All it took was a trip to Vegas and a little lady luck, and the Dallas Cowboys are back in the win column with a 33-16 victory over the Raiders on Monday night. While beating a struggling Raiders team isn’t hitting the jackpot, the Cowboys put some good football on display, and not just on the offensive side. The defense played well, too. It was just what we were hoping for after the team made some changes before the trade deadline. Here are 10 thoughts on this fun primetime win over the Raiders.
1. Better late than never
The game started out weird when both of the Cowboys’ star receivers were seen standing on the sideline on the team’s first offensive possession. The offense ran three plays for six yards and then punted the ball away while the rest of us looked on in bewilderment. As it turned out, the reason CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens didn’t start was a coach’s decision. And while the details are still unclear, they did return, and returned with a vengeance. The dynamic duo collectively finished with over 200 yards receiving and they each had a touchdown.
2. Defense big stop
After a three-and-out on the Cowboys’ first series, the offense did one worse and gave the ball away when Dak Prescott had the ball stripped away. This set the Raiders up 1st-and-10 at the Cowboys’ 15-yard line. Fortunately, the defense came up with a huge stop. Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark shot up the middle and sacked Geno Smith for a seven-yard loss. After a short five-yard gain and an incompletion, the Raiders had to settle for a 35-yard field goal.
3. The Q effect
The team’s new prized defensive tackle wasted no time making his presence felt. The shared sack with Clark was just the beginning. Quinnen Williams had a fantastic debut with his new team. In fact, it’s hard to imagine it going any better than it did. The defense held rookie running back Ashton Jeanty to just seven yards rushing, the lowest of his career. Everyone was penetrating through the gaps, as the Cowboys had eight tackles for loss as a team. Williams had 1.5 sacks by halftime, which is more than he had during his eight games this season with the Jets. The defense was in Geno Smith’s face all game and finished with four sacks collectively. They even caught the Raiders for a safety in the fourth quarter when Jeanty couldn’t get out of the end zone. It was fun to watch.
4. The three DTs
The Williams trade was just the latest move the Cowboys have made to beef up their interior defensive line. They traded for Kenny Clark right before the season started, and they extended Osa Odighizuwa back in March. Between these three moves, that’s quite the investment the front office has made at the defensive tackle position. Well, it’s just one game, but these three DTs looked very good together. Besides the dominance the defensive line had as a whole, the dynamic trio of Williams, Clark, and Odighizuwa each got into the stat sheet with a sack, and showed how effective they could be when they have some strength alongside each other.
5. Dak was dealing
While the offense took a bit to get going, once they did, they looked quite impressive. Dak Prescott finished the game completing 75% of his passes for 268 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Each touchdown went to a different receiver (Lamb, Pickens, Jake Ferguson, and Ryan Flournoy). Not only was Prescott connecting with his targets, but many of his throws were beautifully placed, making it easy for his receivers to catch the passes in stride. It was a great showing by the Cowboys’ quarterback, especially after falling behind early from the sack/fumble.
6. No quit in Pickens
The Lamb/Pickens duo was great, but it was Pickens who did the heavy lifting. He was the team’s leading receiver with nine catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. While the stats were impressive, how he got them was even more so. All night, Pickens turned small gains into bigger ones. He stiff-armed defenders and dragged them for extra yards. He constantly juked defenders, ran through them, and was just relentless after the catch. It was quite impressive. We all know about his wowing ballhawking ability, but he put on a clinic with his toughness on Monday night.
7. Getting off the field
The Cowboys’ defense was great in this game, allowing the Raiders just 236 yards of total offense. Vegas didn’t score its only touchdown of the game until the fourth quarter. The best part about this effort is that in half of the Raiders’ 10 possessions, the Cowboys’ defense allowed 10 or fewer yards, including a drive of just one yard and two drives of -2 yards. We know the Raiders offense isn’t good, but the Cowboys defense was completely dominating them throughout half the game. That’s not something we’re used to seeing from the defense. Getting off the field and doing it quickly was a fun thing to witness.
8. Going on a run
The offense of the Cowboys started slow, and then took the foot of the gas late, but in between they went on a nice run. In the second and third quarters, the Cowboys had four possessions, and each one of them they found the end zone. They went down as follows:
- Six plays, 68 yards, capped off with a Lamb 18-yard touchdown catch
- 12 plays, 79 yards, capped off with a Ferguson 5-yard touchdown catch
- Four plays, 69 yards, capped off with a Pickens 37-yard touchdown catch
- 12 plays, 80 yards, capped off with a Flournoy 2-yard touchdown catch
The Raiders’ defense isn’t terrible, so seeing the offense find its rhythm was great to see, especially after the struggles they’ve had in recent games.
9. Tight end adjustment
The Raiders came out attacking, utilizing all of their tight ends as receiver weapons. All-Pro Brock Bowers led the way, finishing with the team-leading seven catches for 72 yards. In the first quarter, Smith connected with tight ends Bowers, Michael Mayer, and Ian Thomas as it looked like they found holes in the Cowboys’ coverage as they moved the ball downfield. But as the game progressed, the Cowboys adjusted. Bowers still got his here and there, but the tight ends weren’t much of a factor the rest of the way. And linebacker Kenneth Murray even got a hand on the ball to deflect a pass intended for Bowers that landed in the arms of safety Markquese Bell for the interception.
10. WR shutdown
Jeanty and the Raiders’ rushing attack were shut down. Adjustments were made against the tight ends, and they were limited as the game went on. That’s a good start, but the fun didn’t stop there. The secondary was also great against their wide receivers. Smith only completed eight passes for less than 100 yards to wide receivers, between the trio of Tre Tucker (47 yards), Tyler Lockett (33), and Jack Bech (19). Vegas doesn’t have a stellar WR group, so this isn’t a remarkable feat, but considering the defense featured a good dose of young corners, including Caelen Carson and Shavon Revel Jr., it was nice to see them not surrender any killer passing plays. That’s certainly a new development.
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