As good as the Cowboys’ Monday night win felt, a look at the NFC East standings throws cold water on things. The Eagles have improved to 8-2 on a four-game win streak, most recently against top competition in the Lions and Packers. Even with seven games to go, including this Sunday’s head-to-head, Dallas may not […] As good as the Cowboys’ Monday night win felt, a look at the NFC East standings throws cold water on things. The Eagles have improved to 8-2 on a four-game win streak, most recently against top competition in the Lions and Packers. Even with seven games to go, including this Sunday’s head-to-head, Dallas may not have enough road left to catch up to the defending champs. While they haven’t been pretty wins, Philly has just outlasted two of the best teams in the NFC. They still have some quality opponents coming in the Bears, Bills, and Chargers, but the Eagles’ ascending defense and versatile offense make them very hard to beat. Of course, they haven’t clinched the division yet. Dallas still has the potential to finish 11-5-1, just as Philly could somehow wind up 8-9. That leaves a little cushion over the next seven weeks, but not much. And it certainly puts incredible pressure on the Cowboys to hold their ground this Sunday in their rematch with the Eagles. Here are the NFC East standings going into Week 12: Philadelphia Eagles 8-2 (2-1 in division, 7-1 vs NFC) Dallas Cowboys 4-5-1 (2-1, 2-4-1) Washington Commanders 3-8 (1-1, 1-6) New York Giants 2-9 (1-3, 1-7) If Dallas can pull it off this week, they’ll need to make up three more wins somehow down the stretch. But the Cowboys have an arguably tougher remaining schedule, facing the Chiefs, Lions, and Chargers in three of their next four games. Thankfully, only the Detroit game is on the road. But Dallas may have to go nearly perfect over these last two months to steal the division. At this point, if the Cowboys can make the playoffs at all, it will likely be as a wild card team. But until it’s truly off the table, we’ll keep tracking the NFC East race. The Commanders and Giants appear focused on the future now. Washington’s off this week while the Giants travel to Detroit, a game Dallas would very much like to see them win. The 6-4 Lions are one of the teams currently standing between the Cowboys and a playoff spot. As they should be, all eyes will be on Dallas and Philadelphia this Sunday. Can the Cowboys keep the hope train running, or will the Eagles derail it? See More:

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, […] 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, 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

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, and with it came some feelings of goodness that we haven’t felt in a while. It’s just the Raiders, and no one is hearing the Rocky comeback theme playing in the background, but good things happened, and it’s okay to feel happy. The offense got back on […] The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, and with it came some feelings of goodness that we haven’t felt in a while. It’s just the Raiders, and no one is hearing the Rocky comeback theme playing in the background, but good things happened, and it’s okay to feel happy. The offense got back on track with four-straight touchdown drives that put the game away before the start of the fourth quarter. The defense featured the return/debut of several new players who are hoping to make strong contributions down the stretch. Sure, the chances of making the playoffs still seem insurmountable, but there are reasons to be optimistic about the team’s future, and those things revealed themselves on Monday night. Quinnen Williams is that dude The Cowboys have been searching forever to find a playmaker in the interior defensive line. The team has made attempts in the draft and in acquiring outside players to help out, but whatever they did, they always fell short. The front office made a huge move to acquire the New York Jets’ 27-year-old All-Pro defensive tackle, hoping he would finally provide the answers they were looking for. The trade came with mixed feelings as some questioned if Williams may have peaked, and the Cowboys were getting a player on the downswing. Suffice it to say, all eyes were on the team’s shiny new toy on Monday night. Fortunately for the Cowboys, you couldn’t have scripted things any better. Williams was an absolute beast. When the Raiders tried to fend him off with a single blocker, he blew right around them like they were standing still. Vegas struggled to handle the power coming from the Cowboys’ interior defensive line. It wasn’t just Williams doing the damage, as his fellow DTs, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa, were creating problems as well. The improved strength in the middle showcased how effective other players could be as well. The entire defensive line played off each other, and suddenly the Cowboys could shut down the run and pressure the quarterbacks with the same personnel. And for the first time all season, they could achieve this with four defensive linemen. Suddenly, the team had more resources available in the secondary to shut down the passing game. Williams’ outstanding debut demonstrated how effective this defense could be in defending the run and pressuring the quarterback quickly. He takes pressure off his fellow trench-mates and allows the team to do more with less. Williams, combined with the other new additions, makes this a more formidable unit and gives the team a better chance to win games. Lamb and Pickens are becoming BFFs It was unfortunate to see CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens standing on the sideline when the Cowboys’ offense took the field to start the game. You never want to see your two best offensive weapons be bystanders, but that is what happened. The word on the street is that they didn’t start as a result of disciplinary reasons resulting from being late to meetings. You have to hand it to head coach Brian Schottenheimer for holding them accountable for their actions. Even amid a difficult season where the team has a losing record and needs its two best pass catchers in a big way, the coach held firm and sidelined them for the first series. It’s a positive sign that Schottenheimer isn’t compromising his values and will follow through with repercussions regardless of who the players are stepping out of line. Beyond that, it also could be an indication of how close Lamb and Pickens have become. It’s not good that friends are getting in trouble together, but they could be building a strong camaraderie. This could become important later when Pickens negotiates his new contract this offseason. With the type of year he is having, he’s looking at a nice payday, but having an opportunity to remain in a good situation with a new best friend could provide some incentive to stay in Dallas. That’s not to say that he’ll give the Cowboys a nice discount, but his friendship with Lamb and desire to stick around could help bridge the gap when the negotiations are getting close. The Micah Parsons trade keeps looking better If the Cowboys keep Pickens and Williams continues to show that he is as good as advertised, the perception of the Micah Parsons trade will start to turn in the Cowboys’ favor. Jerry Jones went on record after the trade and stated that they believed they could get three to five players in exchange for Parsons when you factor in players acquired in the trade itself (Kenny Clark), the draft picks (Quinnen Williams and a 2026 first-rounder), and other players they could sign because of the extra cap resources they’d have (possibly Pickens). We don’t know how everything will play out. Do the Cowboys allocate that many financial resources at defensive tackle, or do they rebalance things a bit? Clark may be a trade candidate next offseason, or maybe they love being dominant in the middle and find a way to figure other things out. What this ultimately could mean is that the Cowboys gave up… Micah Parsons and a 2026 second-round pick and got in return… Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, the ability to keep George Pickens, and a 2026 first-round pick Re-signing Pickens may not have been in the cards if the Cowboys had to shell out a huge chunk of money to Parsons. When you look at it this way, the returns they are getting for Parsons keep looking better and better. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

Dak Prescott one of seven Cowboys limited at practice on Wednesday – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News Prescott’s injury isn’t a serious one. FRISCO — Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott joined a list of eight players on the injury report on Wednesday. Prescott has a sore hip and, along with seven other players, was limited during […] Dak Prescott one of seven Cowboys limited at practice on Wednesday – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News Prescott’s injury isn’t a serious one. FRISCO — Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott joined a list of eight players on the injury report on Wednesday. Prescott has a sore hip and, along with seven other players, was limited during a walkthrough practice at The Star. “He’ll go through all of his normal stuff just because it’s a mock tempo,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “It’s just slow. He’s just a little sore. I’m a little sore too but for different reasons. Just sleeping shorter. So, but yeah, it’s because it’s just slow, mock, walk-through, he will be fine.” It’s the first time this season Prescott has been listed on the injury report. Rush ends Jadeveon Clowney (shoulder/neck) and Dante Fowler (shoulder), safeties Malik Hooker (toe) and Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder), guard Tyler Smith (knee) and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (calf) were limited in practice. Defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey (back) was a full participant. Qunnien Williams trade already reshaped Cowboys’ defense in one huge way – Marcus Mosher, The Landry Hat Qunnien Williams didn’t waste anytime making a difference. There are a lot of different reasons why the Dallas Cowboys decided to make the trade for Quinnen Williams at the deadline. First and foremost, he’s an incredible player in the prime of his career. And even if the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs this season, he is the type of foundational player the franchise can build a defense around moving forward. But another factor as to why the Cowboys made this move is that they believed his presence could impact the players around him. One such player is Osa Odighizuwa, whom the Cowboys paid a ton of money to this offseason. Odighizuwa has always been a solid player, but he’s never played next to a player like Williams, and he’s already unlocking parts of his game. Cowboys DT Osa Odighizuwa had a career performance in win vs. Raiders Williams was dominant in his debut with the Cowboys, racking up 1.5 sacks and a career-high five QB hits. But he wasn’t the only defensive tackle for Dallas who had a career day. Odighizuwa led the team in pressures with eight, which was also his personal best, according to Pro Football Focus. He was the team’s highest-graded defender with a grade of 90.6. Odighizuwa was incredible with Williams on and off the field on Monday, and a big reason why is that he was fresh. Rather than playing 51 snaps like he did in Week 9 against the Cardinals, Odighizuwa played 40 snaps, 34 of which came on passing downs. He wasn’t asked to eat up double teams in the run game and instead could focus solely on getting to Geno Smith. The game script obviously helped out here as the Cowboys held a double-digit lead for most of the game, but there is no doubt that the heavy rotation at defensive tackle helped Odighizuwa. He no longer has to be “the guy” in the defensive tackle room. Instead, he can fit into his role and be part of a deep rotation of pass rushers. Tyler Smith on working against Quinnen Williams in practice, finishing plays, more – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com Iron is sharpening iron when Smith takes reps against Williams. FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys offensive line had one of their best performances of the season in Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders, allowing their second-lowest pressure rate of the year (20.6%). Part of that equation is Tyler Smith at left guard, who is in the top six among all guards in forfeited pressure rate this season. As the Cowboys face three games in 12 days coming up, he know he’ll have to take care of his body to continue the high level of performance. “Just adhering to the routine is the most important part, at least for me,” Smith said. “You’ve just got to do what you can with the time that you have. That’s being wise with your time, just understanding that the workload is going to be really high in these couple of weeks so you’ve got to be careful with that. We play a very physical sport, we got a couple of physical teams coming through here these next couple of weeks.” That’s not to say that the Cowboys didn’t play a physical game on Monday night against the Raiders, especially from Smith’s perspective. On George Pickens’ 37-yard touchdown in the second quarter, Smith made a diving effort to delay Maxx Crosby from getting to Dak Prescott, giving him the extra half second he needed to step up and complete the pass to Pickens. It’s plays like those that remind Smith the importance of not only playing physically every snap, but finishing on every snap too. “That’s huge for me,” Smith said of the play. “It really just, when I see it, I just think about finishing plays. You never know [if] that block that springs a half second or the running back picks up a blitzer or a guy getting his head across on a reach block, those are the small details that can be part of those huge plays. It’s all 11 of us coming together to make that happen, so I think that definitely just keeps my head on a swivel and lets me know that I got to finish every play, you never know what can happen.” Cowboys can use Bengals as cautionary tale while still re-signing George Pickens – Reid D Hanson, Cowboys Wire Will the Cowboys do what it takes to keep George Pickens? Unless you’ve been living under a

Greetings, Dallas Cowboys fans! In case you weren’t already aware, this is Brandon Lee Gowton from Bleeding Green Nation — the home of SB Nation’s Philadelphia Eagles coverage. Ahead of this week’s Eagles-Cowboys game, we’re trying something new at BGN and Blogging The Boys. In addition to the normal coverage you can expect at both […] Greetings, Dallas Cowboys fans! In case you weren’t already aware, this is Brandon Lee Gowton from Bleeding Green Nation — the home of SB Nation’s Philadelphia Eagles coverage. Ahead of this week’s Eagles-Cowboys game, we’re trying something new at BGN and Blogging The Boys. In addition to the normal coverage you can expect at both sites, I’m going to be doing some writing here at BTB while RJ Ochoa is going to be contributing over at BGN (here is RJ’s article over on our site). We’re also going to be active in the comment sections of our posts, so, sign up for an account if you haven’t already (fewer ads … and an exciting new notification system) and join the conversation with us. To kick things off, here are some thoughts I have on both teams. Dallas Cowboys Even throughout their struggles, I’ve been bullish on the Cowboys’ defense improving over the course of this season. I didn’t know they were going to specifically trade for Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson … but those opportunities existed given the draft capital they had from the Micah Parsons trade (which I still think was a bad move and I’m glad he’s no longer in Dallas). That plus getting Malik Hooker, DeMarvion Overshown, and Shavon Revel healthy means nearly half of the defense is different. Even if they’re not a great defense (like the Eagles have), them being average is a big deal if they can pair it with a high-functioning offense. As someone familiar with the benefits of two wide receivers playing very well (A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the past), I can understand why Cowboys fans are excited about the duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. I still think it’s crazy the Cowboys didn’t pay Pickens at the time of acquiring him and I wonder if they’ll be able to keep him. If they do, that’ll be pretty annoying from an Eagles perspective. Even if they don’t, the Eagles will obviously have to deal with this duo this weekend. And that’s a concern since starting cornerback Adoree’ Jackson could be a weakness, even though on the whole he’s been more competent than originally expected. The Cowboys probably aren’t winning the NFC East; the magic number for the Eagles to clinch the division is four games (the number of remaining Eagles wins plus Cowboys losses). Dallas has an uphill battle to make the playoffs as a wild card team … but I don’t think it’s impossible. They could be viewed as a dangerous team if they do make it. That is, except for the fact that Dak Prescott is 2-5 in seven career playoff games. Out of 167 quarterbacks with at least one playoff win, only six have a worse winning percentage. And Dak’s two wins? The 18-15 combined record of those opponents adds up to the lowest opponent win percentage (.545) in playoff wins among 109 quarterbacks to win multiple postseason games. Whereas Jalen Hurts has earned the status of a playoff riser, the opposite can be said for Prescott. Philadelphia Eagles The Eagles’ defense looks awesome. Really, way better than it has any business being since the Eagles have the youngest defense in the NFL and the least expensive defense in the NFL. But defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is really good at this job. And Philly’s pass rush has been boosted by the trade for Jaelan Phillips, the reintegration of off-ball Nakobe Dean (who’s really good as a blitzer), the unretirement of Brandon Graham, and the return of Nolan Smith from injured reserve. Also a very big deal: Jalen Carter, who presumably will be available for this game after not being able to play in Week 1 since he foolishly got ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott, looks much more healthy and effective following Philly’s Week 9 bye. The battle of the Cowboys’ offense versus the Eagles’ defense is a great matchup on paper. The Eagles’ offense, however … it’s hard to be optimistic about that group right now. It’s the most expensive offense in the NFL and they’ve way under-performed reasonable expectations. What’s the issue? It’s not just one thing. Jalen Hurts has to play better, sure. But it’s impossible to argue the coaching staff is doing a great job at helping him. The Eagles haven’t been able to run the ball effectively this season in no small part due to the offensive line being banged up and worn down from last year’s massive workload. The OL outlook is no worse with Lane Johnson banged up and starting center Cam Jurgens dealing with a knee injury. I reserve the right to change my pick based on new information (injuries and such) but I currently like the Cowboys to win this game since I just can’t trust the Eagles’ offense to keep up. And at some point the defense won’t be able to carry the entire weight. That being said, I still think the Eagles have a very real chance of being the No. 1 seed and repeating as Super Bowl champions. They just win. For more Eagles-Cowboys talk, check out the latest volume of The NFC East Mixtape (exclusive to YouTube): See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys soundly beat the Las Vegas Raiders and you hope they carry that momentum back home with them. This week, the Cowboys will be at home against the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles. If the Cowboys hope to have any outside chance at competing for the division and a playoff spot, this week’s game […] The Dallas Cowboys soundly beat the Las Vegas Raiders and you hope they carry that momentum back home with them. This week, the Cowboys will be at home against the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles. If the Cowboys hope to have any outside chance at competing for the division and a playoff spot, this week’s game is a must-win for the Cowboys. As always, how Dallas prepares for the game will depend on the personnel they have available. Here’s how the Cowboys are looking after the first day of practice this week. The big name on the limited participant list is Dak Prescott. But, coach Brian Schottenheimer made clear his inclusion for a hip injury is purely cautionary on a short week. Defensive tackle Solomon Thomas was limited today. Thomas missed last week’s game with a calf injury. Others on the limited list include Tyler Smith (knee), Jadeveon Clowney (shoulder/neck), Dante Fowler (neck), and safeties Malik Hooker (toe) and Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder). Also noteworthy, the Eagles suffered a significant loss to their offensive line after learning that Lane Johnson will be out for 4-6 weeks with a foot injury. Center Cam Jurgens also was not seen at practice today. He was hurt against the Detroit Lions last Sunday night. Jurgens, if unable to play this week, would be a big loss. See More: Dallas Cowboys Injuries

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. It was just the Las Vegas Raiders. The previously 2-7, now 2-8 Raiders. So a dominating 33-16 blowout in primetime doesn’t have the same feel like if they did this against a team with at least a winning record. Still, after the Arizona debacle, you take the […] Let’s get the obvious out of the way. It was just the Las Vegas Raiders. The previously 2-7, now 2-8 Raiders. So a dominating 33-16 blowout in primetime doesn’t have the same feel like if they did this against a team with at least a winning record. Still, after the Arizona debacle, you take the improvement. But more than just the win, the Cowboys welcomed in some new players, either through trades or recovering from injury, to the defense. The upgrade was immediately visible. Quinnen Williams was a bull in the Raiders’ china shop. He was plain ol’ wrecking stuff. Logan Wilson and DeMarvion Overshown have steadied the linebacker corps, and Caelen Carson (who actually returned versus the Cardinals) and Shavon Revel give the Cowboys real options at corner. Perhaps no team in the NFL will be changed as much as the Cowboys over their bye. The offense found their groove again and the pairing of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens is borderline illegal. Given all that happened recently, including the on-the-field product of Monday night, how confident are you now that the Cowboys are headed in the right direction? Vote in the poll then hit the comments. Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cowboys fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys got back onto the football field and back in the win column, coming out of their bye week with a victory over the struggling Raiders. In truth, this game was never close, and the 33-16 final score doesn’t reflect how lopsided this one really was. These five plays were instrumental in the […] The Dallas Cowboys got back onto the football field and back in the win column, coming out of their bye week with a victory over the struggling Raiders. In truth, this game was never close, and the 33-16 final score doesn’t reflect how lopsided this one really was. These five plays were instrumental in the Cowboys pulling ahead early. Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams sack Geno Smith The Cowboys offense did not start the game off right. After going three-and-out on their first drive, the second drive resulted in a strip-sack that set the Raiders up in the red zone. An already maligned Dallas defense was backed up in their own territory to start the drive. What happened next was huge. Geno Smith dropped back to pass and was quickly swarmed by both Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, who both brought him down. It was a loss of seven that immediately backed Las Vegas up and directly led to a third and long pass, which fell incomplete. That sack was monumental in forcing a field goal from the Raiders on this drive. Without that big loss of yardage, the Raiders may very well have marched in the short distance needed for six. Instead, they got only three. Quinnen Williams gets another sack When the Cowboys finally woke up offensively and scored their first touchdown of the game, it put them up 10-6. At that point, the defense had given up consecutive field goals, playing well overall but not getting off the field quickly. The next drive started similarly. A couple big runs got the ball to the Dallas 47, threatening another score. But on second and 10, Williams flew through the line of scrimmage and brought down Smith for his first full sack as a Cowboy. That immediately led to a third and long, which in turn led to a punt. The sack from Williams blew up what was looking like another scoring drive and ultimately bought time for the Cowboys to rip off their second of three straight touchdowns. Cowboys go on fourth down and score Speaking of that touchdown, it almost didn’t happen. Dallas moved the ball fairly well after the punt set up by Williams, but two straight plays were stopped for no gain at the Las Vegas 14. Dak Prescott then dumped off the third down pass to Hunter Luepke, who rumbled forward for nine yards, coming up just shy of the marker. That turned out to be just enough to convince Brian Schottenheimer – who has been one of the most conservative coaches in the league this year with fourth-down decisions – to go for it. Prescott found an uncovered Jake Ferguson in the endzone for a touchdown, paying off the gamble in a big way. Luepke deserves credit for making the fourth-down decision easier, and Schottenheimer deserves credit for doing what needed to be done. A field goal here would have kept the game a one-score affair, but the touchdown marked the start of the Cowboys pulling away. Missed facemask leads to interception The Raiders offense got right back to their usual ways, throwing a lot and moving the ball with relative ease. Brock Bowers started to take over with several big catches to move the chains, and a quick checkdown pass to Ashton Jeanty picked up another first down at the Dallas 31. On the replay of the tackle made on Jeanty, though, it was revealed that his facemask was pulled as he went down. The Cowboys got away with it, avoiding a 15-yard penalty that would’ve cut the field in half. And on the very next play, Smith’s pass was tipped up by Kenneth Murray and right into the hands of Markquese Bell. This was another defensive play that greatly changed the pace of the game, preventing the Raiders from scoring what felt like a sure six points. The fact that they nearly gave Las Vegas a free 15 yards instead only adds to the weight of this moment. Pass interference saves third-down failure The interception, which came shortly before the two-minute warning, offered a perfect chance to shut down the Raiders before halftime, but they needed to score on that ensuing drive. Things started with an incomplete deep shot to George Pickens that was nearly picked, and then Javonte Williams was dropped for a loss, bringing up third and long. Prescott targeted CeeDee Lamb a few yards beyond the first down marker, but he was unable to make the catch through heavy contact. The officials took a beat as Lamb looked around for a flag, and then the yellow came flying. Pass interference was assessed, and the Cowboys got a first down out of it. Three plays later, Pickens had multiple defenders eating his dust en route to a 37-yard touchdown that effectively ended the game. But they came dangerously close to a three-and-out punt just before that game-clinching score. BONUS: Wicked punt sets up safety The game was effectively over by halftime, but there was a brief moment where panic started to creep in for Cowboys fans. The Raiders scored their first touchdown of the night early in the fourth quarter, trimming the score to 31-16. Then, Dallas went three-and-out. There were just under 12 minutes left when Bryan Anger punted the ball, and one more touchdown would make things a one-score game. Then came the punt. Anger’s punt took a friendly bounce, going backward before returner Tre Tucker inexplicably fielded it while backpedaling. Cowboys surrounded him and quickly tackled him, downing the ball at the Raiders’ own 2-yard line. A false start backed them up further, and then Donovan Ezeiruaku came unblocked

After a terrific Monday night victory in Las Vegas, the Cowboys have entered the second half of their 2025 season with some momentum. There are still some big unknowns for this team going forward, though. What are three questions still hanging over Dallas even after the Raiders win? 1. Is it too late? While we […] After a terrific Monday night victory in Las Vegas, the Cowboys have entered the second half of their 2025 season with some momentum. There are still some big unknowns for this team going forward, though. What are three questions still hanging over Dallas even after the Raiders win? 1. Is it too late? While we enjoyed the W, it still only brought the Cowboys’ record to 4-5-1. They’re still just tenth in the NFC standings, with the ninth-place Panthers at 6-5 and holding a head-to-head tiebreaker. The last wild card spot is currently held by the 7-4 49ers. So for some, if not many, Monday’s victory may have offered little encouragement and even frustration over weakened 2026 draft picks. Still, unless you completely discount the Raiders as a credible opponent, what we saw in Vegas offered room for optimism. The defense did look better, and that was with completely new pieces or some existing ones in larger roles. And the offense, against a Vegas defense that was middle-of-the-road going into the game, was firing on all cylinders once Lamb and Pickens were let out of the penalty box. Continued efforts like those from both sides of the ball could be enough to flip Dallas’ performance from the first half of the year, making a final record of 9-7-1 reasonable. That’s not going to win the NFC East, of course, but it’s been good enough to snag the last wild card spot in three of the last four seasons. There’s still a big hole to dig out of, naturally, but the Cowboys took the right first step against the Raiders. 2. Should Pickens get WR1 treatment? The beauty of this year’s offense and Dak Prescott’s masterful handling of it is that it really doesn’t matter. He’s doing an excellent job of taking what the defense gives, and sometimes that’s going to bounce more Pickens’ way than Lamb’s, or vice versa. If Pickens keeps poisoning opponents, it may mean more opportunities for Jake Ferguson, KaVontae Turpin, or Ryan Flournoy going forward. While Pickens was sensational in Vegas, we know Lamb has that same gear. They’ve received fairly even workloads over the last few weeks. We’re not used to the idea of having a shared WR crown in Dallas, having so often leaned on one franchise guy like Lamb, Dez Bryant, Terrell Owens, or Michael Irvin over the years. But this is a rare opportunity to enjoy the services of two truly elite receivers, so let’s just enjoy it. 3. Is Quinnen Williams really that great, or was it just the Raiders’ o-line being that bad? Vegas has major blocking issues. We knew this going in. But for Williams to perform like that in his debut game, and after sitting two weeks due to the Jets having their bye in Week 9, was special stuff. We didn’t see any learning curve or adjustment period, just a great player doing great things. The opponent certainly helped, but it’s not like Kenny Clark or Osa Odighizuwa were showing off against other bad teams that Dallas has played so far this year. Williams is on another level from most DTs that have come through Dallas, going back to the beginning of Jerry Jones’ ownership. Even when we’ve had some Pro Bowlers like a Russell Maryland or Leon Lett, how much of that was due to their actual greatness versus riding the Cowboys’ popularity in the 90s? Dallas DTs who were actually considered the best in the business have been few and far between, and Williams walks in with that distinction. Yes, we need to see more from him against better offensive lines. But that sort of immediate impact doesn’t happen in the pros unless you’re pretty darn good. Williams is a game-changer. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster