Cowboys rookie report: Rookies cash in against Las Vegas

The Dallas Cowboys put in a statement performance on Monday night and came away with a huge win, scoring four touchdowns and keeping things stingy on defense. How did the Cowboys rookie class perform during the lopsided win? Let’s break it down and find out. OG Tyler Booker (Game stats- Snaps: 67, Pass Blocks: 32, […]

OG Tyler Booker

(Game stats- Snaps: 67, Pass Blocks: 32, Pressures: 2, Sacks: 0, Penalties: 1)

Booker’s night was mostly rock-solid, with one big lapse in discipline late in the game. Going into this game, Booker was at 432 total snaps with 288 pass-block reps, allowing just 12 total pressures, four QB hits and only one sack, plus three penalties on the year, which is very efficient volume for a rookie right guard. On top of that, PFF’s now charts him with a run-block grade of 77.2, which ranks 12th among guards in the NFL. He now has only seven pressures allowed on true pass sets, putting him in the top-20 among guards, meaning he’s among the top blocking guards this season which is impressive for a first-year interior lineman.

Against Las Vegas, the box score and flow of the game backed up the idea that he did his job. Dak Prescott went 25 of 33 for 268 yards and four touchdowns and was sacked only once all night, while the Cowboys rushed for 114 yards, including 93 from Javonte Williams. Nothing in the postgame breakdowns tags Booker with a blown protection on the lone sack, which came on a Maxx Crosby strip early on, and the interior seemed largely steady while Dallas strung together five straight scoring drives. The way the Cowboys leaned on inside runs and long, methodical drives suggests Booker held up well in both the run and pass game, in line with his season-long PFF efficiency numbers rather than standing out for any major mistakes in protection.

DE Donovan Ezeiruaku

(Game stats- Snaps: 32, Total Tackles: 5, Pressures: 0, Sacks: 0, TFL: 2)

Ezeiruaku’s game against the Raiders was impactful without gaudy pass-rush stats. Las Vegas held him to a season-low pressure rate of 4.3%, so as a pure pass rusher this was one of his quieter outings of the year even though his season-long rate has him at 15.7% this year, making him among the better rookie edge defenders in the league.

The box score shows how he made up for that in the run game. He finished with five total tackles, two tackles for loss, and he wasn’t credited with any penalties on the night. The headline moment was the fourth-quarter safety with the Raiders backed up at their own one-yard line. The Raiders handed the ball to Ashton Jeanty and Ezeiruaku knifed straight through the right side to stone him in the end zone, with Sam Williams helping finish the play. Multiple recaps single that play as the dagger that killed any late Raiders momentum.

Overall, you’d call Ezeiruaku’s performance quiet as a rusher but big in moments. He had limited impact on Geno Smith’s dropbacks, no damage in terms of penalties, yet strong, physical run defense and a game-sealing safety that will sit as one of the top highlights of the day.

CB Shavon Revel Jr.

(Game stats- Snaps: 19, Total Tackles: 1, PBU: 0, INT: 0, RTG Allowed: 39.6)

Boy does it feel good to finally start writing about Shavon Revel. His debut against the Raiders was quietly excellent, exactly what you want from a rookie corner being eased in. He was targeted one time, allowing just zero catches and added one big tackle. That’s basically nothing in terms of damage, especially in a game where Geno Smith threw 27 completions.

On a late-second-quarter drive, the Raiders had the ball at the Dallas 28 and took a shot to Michael Mayer deep right, the pass fell incomplete, and the drive stalled into a field goal from the 20. Mayer finished the game with just three catches for 13 yards on four targets overall, so even when the Raiders tried to feature their tight ends, they were being funneled into short, contested throws rather than chunk plays. Revel’s coverage on that drive helped keep the ball away from Mayer in scoring territory and kept the points to three instead of seven.

This was a very encouraging first outing for Revel showing tight coverage, no explosive plays allowed, no touchdowns on his watch, and no completions given up. For a corner coming off an ACL tear and seeing limited snaps, Revel looked composed, physical at the catch point and good enough that you’d expect his role to grow from here.

LB Shemar James

(Game stats- Snaps: 26, Total Tackles: 7, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0)

James’ night against the Raiders was probably his most encouraging all-round performance so far, especially given how rough his PFF season has been overall. Coming into Week 11 he carried a 35.5 PFF grade, ranking near the bottom of qualifying linebackers.

On the stat sheet he finished with seven total tackles, playing 26 defensive snaps in the game. There were no penalties against him, which matters for a young linebacker who’s been fighting inconsistency. For most of the night he did the boring-but-important work, fitting inside runs, rallying to checkdowns and cleaning up after the front four squeezed the pocket on Geno Smith.

Earlier in the game he’d already shown up against Jeanty on the edge, forcing him out of bounds on perimeter runs, so the when Jeanty finished with a total of just seven total rush yards, this felt like the exclamation point on a quietly physical night for James.

Given how much criticism the linebacker room has taken this year, this isn’t suddenly an elite performance, but it was a clean, impactful one showing the arrow is pointing up for the linebacker unit. James had solid tackling volume, no obvious coverage disasters, and no flags. In context, you’d call it a clearly positive step, the kind of game that helps James hang onto a real role even as the Cowboys work newer pieces into the linebacker rotation.

DT Jay Toia

(Game stats- Snaps: 13, Total Tackles: 0 Pressures: 0, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0)

Toia was basically the fourth man in a really hot interior rotation against the Raiders. The game recap and snap table have him down for just 13 defensive snaps in the 33–16 win, the fewest of the Cowboys’ defensive tackles, and he didn’t register any tackles on the night.

Part of why he stayed so quiet is that the rest of the interior was cooking. Quinnen Williams, in his Cowboys debut, blew the game open with 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and seven total pressures, looking every bit like a true number one defensive tackle. Osa Odighizuwa closed the night with a fourth-down sack plus two more hurries and earned a 90.6 PFF grade, while Kenny Clark added his own sack on a bulldozing interior rush. As a group they strangled the run, holding the Raiders to just 27 rushing yards on 12 carries, with most of the credit going to Williams, Clark and Osa rather than Toia.

So for this game specifically, his performance was very quiet. He did his rotational nose-tackle job for 13 snaps without any obvious busts or penalties, but he also didn’t add to the avalanche of splash plays the other defensive tackles were creating.

DB Alijah Clark

(Game stats- Snaps: 20, Total Tackles: 2, Pressures: 0, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0)

*Snap count include special team snaps*

Clark barely saw the field on defense against the Raiders, logging just one snap at free safety, so there’s basically nothing to judge in terms of coverage. That single rep was more about giving him a look in the deep middle than any real role in the game plan.

Where he actually earned his keep was on special teams. Clark played the bulk of his snaps there and was credited with two tackles in the kicking game, continuing the pattern that’s had him pegged as a core special-teamer early in his career. Both tackles were exactly what coaches want from a young defensive back. He remained under control, squared up, and finishing in space rather than being out of control and risking a miss or a flag.