Three weeks ago, most folks left the Cowboys for dead. They had been blown out by 14 points to a sub-par Tennessee team, their second consecutive loss, and they were about to embark on the most difficult five-game stretch of their season.
Well, the Cowboys responded with their first two road wins of the season against Philadelphia and Atlanta.
The Cowboys won their third consecutive game Thursday against Washington, 31-23, to grab a share of the NFC East lead and position themselves to win the division.
Here are Cowboys Insider Jean-Jacques Taylor’s 10 thoughts on the Cowboys’ win over the Washington.
1) Amari Cooper had the breakout game he’d been waiting for with 180 yards on eight receptions and touchdowns of 40 and 90 yards, respectively. It was the second-best game of his career, eclipsed only by an 11-catch, 210-yard performance against Kansas City in 2017. He caught three passes for 141 yards and both touchdowns in the third quarter.
2) Ezekiel Elliott pounded Washington for 121 yards on 26 carries to record his third straight 100-yard game. Last month, Ezekiel Elliott gained 33 yards on 15 carries - the second-worst game of his career - with a long of six. He had 10 runs of six yards or more Thursday.
3) DeMarcus Lawrence had three tackles, a half a sack, an interception, a pass deflection and three quarterback hits. His interception set up a touchdown that gave the Cowboys an insurmountable 31-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
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4) Dak Prescott threw for a season-high 289 yards, while also running for a touchdown on a dazzling five-yard run. He finished with a passer rating of 121.6 and his 90-yard touchdown pass to Cooper was the third-longest in franchise history.
5) The Cowboys’ special teams kept Washington in the game. A 30-yard punt return by former SMU receiver Trey Quinn set up one touchdown and a 44-yard kickoff return by Danny Johnson set up another.
6) After Dak Prescott’s fourth-quarter touchdown run, Zeke Elliott literally picked him up like he was carrying his bride across the threshold and placed him in the Salvation Army bucket at the back of the end zone. Dallas was penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration. Elliott said, “I was sick when they called that penalty because it hurt the team.”
7) The Cowboys forced a season-high three turnovers on interceptions by Anthony Brown, who also had a sack, Xavier Woods and Lawrence. Dallas also ended Washington’s streak of having forced a turnover in every game this season.
8) Rookie Michael Gallup, playing with a heavy heart after learning about his brother’s suicide following Sunday’s game, caught two passes for 19 yards. He didn’t talk to reporters after the Washington win.
9) In one of the game’s most underrated moves, passing game coordinator Kris Richard switched Byron Jones onto tight end Jordan Reed after he caught three passes for 49 yards a little more than a quarter against Jeff Heath. Reed finished with six catches for 75 yards.
10) The Cowboys played the entire game with Cam Fleming at left tackle after Tyron Smith reported feeling discomfort in his neck from a pinched nerve he suffered last week. Fleming did a solid job against Preston Smith once the Cowboys made sure he had some help in the second half. They played the entire game with backup Joe Looney at center, Xavier Su’A-Filo at left guard and Fleming at left tackle and still produced their second-highest point total (31) and third-highest yardage total (404).
