Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison
Brought to you by: Big Shucks
After defeating the Detroit Lions 42-21, the Dallas Cowboys’ improved to 13-2 on the season, winning 13 games for the first time since 2007. Last Thursday Dallas won the NFC East, secured a first-round bye, and home-field advantage for the post-season due to the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the New York Giants.
A Look at the Cowboys Performance
Offense: Dak Prescott went 15-for-20 for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Prescott is now tied with Ben Roethlisberger for most wins as a rookie with 13. Prescott now holds the record of eleven games with a passer rating of over 100. Dez Bryant caught four passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant also threw his first career touchdown. He’s the fifth player in NFL history with two touchdown catches and a touchdown pass in the same game, and the first Cowboy to catch and throw a touchdown in a game since Danny White in 1985. Terrance Williams had four receptions for 61 yards. Jason Witten and Cole Beasley combined for six catches for 58 yards combined yards with Witten snagging Bryant’s pass for a touchdown. Brice Butler also had one catch for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Ezekiel Elliot had 12 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Elliot now has 15 rushing touchdowns for the year, making him 4th in team history in most rushing touchdowns in a season. Elliot is 177 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s rookie rushing record of 1, 808 yards. Darren McFadden ran the ball 14 times for 49 yards. Prescott ran the ball four times for 35 yards.
375 total yards of offense and no turnovers committed. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to have a rookie quarterback throw 20 touchdown passes and a rookie running back to score 15 rushing touchdowns. Offense deserves an A.
Defense: Allowed 319 total yards, forced two turnovers, and sacked Matthew Stafford four times. Defense looked a bit sloppy in the first half, but in the second half, they shut down the Detroit offense. They didn’t allow Detroit to rush for more than 100 yards. Defense did a good job of not allowing Detroit to get a first through a penalty. Defense gets a A for their performance.
This Sunday, Dallas will be in Philadelphia. The Cowboys have acknowledged that they plan on playing their starters. Since Dallas has the NFC East title, a first-round bye and home-field advantage, the game against Philly is not a make or break game. However, a win would definitely keep the momentum alive.
