Blogging The Boys
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.
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.
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.
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.
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....
