The Dallas Cowboys had no business winning on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia Eagles. But they did. It was wonderful.
At one point, almost in the blink of an eye, the Cowboys were down 21-0 and
all hope seemed lost. The second half was an uphill climb, to say the least, and carried what life remains for this season given that Dallas was 4-5-1 at the time. Falling to 4-6-1 would have put an end to even the most optimistic playoff conversations.
Our dreams can live another week though as the Cowboys are an even-steven .500 with the Kansas City Chiefs joining them for a Thanksgiving Day clash. That will be here before we know it, but before it gets here we need to fully place what we just saw into its proper perspective.
Here is our Stock Report following Sunday afternoon’s wonderful game of football.
Stock Up: Quinnen Williams
Given that the defense helped start and maintain the rally for the Cowboys it feels fair to begin here and we start with their new frontman in Quinnen Williams. He sure is amazing, isn’t he?
Williams had eight quarterback pressures in this game which was tied for the most he has ever had in a game. Think about that. He has only played two games for the Cowboys and has been a force in each one. It is awesome.
Stock Up: Sam Williams
The Cowboys did not wind up doing anything with the ball after they recovered Saquon Barkley’s fumble, but causing it was significant in that it derailed the Eagles from getting points. Williams had a textbook force out and deserves a lot of credit for doing so.
It has hardly been an easy season for Williams as he has had moments that were questionable to say the least, but the win on Sunday could not have happened without his efforts.
Stock Up: Alijah Clark
Coaches love players who hustle and show up on special teams because they typically have a lot of heart. This was completely true for Alijah Clark on Sunday afternoon.
Near the end of the game things were still hanging in the balance and he was running down on the punt. He dealt with all sorts of traffic along the way and got pushed around quite a bit. He ultimately still powered through enough to force another fumble that Dallas was unable to capitalize on (this game was weird!). Still, his heroics were incredible and he deserves love.
Stock Up: Trent Sieg
How often is it that a long-snapper recovers a fumble? I don’t even know how to look that up, but I believe that Trent Sieg deserves a lot of credit for giving the Cowboys a huge chance to win by doing so (again, they did not score on the possession but that is besides the point).
Hustling is important. The last few players we have listed here have made and led the stock up section because of that heart. This is about a team-wide disposition and culture and these players exemplify it.
Stock Up: Dak Prescott
Let’s be clear and fair in noting that the Cowboys offense did not start off strong. You don’t fall into a 21-0 hole because you are playing well. Prescott even threw an interception at which point the Eagles carried a 96% win probability (seriously). It looked over and like him passing Tony Romo to become the Cowboys’ all-time passer would be a hollow achievement on an otherwise embarrassing day.
But like his predecessor, Prescott rallied and played until the clocks showed triple zeros. He was remarkable down the stretch and even looked like his vintage self with an incredible rushing touchdown.
Stock Up: George Pickens
It is unreal to continually be talking about what a player George Pickens is. It should not be possible for him to continue to top his own performances.
Yet here we are. Pickens looks like the most dynamic receiver that the Cowboys have had in some time. He is clutch and reliable and consistent and dazzling and effortless and physical and all of these things all of the time.
There is zero doubt that he was the catalyst for the offense’s resurgence. Now get an extension done!
Stock Up: Nate Thomas
Tyler Guyton left the game and that meant the Cowboys had to deal with a reserve left tackle. That is never easy to do. But Nate Thomas picked up the mantle and made things look easy. He was consistent as the rally marched on and ultimately succeeded. Guyton was having a bit of a shaky game and so Thomas coming in to play moderately well, let alone very well, was a needed boost when matters were dire.
Stock Up: Matt Eberflus
It isn’t a secret that the Eagles offense is floundering at the moment and that was certainly part of the specific recipe that made this game what it was. We needn’t take credit away from what the Cowboys did, though. We are once again acknowledging that the team fell down 21-0 which means things were tough early on, but consider that Dallas held the Eagles without points on their final seven possessions of the game (not counting the end of half one).
What’s more is that of these seven possessions, only twice did the Eagles even cross midfield. The defense locked in and Matt Eberflus deserves some “maybe getting legitimate players back is helping him and why things were so bad early on” energy around his name.
Stock Up: Brian Schottenheimer
Let’s be clear that some of the offensive decisions can be suspect at times (maybe run the ball in the redzone when you are doing it so well!) from Schotty. But he appears to have really mastered the culture of his team.
Schotty kept things stable and everyone from panicking. He has guided this team to consecutive wins since the trade deadline, bye, and tragic loss of an active member of the team in Marshawn Kneeland. These things are not remotely the same and no one is comparing them, but the point here is that Schotty clearly understands his locker room and is developing a spirit that it flocks towards.
Stock Down: CeeDee Lamb
To be clear, Lamb finished with four catches for 75 yards. He is hardly struggling in the way that the other team in this game is from a WR1 perspective, although A.J. Brown did have a nice game early on.
As far as Lamb is concerned, he had some really critical drops in this game. He dropped what could/should/would have been the game-winning touchdown and put the Cowboys in a bind to where they had to go for it on fourth and goal. He has hardly been a disaster all season long, but it feels fair to say that he has fallen short of the very high bar that he has set for himself.
Let’s turn things around on Thanksgiving.
