The Dallas Cowboys are in the win column. It wasn’t pretty at times, and it was downright ugly at moments, but they got the job done beating the Washington Commanders 37-20. The game had a share of great plays, but also some that will leave us scratching our heads. We’ll take it, but we’re still not overly thrilled. Here are 10 thoughts on the Cowboys’ victory on Sunday.
1. A great start for the offense
After starting last week with two straight punts and only having six possessions total, it was great to see the offense drive down
the field and score a touchdown on their opening drive. They kicked things off with a nice 10-play, 66-yard drive in less than five minutes. The opening drive was mostly the CeeDee Lamb show, who had nice catches for 16 and 23 yards before capping off the drive with a three-yard touchdown catch. That’s how we like games to start.
2. A great start for the defense
Not only did the Cowboys’ offense score a touchdown on their opening drive, but the defense had an impressive start of their own with a quick three-and-out that took less than two minutes. Washington’s first three plays were a six-yard pass play, a run play for a loss of a yard, and then a two-yard completion on a third-and-six. It was nice to see the defense get off the field so fast after the Giants hit them with a slow burn last week. If only they could have continued with that level of play.
3. Couldn’t contain Jayden
It was pretty obvious that the key to stopping the Commanders’ offense was to keep quarterback Jayden Daniels from scurrying away. It didn’t seem like the Cowboys’ defense got the memo, and time and time again, they just couldn’t contain him. The defense brought the pressure, but they were overcharged, and Daniels just sidestepped danger and took off running. The Cowboys had no answer for his legs as he outgained what Jaxson Dart did last week, and Daniels only played in one half, which brings us to…
4. Crazy end to the first half
After a promising start to the game, things started to slowly unravel. The defense couldn’t make stops, and even the offense’s last possession of the first half was a quick three-and-out. It appeared that the Commanders were going to tie things up with a touchdown drive to finish off the half, but a freaky play caused them to come up short. Daniels’ foot was stepped on as he took the exchange from the center and hurt his left arm as he tried to brace his fall. The play went nowhere, and the Cowboys kept their 17-10 halftime lead. Unfortunately for the Commanders, Daniels didn’t return to the game.
5. CeeDee is still great
Last year was considered a down year for the Cowboys star wide receiver as he got hurt and his statistics weren’t the typical numbers we were used to seeing. On this day, Lamb reminded us that he is one of the league’s greats. He finished the day with eight catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. When the offense needed a big play, Dak Prescott looked his way. It was nice to see 88 still doing great things.
6. Catching a break
In the first half, the officials initially ruled a Commanders’ touchdown when receiver Terry McLaurin and Cowboys’ cornerback DaRon Bland were both fighting for the reception. Replay showed that McLaurin didn’t have control of the ball through the catch, and the call was overturned. That seemed like the right call.
On the Commanders’ first possession in the second half, it looked like receiver Dyami Brown had made a great catch in the end zone when he got one knee in bounds. The play was ruled incomplete, but Washington challenged the play; however, replay officials upheld the call. That one was a little puzzling, and the Cowboys might have caught a break on that play.
7. Barham’s big play
Last week, the Cowboys were so close to creating so many turnovers, but the ball rarely bounced their way. Fortunately, their bad luck didn’t carry over to this game. Rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham sniffed out a quick pass to Commanders’ receiver Dyami Brown and was all over him. Just his thundering presence forced the ball out of Brown’s hands and onto the turf where linebacker Dee Winters pounced on it. The Cowboys immediately took advantage and turned it into points, putting themselves in the driver’s seat.
8. Still can’t run the ball
Despite the big win, the Cowboys struggled to run the ball. They finished the day rushing 21 times for 66 yards for a measly 3.1 yards per carry. And most of those numbers were aided by Prescott taking off. Running back Javonte Williams only had 30 yards rushing on 12 carries (2.5 ypc). Even with the lead, they couldn’t run effectively. The good news is they didn’t just stubbornly run into a wall, but instead kept the ball moving through the air. The bad news is this team is still struggling to figure out their rushing attack, and unless they get that fixed will be a one-dimensional offense.
9. Same ol’ issues
The win is nice, but the defense did not look good. They got pressure at times, but never got home. No sacks. They also had problems in coverage with wide-open receivers finding creases similar to last week. Despite losing by 17, the Commanders still ran more plays, gained more yards, and had the ball longer. This Cowboys’ defense still has issues. Was it an improvement over last week? Yes, but not by a lot, and one can’t wonder that had Daniels not gotten hurt, the Cowboys could be looking at an 0-2 start.
10. New franchise leader
The Cowboys offense had four touchdowns in this one, and each one was a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott. The first and last went to Lamb, while the middle two went to tight end Jake Ferguson. Prescott now has a total of 249 touchdown passes, passing Tony Romo for the franchise’s new all-time leader. Dak also continued his home dominance against the Cowboys, where he’s now won all eight games at AT&T Stadium and has 24 touchdowns and no interceptions.
