The best Cowboys players from Week 5, according to PFF

Jalen Tolbert had an incredible game last week.

The Cowboys escaped Pittsburgh with a win – Mike McCarthy’s first career win in his hometown as a head coach – but it wasn’t pretty. They’ll surely take the win, though, as they get to head home for a game against the Lions. In a game like this, though, who were the best players? Let’s see what Pro Football Focus thinks.

Offense was great… until the red zone

Realistically, the Cowboys should’ve blown the Steelers out of the water in all three of the rivers there in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys nearly doubled the Steelers’ offensive output, totaling 445 yards of offense to Pittsburgh’s 226; they averaged nearly two more yards per play and had one fewer possession. Yet they went 1/4 in the red zone with two turnovers and a blocked field goal. That’s a losing recipe nine out of ten times, but the Cowboys were fortunate that this game ended up being that tenth scenario.

RG Zack Martin – 82.6

Even at 33 years old, Zack Martin remains elite. He was the only offensive lineman for Dallas to not surrender multiple pressures on the night, a legitimate feat against this Steelers pass rush. Martin also did tremendous work in the run game, with a high mark of 81.7 in his run block grade.

WR Jalen Tolbert – 72.4

Jalen Tolbert was the hero of the game, catching the game winner just one play after appearing to injure himself. It wasn’t just that one play, though: Tolbert was the only Cowboy to see double-digit targets, hauling in seven passes for 87 yards. Four of those receptions went for either a first down or touchdown. It’s clear Dak Prescott trusts Tolbert.

WR KaVontae Turpin – 68.5

Tolbert may have been the one who stepped up the most with Brandin Cooks out, but KaVontae Turpin was another benefactor of Cooks’ absence. Turpin was targeted five times and caught four of them for a total of 50 yards, with 34 of those yards coming after the catch. Turpin has seen more and more involvement on offense this year, and he’s repeatedly shown he can handle the extra workload.

QB Dak Prescott – 67.5

This was a strange game for Dak Prescott. He had three turnover-worthy plays and three pretty egregious turnovers, but he was also electric outside of those three plays. Prescott completed 69% of his passes for 352 yards and had several big moments, including his crucial recovery of Rico Dowdle’s goal line fumble and, just two plays later, throwing the game winner to Tolbert.

RB Rico Dowdle – 67.3

Speaking of Rico Dowdle, that fumble was the one negative for him in this game. Other than that, Dowdle was spectacular, carving up the Steelers’ stout run defense over and over. He had three runs of 10+ yards after having just one such run all season, and Dowdle broke six tackles while averaging 2.65 yards after contact per carry. He also added two receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown.

Next man up all around on defense

The Cowboys were pretty banged up on defense to start this game, and the injury bug didn’t let up. Marshawn Kneeland left with an injury in the first quarter and never returned. Despite that, Dallas held the Steelers scoreless on seven of their ten drives on the night, and this paper thin pass rush unit saw five different players notch at least two pressures.

iDL Linval Joseph – 89.8

No Cowboy had a higher grade in this game than big Linval Joseph, who has started to round into form after an inconsistent start to the season. Joseph was a force on run defense, frequently rerouting running plays. He also showed off his impressive power as a pass rusher, throwing an offensive lineman to the ground en route to a strip sack.

CB Jourdan Lewis – 85.5

Jourdan Lewis was sneakily the most important player in this game. He was exclusively matched up with the Steelers’ top receiver, George Pickens, who has five inches on Lewis. Lewis largely locked up Pickens, though, as the receiver had just two catches for five yards. Lewis apparently got inside Pickens’ head too, as the receiver showed his frustration at the end of the game in a moment that will almost certainly incur a fine, if not more.

EDGE Chauncey Golston – 77.1

One of the defenders who saw a massive uptick in snaps due to the injuries to Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence was Chauncey Golston, who put up a really solid performance Sunday night. He posted the second-best run defense grade in this game and led the team in pressures with four.

LB Marist Liufau – 72.8

Rookie Marist Liufau doesn’t see the field as often as Eric Kendricks or DeMarvion Overshown, both of whom have been playing well lately, but he made his snaps count in this one. Liufau’s lone tackle on the night constituted a run stop, and he also had a beautiful pass breakup late in the game on third down.

S Malik Hooker (66.7) and S Donovan Wilson (66.2)

Safety play is huge in Mike Zimmer’s scheme, as he rotates his two deep safeties quite often and uses them in a wide variety of ways. It was thus encouraging to see Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson place fifth and sixth, respectively, in player grade for the defense in this one. Both held their own in coverage, while Wilson continues to be a tone-setter in run defense. It appears this tandem is beginning to get comfortable in the new scheme.