 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. The stadium makes an exception for medically necessary items after they are inspected at a gate set up for that purpose. Diaper bags, camera bags, backpacks, fanny packs, and cinch bags are all banned.
  • Re-entry: Re-entry is allowed only with a full, unused ticket for that day's game. In practice, once you have scanned in, you cannot leave and come back.
  • Prohibited items: You cannot bring umbrellas, strollers (unless you're a suite holder), outside food and drinks, coolers, folding chairs, cameras with detachable lenses 5 inches or longer, laptops, gaming consoles, LED lights, laser pointers, noisemakers, or self-defense spray. Smoking is banned in the seating bowl, main concourse, Legends Plaza, portals, tunnels, the Gate A ramp, and restrooms.

Touring the stadium

From a specialist guide
No public stadium tours, and the stadium is due to come down after the move to RFK.

After the final whistle

From a specialist guide
This is the known weak point. Two things stack up against you: a walk of 20 minutes or more that gets longer in a crowd, and only two Metro stations open for entry afterward, so everyone taking transit funnels into Morgan Boulevard and Downtown Largo. WMATA does hold trains for late finishes. For one Sunday night game, it published hard deadlines of 12:32 a.m. at Downtown Largo and 12:35 a.m. at Morgan Boulevard for the last Silver Line train. Drivers do not fare better either, since the roads onto the stadium grounds are windy and not really wide enough to handle that much traffic. Give yourself an hour from the final whistle to actually boarding a train.

One thing to avoid

From a specialist guide
The classic mistake is booking a hotel in Landover or on the Capital Beltway to be near the stadium. You save 30 minutes on game day and lose the whole trip, since there is nothing to walk to, and you will be taking the same Metro back into D.C. every evening anyway. Book your hotel in Washington.

Bars near the stadium

Checked at the source

  • The Dubliner

    4 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

    Danny Coleman opened The Dubliner in 1974, carrying on a family trade that started when his father opened Coleman's Saloon in Syracuse in 1933. The third generation runs it now.

    Away fans: the crowd is mixed and welcoming, a destination Irish pub with both tourists and locals.

  • Ireland's Four Courts

    2051 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201

    Four Courts is the Arlington Irish pub built around international football. Men in Blazers named it America's Best Soccer Bar for 2025-2026.

    Away fans: this is home to the Nova Vikes Minnesota Vikings fan club, so it's the natural base for visiting Vikings fans. Otherwise expect a mixed international soccer crowd.

  • Franklin Hall

    1348 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 (U Street/Shaw)

    Franklin Hall sits in the old Manhattan Laundry building on Florida Avenue, a brick industrial shell turned into a plain American beer hall with long tables, a big room, burgers and fried chicken, and a specials board that rotates. It's an official Commanders Rally Bar and one of the more sociable spots on the list.

    Away fans: the crowd is mixed, a large neighborhood beer hall.

What to eat

The local food this city is known for: the DC half-smoke.

Inside the stadium, 2026 season

  • Ben's Chili Bowl is back in Sections 124, 415 and 441, and Whitlow's does a half-smoke in Section 341. Reported, not confirmed by the stadium. Source

The best-known local spot

  • Ben's Chili Bowl, the DC original since 1958. Reported, not confirmed by the stadium. Source

Stand line-ups change every season.

Sidequests in Landover

Listed in the order they happen. Each one earns points.

  1. Outing40 points

    National Air and Space Museum

    Free Smithsonian museum on the Mall, open 10 am to 5:30 pm daily. Free timed passes must be reserved online before you go. A half day for families on Saturday.

    Free. The day before

  2. Outing40 points

    Smithsonian National Zoo

    Free zoo in Woodley Park; grounds open 8 am to 4 pm, last entry 3 pm, animal houses 9 am to 3:30 pm. Entry passes are required for everyone, including infants, reserved online.

    Free. The day before

  3. Eat65 points

    Half-smoke at Ben's Chili Bowl

    Ben's Chili Bowl has been serving the chili half-smoke, the sausage DC claims as its own, on U Street since 1958, and the stadium sells them too. It opens 11 am daily and stays open until 4 am Friday and Saturday.

    $. The day before

  4. Photo25 points

    Lincoln Memorial steps

    Open 24 hours and free, so it fits before breakfast or after a night game. Shoot the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument from the top step; the memorial chamber needs no ticket.

    Free. The day before

  5. Drink25 points

    Old Ebbitt Grill raw bar

    Washington's oldest bar, founded 1856, a block from the White House. Oyster bar with daily raw-bar discounts at happy hour. Good for the night before or dinner after an early game.

    $$$. 18 hours before kickoff

  6. Drink25 points

    The Dubliner by Union Station

    Irish pub next to Union Station with live music nightly from 7:30 pm. On the Red Line, one transfer from the Blue and Silver Lines to the stadium, so it suits the night before.

    $$. 17 hours before kickoff

  7. Eat65 points

    Weekend brunch at Founding Farmers

    Founding Farmers is a farmer-owned restaurant three blocks west of the White House. Brunch runs 8 am to 2 pm Saturday and Sunday with fried chicken and waffles as the order to get, and weekday breakfast starts at 7 am.

    $$. 5 hours before kickoff

  8. Landmark65 points

    Eastern Market on the way out

    Capitol Hill public market on the Blue and Silver Lines toward the stadium. Outdoor farmers and craft vendors Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 4 pm; indoor food merchants year-round.

    Free. 4 hours before kickoff

  9. Eat65 points

    Carolina Kitchen near the stadium

    Carolina Kitchen is a Southern restaurant one mile from the stadium in the Largo shopping area, the closest sit-down meal to the gates. It's a good option before a 1 pm kickoff when downtown DC is too far.

    $$. 3 hours 30 minutes before kickoff

  10. Tailgate65 points

    Bud Light Party Pavilion between Gates F and G

    The team's official pregame party on the stadium's south side, with live music and the radio pregame show. Reachable on foot from the Metro walk; no car needed. Lots open four hours before kickoff.

    Free. 2 hours 30 minutes before kickoff

  11. Ritual25 points

    Blue or Silver Line to Morgan Boulevard, then walk

    Take Metro's Blue or Silver Line to Morgan Boulevard and walk about a mile, 20 minutes, up Morgan Boulevard to the lots. No shuttle runs from the station; Metro extends service for late games.

    $. 2 hours before kickoff

Seats and views

Where each part of Northwest Stadium sits, and what you see from it.

What kind of game day do you want?

Pick one and Scout shows you where to sit.

Lower Level, end zoneLower Level, corner, west sideLower Level, west sidelineLower Level, corner, west sideLower Level, end zoneLower Level, corner, east sideLower Level, east sidelineLower Level, corner, east sideClub Level, end zoneClub Level, corner, west sideClub Level, west sidelineClub Level, corner, west sideClub Level, end zoneClub Level, corner, east sideClub Level, east sidelineClub Level, corner, east sideUpper Level, end zoneUpper Level, corner, west sideUpper Level, west sidelineUpper Level, corner, west sideUpper Level, end zoneUpper Level, corner, east sideUpper Level, east sidelineUpper Level, corner, east sideWest sideEast side
Lower Level101 to 142; Dream Seats are field sections 1 to 42Club Level300s, for example 303 to 340Upper Level400s, for example 403 to 435Tap any part of the stadium to see its view.